Vibrant Jill of all trades

Nomsa Mazwai is a Jill of all trades. But somehow even that doesn’t seem to adequately encapsulate what she’s about.

Not only is her alter ego, Nomisupasta, a globe-trotting songstress, she also holds a Masters in economic development, which she attained on a Fulbright Scholarship in the US (she also has extensive education in other departments) and is the general manager of the Soweto Theatre.

“When I joined the Soweto Theatre, I was very excited to be working in a space where I’d be using all my skills that I’ve acquired through my academic training and through my experience working in, what I would say, a different world to the arts really, but at the same time being an artist,” she says.

January is usually dead time for the theatre where they get very few bookings and little money is made.

But Mazwai used her creative know-how to come up with the concept of an open day that introduced people to the theatre by allowing them to meet her team and her other persona.

It was also an opportunity for them to try different things – a new set-up, new arrangements and other general experiments. Her experience as an artist has allowed her to view how the theatre does things from the artist’s perspective too, giving her unique insight into how to best create the optimal experience. As such, she has high expectations for artists performing at the theatre.

“The theatre is different. You actually need to be a performance, you need to be a show,” she says. “There need to be lots of things happening on stage that keep your audience completely engaged. Because we are competing with lifestyle events, DStv, e.tv. You’ve got to have an offering, people are leaving their homes, their TV and driving to you. What are they coming there for?”

Nomisupasta, who even in our conversation is animated and flamboyant, embodies this philosophy in her own performance. She shows me stunning visuals of how she performed with lumo markings on her body throughout a show.

These markings were only revealed to the audience when the lights went off before her final song, leaving her and her supporting cast glowing in the dark. She’s a daring showman who loves mixing it up.

Mazwai plans on releasing a brand new album soon, which will be a double disc extension to the recently released EP, First Contact. She also has a brand new song, which she debuted at a recent show, called #5, which will be released first as a live recording before its released as the album’s first single later in the year.

Aside from this, she’ll be focusing her energies on Funk It I’m Walking, an NGO she founded in 2015 to promote walking as a health, safety and environmental necessity.

She’s done campaigns on this with the WWF, the UN and the Steve Biko Foundation.

This work, and indeed her work in theatre, is driven by her love of service, working with people and making a difference in her community. She also revels in the fact that her work portrays an image of black excellence and inspires the next black kid.

Even during her schooldays, Mazwai has always been a busy bee – in high school she did drama and was involved in tennis, squash, swimming and diving while still maintaining a high level of academic excellence.

She’s very easily bored, she admits, and so I ask if she might be doing something different this time next year? “I might have added something new, but I’m definitely committed to the theatre!” she responds sharply.

Jokingly, I follow up by asking her if she’d consider running for president.

“Maybe. I think I really want to run for president but I’m not sure about 2019, that’s too soon. I’m definitely interested in politics. I’m very political, because like I told you, I’m about service. I hate the fact that politics has become so disconnected to service because the reason you have politicians is because you have a bunch of people who want to be served by them.”

This shouldn’t be surprising. Mazwai’s interest in politics isn’t a new thing. During her varsity days she was the first female president of the University of Fort Hare’s SRC.

Right now, her only concern about pursuing a political career is whether she will pursue it within the political party she’s in right now or whether she will start her own.

Until she figures this all out, she’ll continue to build her brand, which she intends on aiming at young girls and inspiring them to be great.

“That’s why I created Nomisupasta. Nomisupasta is a superhero,” she says, to which I respond by asking if she doesn’t experience regular mispronunciations of her name. She says it’s common, but that’s just part of the appeal.

“For me and my brand, I really want a person who’s paying attention to me.

"I don’t want to be popular, I want to be relevant and meaningful.

"And if people have to first go over some kind of obstacle to get to know you, they’re gonna be there longer.”

It’s a fitting response from an award-winning superstar whose persona is incomparable.

Nomsa Mazwai really is a superstar. Or, rather, Nomisupasta.