SAB Responsible Trader Roadshow

Event Client: Mann Made Media

Corporate Client: SAB (South African Breweries)

Event: Educational Roadshow (external audience)

Venues: Live shows in Durban, Joburg, Cape Town | Video shows all across South Africa 

My Role: Creative Head, Live & Animation Script Writer, Live Theatre Director & Live to Video Director, Animation Director

This has been the biggest show I have worked on... I think possibly ever!  It was such an exciting and wonderful job to be a part of.  Firstly the message rocked... we were to educate tavern owners, SAB's clients, all around South Africa on how to trade alcohol responsibly... If every tavern owner were to trade responsibly... this is how we stand a chance to change a community and ultimately an entire society.  In South Africa alcohol abuse is a serious issue (as it is every where in the world...) and the core messaging was around compliance, customers drinking too much, pregnant women and drinking, underage drinking and drinking and driving.

Industrial theatre was the at the heart of the delivery medium... from there we filmed the entire show, carefully translating the live piece to fully work in the medium of film.  This was such a great and wonderful challenge... the reason being that all too often filmed theatre simply does not work beyond a mere record of the work.  However here the vast majority of our audience were only going to see the filmed version of the show and therefore the impact and educational out-take of these video's had to match that of live performance.  And I believe we succeeded.

We had a cast of five wonderful performers.  Hamilton Dhalmini played the tavern owner and the rest formed a theatrical chorus of workers in the tavern doubling up to deliver section specific monologues and role play scenes of... for example... 'how to handle a pregnant woman who comes into your tavern asking for a beer' ... and so on.  On stage the chorus device was fabulous - keeping the show buoyant, engaging and ultimately educational.  Education through entertainment at it's best.  For the video version we used the chorus in a musical-type way, and therefore not a million miles from it's live counterpart... how wonderful - it was such fun.

Here are some shots of the live show and stills from the shoot.  I'll upload a taste of the video's in a separate post.  Rock on theatre entertainment for education.  For me personally this is superb art... amazing actors working so easily on stage and in front of the camera with the same material... outstanding cinematography from Tom Marais - what a legend... Stunning narrative editing from Kirsten de Magalhaes - who totally understood where we were headed with this and then took it further...  Mic Mann as Executive Producer who worked more weekends and through the night more times than I could ever... Bruce Sherwell the animator on the final impact animation - a force of talent who too worked unthinkable hours to create such delicate work.  And finally Nick Warren the Creative Director at MMM who conceived, developed and sold this amazingly executed concept... without the idea, you have nothing at all.  Of course there are many many more people who make a show this big happen.

So... a meaningful show.  A rocking team.  Yay. 

Lerato Moloi on set as the chorus tavern worker... how pretty!?

Bongani Madondo on set as the chorus tavern worker... fantastic.

Hamilton Dhlamini on set as S'bu the tavern owner... rocking.

Bongani Madondo on set as Baba Sfiso in his final position... my favorite shot of the shoot... musical vibe!

Random of us getting ready... set up for a later green screen shoot... delightfully complex.

Tom Marais... another green screen positioning for later... what a wonderful dude... so much talent!

The audience arrives for our show in Johannesburg... bus loads of Tavern and outlet owners pored in.

Baba Sfiso comes to talk to S'bu in the live performance... 

The chorus on stage!  

The chorus getting the tavern ready...

Black Madondo at the end of his monologue...

 about to be joined by the rest of the chorus in a moment of celebration!

An intoxicated customer wanting to buy another drink... in the 'how to' section.

The end of drunk driving in the 'how to' section where the drunk guy thinks the worker is trying to steal his car

- this was one of my favourite bits in the live!

Jessica at the end of her rather rousing and emotion monologue on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Beautiful actress. 

The wonderful Hamilton Dhlamini as S'bu in the live... come again!! 

SAB Dinaledi Event

Event Client: Mann Made Media

Corporate Client: SAB

Event: Launch (external audience)

Venue: SAB Warehouse

My Role: Script Writer & Concept development

Following on from the roaring success of S'bu in the Taverner Roadshow the next brief was to bring to life one of the other characters that he spoke of previously - thus really bringing to life the world of township taverns and the different characters and issues they each deal with. Bongani Madondo is a wonderful actor and James Cuningham directed it beautifully. Yay for great work.

Toyota... celebrating 30 years!

