Her dad used to tell her the most important things in life are working hard and never letting go of your dreams.
Kwanita Gaeje’s dream, since she could remember, was to be on stage, or show off her acting prowess.
At only 15 years old, the spirited Krugersdorp High School (KHS) learner is closer than ever, and closer than most, to achieving that goal.
A couple of months ago, the DMH Talent Agency and the iPop company held open auditions in Johannesburg. Kwanita took her shot, sent in her entry form and received a call from one of the scouts not too long after. She was in!
The talent scouts were in South Africa to look for undiscovered young stars who have what it takes to make a name for themselves in showbiz.
After a video call interview, Kwanita was accepted and told that she would have to pay either R82 000 or R139 000, depending on whether a parent figure would accompany her.
Since she joined her primary school’s drama department she had spent countless hours to reach her dream. Now this opportunity, Kwanita hopes, would provide her with the chance of a lifetime to spend six nights in Los Angeles, attend daily event meetings, participate in modelling or acting workshops, receive guidance in monologue preparation, have a photo shoot and compete in front of celebrity judges for an opportunity to be seen by professionals in the industry.
However, please take note of the following: While doing research for this article, the News came across complaints on public online forums about iPop relating to their alleged affiliation with Disney Channel.
Kwanita mentioned that the company worked with Disney, and her parental figure, Maureen Maseko later supported the statement by saying, “They [iPop] are affiliated with Disney and they get some of the celebrities from Hollywood to mentor during the workshops”. A senior manager of communications at The Walt Disney Company Africa responded to an enquiry by the News on whether they’re involved with the talent agency. He noted that, “There is no affiliation between Disney Channel and ‘iPop’; Disney Channel is not affiliated with any acting school or acting workshop, and has not authorised talent searches or casting through any advance-fee event organisers. Employees and representatives from Disney Channel are not authorised to participate in advance-fee talent searches, schools or workshops that evaluate actors on behalf of Disney. Disney Channel does not employ ‘talent agents’. Producers of series and movies seen on Disney Channel work with a small group of accredited casting directors who are independent contractors that these productions retain to cast specific projects. However, casting directors are not authorised to represent themselves as scouts for Disney Channel at any advance-fee event.”
Unfortunately, Kwanita and her family cannot afford to pay for this opportunity and are reaching out to the community for help. If you would like to find out how to help, contact Maureen Maseko on 071 520 6616.
