Gcina Mhlophe

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Gcina Mhlophe (2016)

Nokugcina Elsie Mhlophe-Becker [ ˈɡǀʱina mˈɬopʰɛ ] (born October 24, 1958 in Durban ; born Nokugcina Elsie Mhlophe ) is a South African writer , storyteller and actress .

Life

Gcina Mhlophe was born in Durban in what was then the South African province of Natal . Her mother was Xhosa and her father was Zulu . She worked as a news anchor for Press Trust and BBC Radio , then from 1982–1983 as a writer for Learn and Teach , a magazine designed to improve reading skills . Her timbre eventually led her to appear publicly as an actress and storyteller. Since then, Mhlophe has performed in South African townships as well as in numerous cities in Europe and other countries. In 1983 she played a leading role in the play Umongikazi: The Nurse by Maishe Maponya. In 1985 she wrote her best known play, the autobiographical Have You Seen Zandile? The play is about the girl Zandile, who grows up with her loving grandmother, but then has to move in with her mother's family in Transkei . Topics are the barren country life, the dominance of the “whites” and the role of black girls and women in South Africa. In 1986 she played a leading role in the movie Place of Weeping (in German as: Africa - Land of Hope), which is considered to be the first anti-apartheid movie made in South Africa. In the same year Mhlophe played another leading role in the film Born in the RSA based on the play of the same name, in which she had played the same role. As director and leading actress, she directed Have You Seen Zandile? with which she was subsequently successful abroad and for which she received several awards. From 1989 to 1990 she was Resident Director of the Market Theater in Johannesburg . Mhlophe is co-founder of the Zanendaba Storytellers group , which aims to promote reading skills. In 1994 she worked on the album The Gift of the Tortoise by Ladysmith Black Mambazo . In the following year she was one of the authors of an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's Der gute Mensch von Sezuan . In 1999 the nine-part SABC television series Gcina and Friends was broadcast, in which Mhlophe and her stories were the focus and for which she had composed the music. In 2000 she appeared in Peter and the Wolf at the Komische Oper Berlin .

Gcina Mhlophe was included in the Daughters of Africa anthology , edited in 1992 by Margaret Busby in London and New York.

The focus of their work is telling stories to keep the memory of the traditions alive and to encourage children to read. She combines telling the stories with singing, dancing and acting. Gcina Mhlophe tells her stories in four South African languages: English , Sesotho , isiZulu and isiXhosa . The stories combine tradition and current topics. They have been translated into many languages, including German and Japanese. Mhlophe appeared in many countries, for example in Germany with the Cameroonian writer Francis Bebey . She held numerous storytelling workshops. On July 8, 2006, she attended the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Berlin , where she told a story.

Mhlophe supports the construction of libraries in rural areas and their equipping with books that are culturally relevant for the users, among other things with the Nozincwadi (mother of books) project.

Gcina Mhlophe is married to a German and has one daughter. The family lives in Durban.

Awards

  • 1987: Obie Theatrical Award (New York) for the lead role in Born in the RSA
  • 1987: Fringe First Award (Edinburgh) for Have You Seen Zandile?
  • 1988: Joseph Jefferson Award (Chicago) for Best Actress for Have You Seen Zandile?
  • 1988: Nominated for the Sony Award for the best radio play by BBC Radio Africa for Have You Seen Zandile?
  • 1991: Nominated for the Noma Award for Queen of the Tortoises
  • 1994: Bookchat Award (BC Magazine, South Africa) for Molo Zoleka
  • 1994: Honorary doctorate from the Open University , London
  • 1996: Carl Lohann Prize for Children's Books
  • 1998: Honorary Doctorate from the University of Natal , Durban
  • 1999: Namibian Children's Book Forum Award for Nalohima, the Deaf Tortoise
  • 2016: 100 Women 2016 by the BBC

bibliography

  • 1988: Have You Seen Zandile? Skotaville
  • 1989: The Snake with Seven Heads . Skotaville, Johannesburg (children's book, translated into five African languages)
  • 1990: Queen of the Tortoises . Skotaville, Johannesburg (children's book)
  • 1992: The Singing Dog . Skotaville, Johannesburg (children's book)
  • 1994: Molo Zoleka . New Africa Education (first edition on isiZulu; also published in English, isiXhosa and Siswati )
  • 1995: MaZanendaba - A Mother's Search for Stories (children's book)
  • 1996: Love Child . Peter Hammer, Wuppertal 1996, ISBN 3-87294-714-1 (first edition in German)
  • 1999: Fundukazi's Magic . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (with CD)
  • 1999: The Laughter of Africa . Peter Hammer, Wuppertal, ISBN 978-3872948250
  • 1999: Nalohima, the Deaf Tortoise . Gemsbok
  • 2002: An African Mother Christmas . Maskew Miller Longman, Cape Town (with CD)
  • 2003: Stories of Africa . 2nd Edition. University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg (children's book)
  • 2003: Stars of Africa: Queen of Imbira . Maskew Miller Longman, Cape Town (textbook)
  • 2006: Our Story Magic . University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg (children's book)
  • 2009: African Tales - A Barefoot Collection . Barefoot Books

Filmography

  • 1986: Africa - Land of Hope ( Place of Weeping )
  • 1986: Born in the RSA
  • 1988: Palesa
  • 1990: Songololo (Canadian production)
  • 1992: Traveling Songs
  • 1995: Prisoners of Hope (US production)
  • 1999: Gcina and Friends (TV series)

Discography

Albums

  • 1993: Music for Little People
  • 1997: The world tells
  • 1998: The Magic of the Turtle . Radio play by WDR . Patmos, Düsseldorf, ISBN 978-3-491-24030-8 , republished by Sauerländer in 2010, ISBN 978-3794185535
  • 2001: Nozincwadi, Mother of Books . Maskew Miller Longman (CD and book)
  • 2009: Songs & Stories of Africa (CD, African Cream Music, South African Music Awards -Winner 2010 for the best English-language album for children)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Tabular curriculum vitae up to 2001 ( memento of the original from September 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed December 12, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / nozincwadi.com
  2. ↑ Information on the film , accessed on December 11, 2010
  3. ↑ a b biography on literaturfestival.com , accessed on December 9, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Mhlophe, Gcina
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mhlophe, Nokugcina Elsie (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African writer, actress and storyteller
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Durban