Duma Ndlovu
| Duma Ndlovu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Duma Ndlovu October 12, 1954 Soweto, Gauteng, Sout Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Education | Sekano Ntoane High School |
| Alma mater | Hunter College |
| Occupation | Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Poet, Journalist |
| Years active | 1992 to Present |
| Notable work | Bergville stories;The Game; Muvhango; Uzalo |
Duma Ndlovu is a South African poet, filmmaker, producer, journalist and playwright. He is well known in the South African television industry, having created award-winning shows such as Muvhango, Imbewu: The Seed and Uzalo. Between 1996 and 2004 he was the chairman of the South African Music Awards.
Early Life
Duma Ndlovu is of Zulu ancestry, and he was born on 12 October 1954 in Soweto, Gauteng; his ancestral home, however, is in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal. He went to Sekano Ntoane High School in Senaoane.
After finishing high school he started writing for The World newspaper. He then founded the Medupe Writers Association, a group that encouraged young black people to take interest in being writers and served as the organization's president until 1977 when the apartheid government banned the group due to its participation in black consciousness and anti-apartheid movements.
After Ndlovu and many members of the Medupe Writers Association were banned by the apartheid government, he left South Africa for the United States to avoid being persecuted by the apartheid government and whilst there he was able to study and complete his master's degree at Hunter College in New York.
In 1985, Ndlovu founded the Woza Afrika Foundation in order to give young black aspiring actors and actresses the opportunity to pursue their dreams and also raise funds to support the overall Arts in South Africa. He also taught African-American literature and music at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Career
In 1992 Duma Ndlovu returned to South Africa, and he founded the Word Of Mouth Productions to mount music, theatre and television productions. The company was successful and a few years later it was chosen as the official casting company in South Africa for the Musical Broadway Disney's The Lion King.
Bergville Stories
In 1994, he wrote Bergville Stories, which was positively received and had successful runs in Durban at the Playhouse, the Market Theatre and the Grahamstown National Arts Festival.
His other theatrical writing and directing credits include:
- Bergville Stories
- The Game[23]
- The Ritual
- The Journey
- MEMEZA (upcoming)
- Sheila's Day
Muvhango
Ndlovu created Murendeni', the first Tshivenda TV drama based in Thathe, Limpopo. At first the show was primarily in TshiVenda but later on other languages were incorporated into the show in order to bridge the cultural divide between the various tribes in South Africa. The show's premier episode aired on 7 April 1997 on Sabc 2 and it was well received by the viewers. The show was a success and it won multiple awards. Ndlovu was awarded an honorary PhD from the University of Venda for his work in Muvhango. Muvhango is the most watched show on Sabc 2, and on 16 May 2019 it was reported that the show had reached 6 million viewers.
When Duma Ndlovu was asked, "With your first language being Zulu - why isn't it a Zulu drama?" he replied:
"The organisation that is today known as ICASA, it was called IBA then; they called on the SABC to start featuring marginalised languages. I saw a gap, Zulu is not a marginalised language; in fact, Zulu is the majority language in South Africa so I then decided to write in the smallest South African language, Tshivenda, because I was familiar with it. I'd learnt it as a child and I was familiar with the cultures. I thought it would make an impact, and it did so the reading of the situation was quite correct" — Duma Ndlovu
Imbewu: The Seed
Duma Ndlovu created Imbewu: The Seed with Leleti Khumalo and Anant Singh as executive producers. The show is broadcast on etv and has received positive reviews from the viewers. It attracted 2.7 million viewers on its premier and as of December 2018 it had over 4 million viewers.
Uzalo
Duma Ndlovu created the show Uzalo, a telenovela shot and based in KwaMashu's F section in KwaZulu-Natal. On 9 February 2015 the show's premiere episode aired on Sabc 1 and was an instant hit with the viewers, gaining 5.5 million viewers in less than a month despite only broadcasting four nights a week. Uzalo temporarily switched to SABC 2 due to schedule changes on SABC 1; it surpassed Muvhango as the most watched show on the channel, but the latter regained its top spot after Uzalo was moved back to Sabc 1.
The show's popularity continued to grow immensely as it was extended from four nights a week to five nights a week and was now competing with Generations: The Legacy for the most watched TV show in South Africa. On June 2015 Uzalo officially dethroned Generations: The Legacy as the most watched television show in South Africa.
At the end of September 2018, Uzalo had broken all records in the history of television viewing in South Africa and on the first of October 2018 the show had reached 10.2 million viewers, cementing its top spot as the most watched television programme by far.
Don't come here without a degree
If acting is your passion and you want to see yourself on a top soapie like Muvhango, forget it if you don't have an acting degree. Executive producer and creator of the SABC2 soapie Duma Ndlovu dropped the bombshell in March 2018, revealing his plans to have only qualified actors on the show in future.
Ndlovu told Sunday World during an exclusive interview that he will no longer be hiring actors without qualifications because he does not believe people who did not study drama can be good actors... "the same way that a person who did not study medicine cannot be a doctor".
"I am very unlikely to hire someone who does not have an acting diploma or degree, unless it is somebody who has been in the industry for a very long time," he said.
He said he chose those with qualifications as there was a massive difference between them and those who did not study drama.
"I feel very strong about this and I talk about it all the time. If you want to be an actor go to school and study drama, that's it.
"That is why there are universities. If you want to be a doctor go to medical school, a law school if you want to be a lawyer and so on."
The veteran producer and director said he has been working in the industry for 35 years and knows the difference of working with both.
"The person who has not studied would not know the difference. Most youngsters on Muvhango are from the likes of Afda, Tshwane University of Technology, Durban University of Technology. These institutions offer strong academic programmes."
Duma said he also focused on graduates who were still trying to get their footing in the industry when he conducts his regular acting workshops at the Market Theatre in Jozi.
Bright sparks on Muvhango
- Liteboho Molise (Teboho) has a political science degree from the National University of Lesotho
- Innocentia Makapila (Rendani Mukwevho) has a degree in applied linguistics form the University of Johannesburg
- Macdonald Ndou (KK) is a trained actor from the University of Venda
- Sydney Ramukwela (Mulalo) joined the soapie shortly after matric and was given an opportunity to further his studies. He has a diploma in logistics from Unisa.
- Raphael Griffiths (Vusi Mokwevho) is studying television production at Afda
- Tshinodiwa Tshovakale (Shonisani) has a media diploma from Boston Media House[1]
Accolades
- Duma Ndlovu received an honorary PhD from the University of Venda.
- Duma Ndlovu and Mbongeni Ngema were honoured by United States Congressman Charles Rangel for their contribution to the Arts. Charles Rangel declared 9 May as "Duma Ndlovu and Mbongeni Ngema Day" in Harlem, New York.
