Zanele Mbatha balances stage, screen and community arts education
From KCAP training and Alexandra theatre work to programme management and early steps into animation, the performer and facilitator continues to build a dual career rooted in storytelling and teaching.
Alex resident and arts educator Zanele Mbatha’s carrer path began with early stage and screen work.
In 2016, she appeared in season two of the popular series Uzalo as supporting character Mrs Nhlengethwa, her first television role and an experience she still describes as one of her greatest. Alongside screen work, she built a strong foundation in musical theatre, performing in Nandi the Musical and Bayede Shaka (both directed by Edmund Mhlongo), Dance Africa Dance (directed by Sfiso Mthethwa), Midnight Spirits (directed by Jerry Pooe), and the special production Black Age with Selaelo Maredi. For three years, she also worked with the Johannesburg Theatre on the industrial show Lisakhanya.
Before formal training, she gained early stage experience through Twist Youth Development, appearing at the Musho Festival, Uhuru Theatre Festival, and the Grahamstown International Arts Festival in 2014 and 2015. Those opportunities introduced her to scriptwriting, but she learned structured technique later.
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“KCAP really shaped my work,” Mbatha said. “I was a community-based performing artist before, but when I decided to further my studies at KCAP, that’s when I started to know more about theatre and how to become a better actor. KCAP gave me techniques, elements, writing skills, directing and singing. KCAP just groomed me and shaped me for who I am today.”
After the mentorship, she joined the Alex Theatre Company and Academy as a student and later became a Saturday facilitator teaching young people. Her work earned her the teaching role. “I fell in love with teaching the thing that I love and am good at,” she said.
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She remained with the company for several years, appearing in productions directed by Mpho Molepo, including How High is the Moon, One City Too Many Voices, Theatre Spirits, and Iyasika. In 2025, she moved to Sistaboss Academy and Company as programmes manager, facilitator, and performer. There, she oversees early childhood development programmes, teachers’ toolkits, school excursions, and the promotion of the Rea and Rori dolls, work that has unexpectedly drawn her into animation.
Recent credits have boosted her confidence. She played the lead in One City Too Many Voices and a supporting mother role in the series Kota Pass. “Every role that I’m given now, I know I’m going to do it exceptionally. Every performance I make sure is better than yesterday,” she said.
The industry remains competitive. “I’ve been in the industry for quite some time, but I’ve never had the biggest breakthrough,” she said. “It breaks my heart. Yet my heart still says, your time is still coming. Just be with yourself.”
Looking ahead, Mbatha wants both paths to thrive. “I would really love to do them both,” she said. “Facilitation may prosper first because it is something I can hold with my own certificate and relationships, but I want to see myself as an arts educator and also an actress, both on TV and theatre.”
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