Artist travels the world showing his talent through theatre acting
RABIE RIDGE – Theatre specialist travels the world through dedication and talent he discovered from a young age.
Gifter Ngobeni is a theatre practitioner who hails from Limpopo and was raised in Rabie Ridge.
Ngobeni (29) fell in love with theatre acting when he was a learner at Eqinisweni Secondary School and only participated in rehearsal sessions at Ivory Park Community Centre. In 2004 he started his acting career through an NPO called Born to be Stars where he emerged to win 52 trophies.
He said through the NPO he used to train upcoming actors, “My job was to teach talented actors to gain the needed knowledge and currently I have two actors who have made it in the acting industry.”
In 2006 he advanced into directing, choreography and writing. In 2010 he left community work to study physical theatre at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). He managed to obtain a degree and is currently enrolled for his master’s in drama and film. He was also a teacher at Alexandra High School for three years and now he is a part-time lecturer for movement and acting at TUT.
In March this year, he performed in Belgium in a show called Black Privilege by Mamela Nyamza. “The experience of performing for a different audience was amazing and through that, I learned that people from overseas respect art and theatre. Performing for such an audience was a lifetime achievement and what brought me joy was that people from overseas respect South African theatre. ”
As a person who is passionate about art he decided to established an acting production called 4play productions. “In 2016 I created the 4play productions to be able to work with art students. I invented this production to allow people to have fun and be entertained.”
Apart from theatre, he is a voice-over artist and recently worked with Makarapa City as a voice-over artist. He is also a professional actor and aired on one of the well-known drama series, Generations, the Legacy.
Ngobeni advises upcoming actors to advance in studying for security purposes. “We as actors create employment ourselves and no qualification is needed to be an actor. I wish actors can also advance in studying so that they can have something to rely on as the acting industry changes constantly.”
Details: Gifter Ngobeni 078 385 7818; visit Facebook gifterngobeni and 4Play_productions.
Related article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/236109/ebony-park-musician-is-on-a-journey-to-innovate/
