‘Today it’s Me’ supporting acts revealed

Award winning actor Donald Molosi recently revealed the lead actors who would be joining him on stage in the upcoming play, ‘Today it’s Me’ to be staged  on the 25th of April. The play will headline the 2015 Maitisong Festival and is based on the life story of legendary Ugandan musician Philly Lutaaya, whose soulful Afro Pop rhythms united a generation of Ugandans. Inspired by his continent and its people, Lutaaya kept faith in his beloved motherland through  his music even while he was struggling abroad in Sweden. Molosi will be performing the play for the first time in Botswana alongside co stars,  Don Swaby who  plays Philly’s  brother (Abraham Lutaaya). Kgomotso Tshwenyego will play  her role of the mother (Jastine Lutaaya) while Teto Mokaila plays the roles of  Idi Amin, the doctor and the journalist. Rising theatre actress Zanele Tumelo will play the role of a nurse.

 
Don Swaby is an American actor who is best known for playing the role of Chad Harris-Crane on the television soap opera Passions. His Hollywood film credentials include G.I Jane, Open Window and Nora’s Hair Salon while his TV credentials include The Sopranos, The Parkers, Charmed and Monk. In 2009 he won the NAACP Theatre Award for his work in Black Angels over Tuskegee.
Tshwenyego is one of the leading and the most recognised faces in Botswana’s performance industry. She has featured and played leading roles in TV Series like Re Bina  Mmogo, Thokolosi, The Possibilities and Morwalela. Her foray in the performing arts dates back when she participated in school plays and has acted in the international series No.1 Ladies Detective Agency in the supporting role of Rose alongside international actress/musician Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose and Idris Elba.

 
Mokaila volunteered to work at the Maitisong Festival in 2014 and was afforded the opportunity to coordinate backstage operations and do stage management for all the performances that year. In the same year he auditioned for Madi Majwana; Stories from your pocket and received a final call audition along with a few selected actors. He most recently appeared in Nicholas Ramogodi’s play Death by reality at the National Museum’s ‘Little Theatre’ in 2014.

 
Tumelo has played roles in performance, script writing and theatre development for various projects staged at Maitisong Festivals, the North West Festivals in Mafikeng and the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. She has also performed with MAMA theatre and has an array of experience in media production and broadcasting.
Gao Lemmenyane is the director of Maitisong and former head of Arts at Wits University. He produces the annual President’s day concert and he recently directed Molosi’s international award winning play on the life  of Botswana’s founding president Sir Seretse Khama.