YVETTE HARDIE
Festival Producer
YVETTE HARDIE is a theatre producer, director, educator, and writer active in the world of theatre and performance, with a particular focus on theatre for young audiences. She initiated the launch of ASSITEJ SA (the national centre of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People) in 2007, and leads the organisation in the capacity of National Director. She served as elected President of the international ASSITEJ from 2011-2021. She has now stepped down from this position and is an Honorary President of the association. She serves as Deputy Chairperson for the STAND Foundation and for Im4theArts. In all these capacities, she creates opportunities for artistic exchange, mentorship, skills development and cross-cultural collaboration across the world, while working to invigorate the South African theatrical landscape with work of the highest quality and widest accessibility. She writes and speaks extensively on issues relating to arts for young audiences, arts education and arts for reconciliation and conflict resolution at events around the world. In 2019, she was awarded the Mickey Miner Award for Lifetime Achievement from IPAY (International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY), based in Philadelphia, USA for her contribution to theatre for young audiences locally and globally.
Faye Kabali Kagwa
Festival Curator
Faye Kabali-Kagwa is a project co-ordinator, writer, and collector of stories. She has worked on multiple local and national arts festivals in South Africa. Faye is also a wielder of words, and a connector of people. She is interested in bringing people together, sharing experiences, and ultimately facilitating conversations with people that are not limited to one locale. She is a creative innovator, arts co-ordinator and culture writer with a growing interest in curation. She is an interdisciplinary practitioner with a strong focus on identity, migration, accessibility, and public engagement. In 2020 she began exploring WhatsApp as a medium for storytelling and debuted her first WhatsApp production, The Shopping Dead, at the virtual National Arts Festival 2020. In 2019 Faye was recognized as a Young Cultural Innovator by the Salzburg Global Seminar and in 2021 as a Mail and Guardian Top 200 Young South African.
Hailey Chisholm
Technical & Operations Director
Hailey Chisholm studied at University of Witwatersrand, majoring in Performance Arts Management and Design, and graduated with a BA Dramatic Arts Degree.She was appointed production/stage manager for Richard Loring’s company “Izinyawo Productions”, managing logistics, artists’ contracts and international promoters, touring internationally with the production “African Footprint” and has worked in 100’s of theatres across the globe.In 2009, she joined Cape Town Opera as Production Manager, working with large scale operas nationally and internationally. She managed logistics and operations for all productions for incoming shows at Baxter, Artscape Centre and outgoing shows performed in Grand Opera Houses in Sweden, France, Germany, UK and Israel.Hailey was appointed Production Manager at the Market Theatre, heading up the technical department. Her role was managing operations in her unit, working with a large team on numerous productions and events, in 4 theatres and several event venues. Her duties as HOD, included reporting, financial management and adhering to HR, managing a team of staff, managing and adhering to supply chain policies and development of income generation projects. She joined Sound Stylists as Project Manager in 2019, where she worked on large scale corporate events, managing budgets and logistics from concept to completion until the pandemic impacted the events industry.
Nkosivumile Lusu
Finance Manager
Nkosivumile has a Degree (Baccalaureus Technologiae: Taxation) from Cape Peninsula University of Technology, as well as a Diploma in Internal Auditing and a Higher certificate in Accountancy. He is registered with the South African Institute of Professional Accountants. Previous positions have been as Financial Accountant at GLS Consulting (Pty) Ltd, and at EOH Mothombo (pty) Ltd, and before that he worked as a Junior Accountant and Supervisor at the National Association of Child Care Workers. He is a hardworking, dedicated professional, with a heart for making a difference through the work that he does. He is a systematic and precise thinker who maintains high standards, while meeting his work goals conscientiously.
Tsholo Shounyane
Young Critics Programme Manager
Tsholo Shounyane is a drama facilitator, dollmaker and freelance translator/editor. She obtained her BA Drama from the University of Pretoria (2010) and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the Central University of Technology (2015). She has worked with various companies and organisations including the University of Pretoria as a director-facilitator and junior lecturer, Arepp: Theatre for Life as an actress and director, Artscape Theatre and the Hillbrow Theatre Project as a director-facilitator. She has also worked in radio as a presenter and in reality television as an on-screen interviewer, translator and producer. Since graduating, most of her work has been in theatre for development, theatre in education and applied theatre and teaching. She believes in the big influence that art can have in all aspects of education and community building. She currently works as the Education Coordinator for Assitej Johannesburg.
Siyanda Buthelezi
Schools Liaison & Logistics Coordinator
Siyanda Buthelezi established herself as an Arts Administrator who is also passionate about addressing and educating about the social and economic ills of young Arts Practitioners growing in the creative space.
She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Live Performance at AFDA where she majored in Stage and Screen Performance, although she hasn't touched a script or ran lines since her days of study, she is certain that Arts Administration found her in the growing community arts and theatre space.
She joined ASSITEJ, SA in 2022 where she works as the Administrative Assistant, through this she assists in the administrative duties that enables children in communities and schools access the arts. She also facilitates young Theatre Practitioners on Arts Administration / Management.
She is dedicated to promoting and administering the arts and furthering the reach of artists.
Thembile Tshuma
Babel Project Coordinator
Thembile Tshuma is an Applied Drama & Theatre graduate from Drama for Life (University of the Witwatersrand), a percussionist, writer, puppeteer, dancer, musician and Theatre Director. He started working with young creatives in 2003, and has been involved in a number of productions across the SADC region. He has worked with companies like Drama for Life Playback Theatre Company, Themba Interactive, Hillbrow Theatre Outreach Foundation, just to name a few. Thembile is a lover of humanity and he believes that creative art is the core to building the creative minds of a nation. His vision is to see every child being given the chance to explore, engage and reflect on their day to day lives without being marginalized or discriminated but given the opportunity to just play. He is the Gauteng Theatre4Youth Coordinator of Assitej South Africa and coordinates the Kickstarter project in Free State. He is a believer in theatre for transformation and healing.
Thozama Busakwe
Social Media Manager
Thozama is a Digital Community Manager, Copywriter and theatre practitioner. They help creative organizations optimize on the power of Social Media. Thozama is a ladder made of creative steps. They have worked for the Market Theatre Laboratory as a Marketing Assistant and subsequently the Market Theatre Foundation as a Digital Community Manager. They hold a Bachelors Degree from the Tshwane University of Technology with Specialty in Theatre Arts.
Alison Green
Professional Programme Curator
Alison Green is an educator, theatre practitioner and facilitator. Her teaching experience includes: the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, Roedean School for Girls, The National School of the Arts and Creative Voices – an integrated Arts Initiative associated with the Royal London Opera House. In 2013 Alison attended the UNESCO World Arts Alliance Conference in Germany, as the South African Arts Educator Representative. Currently, she is the project manager for the ASSITEJ SA Kickstarter Creative Arts programme, which is the first ever case study for the impact of Arts in South Africa. Alison is interested in play and the transformative power of the Arts to shift and develop communities. She has an MPhil in Creativity and Arts Education from Cambridge University.