THE TEAM
Neil Coppen works as a writer, director and designer. His collaborations include works with film-makers, visual-artists, writers, community-groups, sound-designers, authors, animators, choreographers and musicians. Coppen has won several awards for his writing, acting, design and direction work. In 2011 he was named the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Drama, which was followed by the ISPA fellowship award to New York in 2012. He was included in The Mail & Guardian’s 2011 200 most influential Young South Africans list and is one of the six South African playwright's to have been granted a staged reading at The Royal Court Theatre in London earlier this year. Coppen annually collaborates with the Twist-theatre Development project as a writing/ director mentor to various community-theatre groups in and around KZN. He has co-written the plays: Like this Rock (Umlazi), A Bull Called Bhalangane (Kwa-Mashu), Fikile (Gamalakhe), Battle of the Ages (Mpopomeni) and Secrets from The Drawer (Umlazi) which premiered at the 2013 Grahamstown festival on the Arena stage. Coppen recently mentored and developed the writing-syllabus for the Playhouse Companies 2014 Community-Theatre Camp programme. The project saw him collaborate with thirty-three participants in creating four new isiZulu plays which premiered in May this year.
Dr. Dylan McGarry is an independent researcher, practitioner and artist, and carries a trans-disciplinary PhD in Environmental Education at the Environmental Learning Research Centre, at Rhodes University in South Africa. He also carries a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and an MSc in Environmental Science and Sustainable Rural Development. He has conceptualized and run several major social development projects in South Africa and the United Kingdom. Recently his project the Climate Train worked with a variety of environmental issues across South Africa, including social and environmental impacts of mining. His artwork and creative practice is particularly focused on empathy and imagination and applying it to conflict resolution, ecological citizenship and social development contexts. Dylan has recently undertaken a post-doctoral fellowship at the URBAN FUTURES INSTITUTE at Durban University of Technology, and is currently collaborating with the International Centre for non-violence. His personal website is www.dylanmcgarry.org
Mpume Mthombeni is an actress, dancer and performance artist based in Durban. Mthombeni has performed with numerous theatre companies namely: North West Arts Drama Company, The Civic Theatre, The Market Theatre, The Playhouse Company, The Catalina Theatre, The Arepp Company, Hooked on Books, The Actors Co-op, Madcaps, Arley's Workshop, Ingonyama Productions. She adapted a set book for The Playhouse Company which toured extensively in KZN. Mpume was one of the Directors of the NPO called Arley's Workshop which specialises in Educational theatre, her roles are performing and also a Treasurer of the Company. Mthombeni received a Fools Award for Original Script, Izinganekwane Story Theatre Mthombeni received an Audience Favorite Award at the Musho Theatre Festival in Durban 2009.She has been nominated twice for Durban Theatre Awards and as well as nominated for 'Durban Theatre Personality of the Year Award-2010. Mpume was part of the team that won a Standard Bank's Standing Ovation Award at The Grahamstown National Arts Festival-2010 for Tin Bucket Drum. She also serves as the well-loved voice of Regina on Lotus Fm's daily soapie Lollipop Lane, as well an actress for the Ukhozi Fm Drama's. Mpume recently starred in Dhaveshan Govenders apocalyptic play Twelve. In 2012 she returned from a highly successful run of Neil Coppen’s Tin Bucket Drum in New York, where she has received sterling reviews for her one woman tour de force performance.
