Pamela Nomvete thinks she has found her balance between acting and development work – her two passions.
“I thought the acting had gone away,” she says, but the universe changed all of that, landing her with two unexpected acting assignments, the one a movie, the other a play.
But first thing’s first. She’s in South Africa, at the Joburg Theatre to be more precise, for the Rise Up and Walk festival which runs from Friday to Sunday.
The name of the festival is a quote by the late Wangari Maathai, the African environ-mentalist and first African woman recipient of the Nobel Prize. “It’s about sustainibility,” says Nomvete who has been seeking a way to create a showcase for an artist incubation initiative she has been running with her film director pal, Nicholas Beveney, (whose movie in which she stars, Kingmakers).
“The young are creating a new narrative for this land and I wanted to be part of it,” is how she describes this calling. She needed a platform for her incubation process and was then made aware of the development brand of the Joburg Theatre with whom they have twinned.
Choosing Woman’s Month to celebrate, the festival is described as one of plays, song, music, films, storytelling and empowerment, but more than anything for Nomvete, it is about the latter. “We need to enable our youth so that they understand that they can empower themselves,” she explains. She’s firm about not enabling them without the empowerment. She is excited about the young artists and what they are achieving with very little help.
“Self-reliance is something I want to instill,” she says. “Development is where the energy should be at this time,” she believes, hence the celebration this weekend.
Talking about her career, she’s thrilled about the movie which she was part of simply because she stepped in for a friend. “It started as a series and when Nicholas had to start shooting, one of his actors dropped him. I was the replacement as a favour.”
But it turned out fantastically because not only did it re-awaken her acting genes, it also meant a few awards for the production. What was initially shot as a series, was cut into a film titled Kingmakers with exciting rewards, including seven Nollywood awards.
She’s also returning to the UK on August 20 to perform at London’s Donmar Theatre. She’ll be working for one of her favourite directors, Dominique Cooke in a play titled Teddy Ferrara written by Christopher Shinn.
“I thought I had lost my acting need,” she says, but she has discovered that none of the excitement is gone.
And she’s thrilled to have found this balance of personal growth and outreach work which she can spread between the two countries.
“I think my acting is probably restricted to Britain,” she says. But she is determined to be part of youth development here at home.
Sustainability will be cele-brated by showcasing works from across the art spectrum and the aim is to allow artists to market their products for profit. They need to transform their lives and the lives of others while making a living.
The festival highlights that women are strong conduits for change as they are often at the centre of a household. There will also be an arts exhibition with portraits of liberation fighters and leaders and historical events.
The theatre restaurant will offer a menu from a young up-and-coming chef.
There will be artifacts from freelance artists as well as books and merchandise from the various performances.
Saturday morning is reserved for mothers and children with readings from African story books and comics. Interactive reading games and workshops will also be part of the fun.
l Tickets and packages available. Tickets: 0861 670 670 or www.joburgtheatre.com.