Communication Breakdown
Maya Roze | Friday February 21, 2014 12:09
You are in the safe zone single people, lucky you, I am not going to make you feel lonely, remind you of your exes. Next thing you wake up Saturday morning in a strange lodge room in Mogoditshane, with a massive hangover, clothes and pillows on the floor and your head resting on some arm of a *whatshisface* Ijakg!
The story seems to be going on with parents still not trusting their children with their own futures. It is really sad to see that some things seem as if they will never change. For artists, young ones at that, parents continue to complicate relationships and build internal masochistic arguments with ourselves.
Unfortunately this illness has dipped its claws into the comic talent. It was a crushing blow as I was speaking to Panashe on the phone. I was feeling heartbroken as he explained to me that his folks are not letting him compete. In my mind, I pictured myself finding words to convince his parents that he really needs to take up all opportunities presented to him. Panashe Santos is one of the contestants for the Soul Food Comedy contest, and a strong one at that. He is young, calm, humble but very silly as you hear his comic material. He is a team player and truly deserves a chance at winning the cash prize and his own show.
Where is the communication breakdown and why are young artists intimidated by the thought of being honest with their parents? It is so pitiful and unnecessary, honestly! While popular associations are being taken seriously though they do no work at all, don’t engage artists or support structure as they scold us for not being active enough – the talent continues to be inhibited and silenced. If we were given the chance to put work into our talent, to empower ourselves as oppose to being pressurized to be like everyone else – the world would not end. You know the speech ‘bona Lesesgo o nale koloi, o nna mo ntlung ya gagwe ka gore o passitse. Batho ba re tshega kagore o tshameketse ruri ka di comedy tse tsa gago!’
School is cool, don’t get me twisted. I finished school, took me forever, but I got my sheets. It turns out, however, that I have a talent that is guaranteed to satisfy me more than an office job. It will not happen overnight and remains debatable as money determines everything in this country. I must say though, the streets are also one heck of a teacher.
Every industry has structures and processes put in place to ensure that things run smoothly and as expected. Why are we still behaving like maimed and naïve jungle monkeys, grabbing snake tails, and get bit? We have clearly learnt a lot so let us do this together. We plan and organize and talk all day with no action. The performance arts industry needs standards and the only way that can be achieved is by filling the lack of training facilities. Artist development ideas must be brought together so the industry is built to grow. Granted we can do some research and use frames of references within proximity – not to imitate and emulate things like we can’t think for ourselves.
Panashe and many other young artists need a physical place, an institution they can access for artist development resources. We need to add faces to these ideas, identifying what makes us Batswana ourselves. Being an artist in this country is tough all the time like walking into any government office and being told ‘ga gona network’; ‘ga gona diform’; ‘ke mo tea-break’; ‘re a go utlwa mme ga re kgona go go thusa’ – serious communication breakdown. It makes me want to whip off my headwrap and slap these people; but I just bang my head against the wall everytime after that happens.
I will not give up, neither should Panashe or any other kid out there. LIVE FREE GROW THE ARTS.