Faniswa yisa biography for kids

Faniswa Yisa is an actor, physical theatre performer, and arts activist. After graduating with a Performer’s Diploma in Speech and Drama from the University of Cape Town in 2000, she became resident performer at Magnet Theatre from 2004-2011, then turned freelance in 2012. With Magnet, she performed in The Fire Raisers (2004), Cargo (2007), Ingcwaba Lendoda Lise Cankwe Ndlela (2009, directed by Mandla Mbothwe), Autopsy (2010), Voices Made Night (2012), and has toured internationally with Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking (from 2006 onwards). Her most recent projects include playing an archeologist who confronts the ancestral spirits of the slaves who were buried at Prestwich Place in Nadia Davids’ What Remains (2017) and 19 Born 76 Rebels (2013, 2017), an activist performance with choreographer Mamela Nyamza addressing racial inequalities in the arts industry, for the 2017 opening of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town.

Submissions

Kid Ends Play

Exorcism

Kid Ends Play : Gloss

October : Gloss

Renuncia / Resignation

I renounce the scene of all conflicts. At this moment and forever, I leave this stage of pain, death, and agony. I leave the characters that those ones designed for me.

Rock it to the core : Gloss

To be alive as a black woman in theatre. We can no longer waste our energies trying to be heard.

Faniswa Yisa (19**-). Actor, physical theatre performer and director.

Biography

She was born in Gugulethu, Cape Town.

Training

Graduated with a Performer's Diploma in Speech and Drama from the University of Cape Town in 2000.

Career

A resident performer at Magnet Theatre from 2004-2011, then turned freelance in 2012, though still working for Magnet Theatre on occasion.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Performer

For Magnet Theatre she has performed in The Fire Raisers (2004), Cargo (2007), Ingcwaba Lendoda Lise Cankwe Ndlela (2009), Autopsy (2010), Voices Made Night (2012), and has toured internationally with Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking (from 2006 onwards).

She performed in Born in the RSA (2015), What Remains in 2017.

Director

Performed and co-directed Inxeba Lomphilisi – The Wound of a Healer (with Mandla Mbothwe) in 2010.

Awards, etc.

Faniswa was honoured as best actress for her role in What Remains, Fleur du Cap 2017.

Sources

Saturday Argus, 4 July 2015.

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Faniswa Yisa is an actress, theatre-maker and director who has performed in 19 countries and whose work has spanned almost two decades. She is currently starring in the TV drama series Ingoma and was recently awarded a 2018 Best Actress Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for her performance in Nadia Davids’ critically acclaimed play, What Remains. We sat down to chat about her career, her Fleur du Cap win and staying true to herself.  

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in the arts?

Before I did drama, I did fashion design. I’m a fashion design drop out. I lasted for a year and a half and then I started working withMandla Mbothwe. He was doing a project with a woman who stayed in my neighbourhood who was a theatre and television actor. He started telling me about UCT and the drama course that they have there and I thought, “That’s quite interesting.” That year I dropped fashion. The following year I went to audition at UCT and I got in. In a way, Mandla inspired me. He is the person who actually got me to theatre. In general, women inspire me. Women’s stories inspire me and how we navigate and survive in this world full of trash is amazing. Big ups to us women.

What was your time like at UCT?

I was in Drama school from 1998- 2000. It was weird because there was so much divide. There were white plays and there were black plays and there was something in between which was kind of likeMark Fleishman’skind of vibe. I ended up working more with Mark than anyone else. I didn’t fit into the black productions or the white productions. I still don’t know why. There wasn’t enough material for black women especially. We were constantly playing “the others.” I think some of it has changed now and now it is more open because when I was there, it was about acting. We didn’t have theatre-making or the beautiful stuff that they have now. It was hard and you could feel the divide. Even