Event Client: Mann Made Media

Corporate Client: Toyota

Event: Staff Briefing (internal audience)

Venue: Theatre on the Track

My Role: Live Theatre Director

One of the most wonderful things (and there are many) about Corporate Theatre work - that makes my heart beat faster - is the level of performer one gets to work with. On this event I worked with Hamilton Dhlamini and Mncedisi Shabangu. These two actors are like thoroughbred race horses with energy that fills and overflows from the stage over an audience and much much further. They played the part of two newspaper vendors, with such style and class and generosity, who told the story of Toyota's 30 years of market leadership... The vibrant and powerful script, written by MMM Creative Director Nick Warren, went through the 3 decades from the 80's, 90's and 00's touching on historical moments in South African history, world history and juxtaposed with Toyota's massive achievements in this time both locally and internationally. It is work like this, live performance in front of a widely non-theatre going audience, where one sees the absolute power of theatre.

The brilliant Mncedisi Shabangu and Hamilton Dhamini

The very funny and extremely adaptable Deborah Da Cruz seamlessly stepped in at the last minute and took the flighty and very strict role of Floor Manager during the dress rehearsal when we realised we needed one... her job was keep things on track.

Deborah Da Cruz in action

Nick moving screens around and re-positioning the very many cars that had to drive on stage at different times.

Thanks Mann Made - it rocked!

Where I walked

It is fall in Florence.  The leaves are returning to the earth.  The wind is picking up.  The promise of rain, ever present.  Our first two weeks of being back at Helikos has been - mostly - dedicated to inchiesta... studying deeply a subject matter that interests you.  A theme in life that you can observe.  We have chosen old age.  Whilst out looking for a rumoured bar where old men gather to play cards we stumbled upon this park...  Autumn appropriately approves of our choice.  

like bent old ladies with fabulous hair do's

Where I walked

The Mighty Baobab...

Event Client: Mann Made Media

Corporate Client: Standard Bank

Event: Conference (internal audience)

Venue: Monte Casino

My Role: Live Theatre Director

We told such a rousing story about the origins of the Baobab... And how it came to spread it's seed all over Africa... It was beautiful. We did in a cinema with the massive screen as the performance backdrop... These were the backdrops... They are simple but on that enormous screen they were fantastic. Haunting music... dappled light... a beautiful script by Nick Warren... a stunning performance by Yule Mabhena... spectacular visuals by Tyron Janse Van Vuuren... It rocked.

One also remembers how utterly enchanting the baobab tree is.

The below image had nothing to do with the performance... but I just love it.

It's enormously satisfying to watch a corporate audience be enthralled by live theatre. Everybody loves a good story well told. Once upon a time... and everyone leans in.

Ciao Firenze...

I left Joburg on a glorious sunny day and just about instantly felt as if I were in Europe - the Gautrain rocks... So yes, all the way from our wonderful home in Parkview, Johannesburg - where we are planting a brand new garden... Iceberg roses, Lavender... and a whole lot of other plants whose names I can't remember - the air is filled with the smell of Spring and the promise of Summer...  The lanes and avenues of our little suburb about to burst with Jacaranda blossoms creating rivers of purple petals.  But me I am off to Florence for my fourth winter in a row.  Yes, from Parkview to Rosebank, the Gautrain to OR Tambo Airport to Frankfurt to Vienna and finally Florence... a long journey of trains planes and busses which eventually brought me to the little apartment I now share with Vika the Dane, Freya the Norwegian clown and Giulio the Italian yogi.  My room is light bright small and happy.  Even though the winter rain is settling in - I have a view of trees... an inner city park whose secrets I have not yet explored, but will - soon...  I shall pull on my loud orange wellington boots and open my black polka dot umbrella and walk.

Year two has began - and I am delighted that this time it did not start with a couple of hours spent beneath a Mother Mary and Jesus painting on the corner of some road in a city I do not know, crying, waiting to be robbed.  Lost.  And alone.  How much happens in just one year.  And thank heavens for Blackberry Messenger!  Rock on.

The brand new massive aeroplane that flew me back to winter. 

On the run way in Frankfurt after my long and awkward attempt at sleep on the plastic airport chairs.

Flying over the Alps... now a somewhat familiar sight.

Palm Sunday

Towards the end of my first Italian adventure last year - just as Spring was rounding the corner, Freya, Vika and I visited Prato on Palm Sunday... Apparently the Prato Duomo houses - one of many i'm sure - the belt of the Virgin Mary.  No word of a lie - the sacred belt - Sacra Cintola - is only brought out on very special Holy (obviously) occasions - Palm Sunday is (sadly for us) not one of them - so we did not get a glimpse of the precious artifact.  We did however experience the tail end of the Italian Mass and manage to get a sprig of the special Italian Palm

This is my new belt.  A lot can be said about one by ones belt.  

A day in Prato from Jenine Collocott on Vimeo.

I thought this fitting as Spring peers over the horizen in South Africa and I get ready to return to Italy...