Tshwenyego, the leading and versatile actress

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer | Wednesday June 30, 2010 00:00

Showbiz had time to talk to this 46-year-old versatile woman from Mochudi who is undoubtedly one of the leading actresses the country has ever produced.

Tshwenyego broke into the film industry with a minor role that she played in a local production, but it was a part in the local drama, Re Bina Mmogo, that earned her instant recognition as an actress. Fans of the drama would remember the lovable Mmaagwe Tebogo (Tshwenyego) who was emotionally abused by her husband Rragwe Tebogo (John 'Mazabathi' Mkhandla) in the drama.

'Mmagwe Tebogo was a woman who was deeply rooted in tradition and believed that she should keep her family together even though her husband was emotionally abusing her by publicly  flirting with young girls,' she told Showbiz in an interview.

After Re Bina Mmogo, Tshwenyego then auditioned and got a small role in yet another drama, Thokolosi, as a pathologist.

Perhaps her biggest break occurred when she got a short speaking role in the international No.1 Ladies Detective Agency: The Movie as Mma Ramotswe's (Jill Scott) maid, Rose.

Fortunately for Tshwenyego she played a recurring role as Rose in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series that followed the movie.

It was on the set of Mma Ramotswe that she met some of the international actors, Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose and Lucien Msamati and she asserts that some of their talent rubbed off on her.

The determined actress says that she learnt much from the more seasoned actors, especially Rose.

'You learn a lot from people who have been there longer because in Setswana they say, 'Dilo makwati di kwatabolotswa mo go tse dingwe,' she told Showbiz.

During the shooting of both the movie and the series, she had to go on unpaid leave as she worked 12 hours on a set.

Unlike other locals, she was able to closely interact with the stars as she was their dialect tutor, coaching them in both Setswana and the English dialect of Batswana.

It was this mingling with the stars that helped her garner the confidence to declare to Showbiz that she would be able to handle any international role offered to her, especially if it involves a Motswana character.

So passionate about acting that she can easily transform herself into any role that she is given.

'Acting is a job that involves a lot of passion so when the cameras roll, you get  divorced from yourself and become the character you are playing,' she says, adding that confidence is paramount in the film industry.

The actress says that if one cannot successfully execute the character that he has been assigned, its better he sticks to his day job.

Lately local audiences saw her in the PSI production, Morwalela in which she played Mma Mpho.

When Showbiz asked her if she was aware that some people were complaining that she was hogging the limelight by appearing in most of the local productions, she quipped, 'I do not know why they complain because I audition like any other person and I do not get preferential treatment.'

Tshwenyego  told Showbiz that although she has never been to a formal acting school, she started acting from  Sunday school through to tertiary.

The versatile actress is also a judge in the popular talent search programme, My Star.

She concedes that she is not formally trained in music although she received some training from the founder of KTM Choir and politician, Gomolemo Motswaledi, whom she says equipped her 'with the right tools'. As far as the competition is concerned, she says that she is saddened whenever she sees young talent failing to make a breakthrough even when they have the potential. 

Motswaledi's coaching must have done wonders because every Sunday evening, most Batswana are glued to their TV sets to watch My Star and her comments can make or break the dreams of any aspirant.Since the arts do not pay much in this country, this mother of three holds a day job as a personal assistant to the director in the Centre for Academic Development at the University of Botswana (UB).