Aspiring actors and actresses have an opportunity to learn from an industry great this week at a two-day acting workshop – free of charge.
Chumani Pan, an award-winning actor from Mooiplaas near East London, will host the workshop to groom upcoming talent in the province. Pan is best known for his starring role as Monwabisi Namane on the e.tv telenova Ashes to Ashes.
“I have been working as a professional for 15 years. Throughout these years I have always received questions about who I am, what I studied and how it is that I got to where I am,” said Pan.
“This shows that there is no source of information for people wanting to be actors, especially in East London, so I saw it fit to conduct a workshop where all these questions and more will be answered.”
Participants can look forward to a jam packed two-day hands on workshop with Pan. Pan said he hoped to effectively teach the fundamentals he had learnt in film school.
“Film schools are quite expensive and only a certain percentage of people in South Africa can afford to go to film school.
“I am compressing everything to make people aware of what to expect from the industry; how the industry operates, how the camera operates, the lingo spoken on set, how to film auditions and so much more,” said an enthusiastic Pan.
He said he hoped to tap into people’s genuine interest for the craft.
“The beauty about acting is that you get to be in a fantasy world. You play different and diverse characters and that stretches your imagination and your knowledge,” he said.
“As an actor you have to tap into many places to find the character you want to play. You continuously learn and continuously grow in acting.”
Pan won an international film award for his role as Mark in a pan-African movie Silver Rain. “I have done a few international movies, however this one was bigger for me as I won best supporting actor at the Ekko International Film Festival.
“It was a Ghanian production film which had a host of actors from around the continent,” said Pan.
He urged interested participants to be serious about acting and to bring their best.
“People relate to the character you play. People will love or hate the character you play but either way you make an impact in someone's life. I am looking for talented people with a whole lot of passion to fine tune their craft,” said Pan.
The workshop will be on Friday and Saturday at the BCM fire department auditorium, in Fleet Street, East London. Admission is free; however only 40 people will be selected. To book a spot, call 083-427-0749 or 071-193-5743.
gugup@dispatch.co.za..