The Sunday News
Bruce Chimani Sunday Leisure Correspondent
IT’S no surprise that you will most likely miss this artistic genius whenever you attend local arts shows — not so much because of his small stature but probably because of his humble demeanor. Having made his mark by writing the recent hit Umbiko kaMaDlenya and also The Immigrants which was voted among the top five liked plays in the African playwrights competition, Moyo is not a figure to be ignored in the local arts industry.
Sunday Leisure Correspondent Bruce Chimani caught up with him to know more about this unchronicled arts genius who has managed with somewhat an unheralded easiness to make a mark on the local theatre scene.
Excerpts of the interview are below:
BC: Who is Thabani Moyo? Tell us your background.
TM: Thabani Hilary Moyo is a teacher, an Arts Educator to be specific, a playwright, stage play director and an artistic director for Centre for Talent Development (CTD), an arts organisation that specialises in training young people and involving them in theatre activities. I am also the founder and co-ordinator of Arts and Culture Educators Platform which is still in its formative stages.
BC: When did the love for arts grip you and how did that come about?
TM: I became attached to the arts at an early age, when I was in Grade 4 at Induba Primary School. I was already reciting poetry. When I was 13 years old I did my first full length play at Thekwane High School. I played the character of a young naughty guy named Sawudo. Up to today my friends all over the world call me Salt. At age 16, I was writing scripts for our school drama club. And when I enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe I seized the opportunity and studied theatre.
BC: In my view, you have contributed so much on the local arts landscape yet little is known about you. What have been some of your achievements thus far?
TM: I will agree with you that not many people know me and what I do. This is because I have been careful in printing my footsteps around in the arts. By that I mean I have given myself time to study the industry and its politics. And for some years I have attached myself to certain individuals and institutions to learn a few skills and tricks before coming out and working on individual projects.
Besides it is our works that are supposed to speak for us, make a name for us and I believe that is what is happening to me now. To date I have written three plays l consider to be successful; The Immigrants which was voted among the top five liked plays in the African playwrights Competition organised by a Germany Theatre Company (Thetralize Company), The Civil Servant and UMbiko KaMaDlenya which were both produced this year and are doing well, audiences seem to have fallen in love with the works.
On the international front I managed to be part of the 2nd International Teaching Artistes Conference which was held in Brisbane, Australia in July this year. From that conference I came back home and initiated the Arts and Culture Educators Platform which held its first seminar during Intwasa Arts Festival.
Through this platform, arts educators come together and share their experiences. It offers them time to introspect as a sector and think about the future.
BC: What have been some of the challenges you have faced in pursuance of your dream?
TM: The biggest challenge I have faced as an individual artiste is getting funding especially for Centre for Talent Development Live Literature Project.
I have a strong passion for the project and I can’t imagine seeing it collapsing. The young people I have worked with on that project have become my second family. These are young people I have seen grow up showing great passion for the arts.
The Live Literature Project has proved to be so popular among secondary and high school students. I have a strong conviction that it is in this project that the future of theatre in the country lies.
BC: Hopefully the challenge will be eliminated soon. Where would you say the local arts industry has done well so far? Where have they missed it?
TM: The local arts industry has done well in music and dance. It is in the music sector that we can proudly talk of an industry that has produced icons. Music and dance seem to have an audience.
In Bulawayo I recognise IYASA because it has demonstrated that art can offer sustainable employment. Nkululeko Dube is proving to be an arts entrepreneur who is out to maximise opportunities that come with the arts.
Intwasa Arts Festival has also grown as a festival and now artistes are falling over each other to become part of it. The theatre sector is also coming up but there is a need for us as practitioners to prioritise production and direct funding towards those products.
BC: So what could we expect from you in the coming years?
TM: My aim is to keep on writing plays for stage and directing some. I am also trying to find regional markets for myself and my works especially in South Africa. I also want to imprint my name on the international scene. This coming year I will be part of International Directors Seminar for Children’s Theatre and Young People’s Theatre and my aim is to find more international links on that platform so as to find market for Zimbabwean theatre. I will definitely challenge myself to spread my wings and write for small and big screens.
BC: Interesting. Who have been some of your heroes and your inspiration?
TM: Cont Mhlanga. When I first visited Amakhosi he challenged me to unpack what I had. I took up the challenge. Raisedon Baya is one friend I can say found me in the hoods and pulled me in the right direction when it comes to theatre. I was sitting on my theatre skills when we met and he encouraged me to use them.
I continue to work with him on a number of projects. We share ideas and dreams almost on a daily basis. Memory Kumbota has taught me humility and respect. He is one actor I enjoy working with.
My family also inspires me a lot. My wife, daughter and son give me all the time and space I need to become what I want to be and sometimes at their expense. Above all I believe the Creator has been good to me.
BC: Thank you very much for your time and we wish you well in your journey to make Zimbabwean theatre recognised regionally and internationally.
TM: Thank you.