Mpapa Simo Majola works as a writer, director, actor, and choreographer; his collaborations include works with various Production companies, play-writers, humanitarian organisations, community groups, filmmakers and musicians. Majola has spent all his artistic years as a freelance practitioner, writing for organisations like Ox Farm GB, South African History on line, Goethe institution, RapeNomore.org. His work centres around a broad spectrum, of social, historical, township mythology and cultural interest.Simo serves as a Director for the company he recently founded, EM.KHI (Emkhiqizweni) Creative Media, he has produced and directed their theatrical documentaries, short films and their online poetry show. As a play-wright and director, Majola's works include Umtanami 2006 (Written and directed alongside Clara Khumalo), Soweto Kliptown Unlocked (2008) which was an adaptation of the book: Portrait With Keys and a project mentored by Team Starfell, a German playwright and director commissioned on residency by the Goethe institute. Simo’s more recent works include 21poets and a poem (directed by Jefferson Shabalala). The Street Omens video installation (Conceptualised by Prophet JD) and Hijack (co-written and directed alongside Mlamli Maloyi). In 2010, responding to a commissioned from Ox Fam GB, Simo collaborated with photographers, poets and actors to produce an extensive body of work titled LOOK HERE I AM, documenting and writing around the Millennium development goals. The work is currently on display at Museum Africa in Johannesburg. His latest play The Funeral which he wrote and directed, has been touring theatres around Gauteng. For The Funeral Simo worked alongside actors, poets and musicians, to produce his own new style of theatre presentation which he titles "Poedra". Majola works with a variety of community theatre groups in Johannesburg and Durban as Theatre-making and creative writing teacher, and is currently one of the 12 South African writers selected to develop new work in conjunction with The Royal Court Theatre in London
Dr. Dylan McGarry is an independent researcher, practitioner and artist, and carries a trans-disciplinary PhD in Environmental Education at the Environmental Learning Research Centre, at Rhodes University in South Africa. He also carries a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and an MSc in Environmental Science and Sustainable Rural Development. He has conceptualized and run several major social development projects in South Africa and the United Kingdom. Recently his project the Climate Train worked with a variety of environmental issues across South Africa, including social and environmental impacts of mining. His artwork and creative practice is particularly focused on empathy and imagination and applying it to conflict resolution, ecological citizenship and social development contexts. Dylan has recently undertaken a post-doctoral fellowship at the URBAN FUTURES INSTITUTE at Durban University of Technology, and is currently collaborating with the International Centre for non-violence. His personal website is www.dylanmcgarry.org
Mpume Mthombeni is an actress, dancer and performance artist based in Durban. Mthombeni has performed with numerous theatre companies namely: North West Arts Drama Company, The Civic Theatre, The Market Theatre, The Playhouse Company, The Catalina Theatre, The Arepp Company, Hooked on Books, The Actors Co-op, Madcaps, Arley's Workshop, Ingonyama Productions. She adapted a set book for The Playhouse Company which toured extensively in KZN. Mpume was one of the Directors of the NPO called Arley's Workshop which specialises in Educational theatre, her roles are performing and also a Treasurer of the Company. Mthombeni received a Fools Award for Original Script, Izinganekwane Story Theatre Mthombeni received an Audience Favorite Award at the Musho Theatre Festival in Durban 2009.She has been nominated twice for Durban Theatre Awards and as well as nominated for 'Durban Theatre Personality of the Year Award-2010. Mpume was part of the team that won a Standard Bank's Standing Ovation Award at The Grahamstown National Arts Festival-2010 for Tin Bucket Drum. She also serves as the well-loved voice of Regina on Lotus Fm's daily soapie Lollipop Lane, as well an actress for the Ukhozi Fm Drama's. Mpume recently starred in Dhaveshan Govenders apocalyptic play Twelve. In 2012 she returned from a highly successful run of Neil Coppen’s Tin Bucket Drum in New York, where she has received sterling reviews for her one woman tour de force performance.
Mpapa Simo Majola works as a writer, director, actor, and choreographer; his collaborations include works with various Production companies, play-writers, humanitarian organisations, community groups, filmmakers and musicians. Majola has spent all his artistic years as a freelance practitioner, writing for organisations like Ox Farm GB, South African History on line, Goethe institution, RapeNomore.org. His work centres around a broad spectrum, of social, historical, township mythology and cultural interest.Simo serves as a Director for the company he recently founded, EM.KHI (Emkhiqizweni) Creative Media, he has produced and directed their theatrical documentaries, short films and their online poetry show. As a play-wright and director, Majola's works include Umtanami 2006 (Written and directed alongside Clara Khumalo), Soweto Kliptown Unlocked (2008) which was an adaptation of the book: Portrait With Keys and a project mentored by Team Starfell, a German playwright and director commissioned on residency by the Goethe institute. Simo’s more recent works include 21poets and a poem (directed by Jefferson Shabalala). The Street Omens video installation (Conceptualised by Prophet JD) and Hijack (co-written and directed alongside Mlamli Maloyi). In 2010, responding to a commissioned from Ox Fam GB, Simo collaborated with photographers, poets and actors to produce an extensive body of work titled LOOK HERE I AM, documenting and writing around the Millennium development goals. The work is currently on display at Museum Africa in Johannesburg. His latest play The Funeral which he wrote and directed, has been touring theatres around Gauteng. For The Funeral Simo worked alongside actors, poets and musicians, to produce his own new style of theatre presentation which he titles "Poedra". Majola works with a variety of community theatre groups in Johannesburg and Durban as Theatre-making and creative writing teacher, and is currently one of the 12 South African writers selected to develop new work in conjunction with The Royal Court Theatre in London