SA: Zimkitha Kumbaca appointed as Zwakala Festival resident director

Zwakala Festival is among the most established events in Gauteng that seeks to improve the skills of musical directors, writers, directors, designers and actors.

“My vision for the festival is to make every group’s journey rich with new discoveries and filled with new experiences that will enhance their work as they venture into the next stage of the competition,” Kumbaca said.

“Theatre is my passion and being given this opportunity to watch productions every day from different communities and change people’s lives is really an opportunity that I will not take lightly.”

Market Theatre artistic director James Ngcobo said mentorship was his biggest commitment since joining the theatre five years ago.

“There has been a lot of young people who have come through the different programmes at the theatre where we've had the opportunity to mentor, and Zwakala Festival is another avenue that we are using to extend our mentorship reach to wider groups or communities,” he said.

“We have mentored young thespians across different disciplines such as directing, designing, musical direction, and so on. They have been given exciting opportunities at the foundation.

“Introducing the role of resident director for Zwakala Festival was a brave move. In my working with the groups I realised that we needed a young voice who can help us curate the festival and work with fieldworkers. Seeing this unfold has really been a valuable lesson for us on how to grow the festival each year.”

Every year, the Market Theatre Foundation appoints a director who is attached to the festival to help with fieldwork. The director will work with a panel of judges to help find a winner for the year. The resident director is then expected to work with the winning director to prepare a production for a run at the Market Theatre.

The selection is done by the artistic director and is based on how each individual contributes to the growth of the festival.

The Market Theatre Foundation said Kumbaca's appointment was informed by her deep desire for storytelling.

"James Ngcobo felt strongly that she will be at the forefront to hoist the flag of the Market Theatre Foundation to maintain the standards that are attached to the festival and help to nurture young directors in honing their voices,” the foundation said.