Ongoing Thought
With the director Ntando Cele. Mediation by Nina Caetano (UFOP)
March 19th, from 11am to 12am | Venue: Itaú Cultural
Crossing Dialogues
With Djamila Ribeiro
March 20th after the performance | Venue: Itaú Cultural
Synopsis
In Black Off, Ntando Cele faces and addresses racist stereotypes. In the first part of the show as her Alter-Ego, Bianca White, a white South African comedienne, world traveler and philanthropist that thinks she knows everything about black people all around the planet and wants to help them overcome their “inner blackness”. In the second part of the show, Cele is dealing with stereotypes of black women and tries to find out how the audience sees her. Are there possibilities of black women to be “just” artists, or do they always carry the burden of race and gender in whatever they do? The show is a mix of standup-comedy, concert and performance.
History
The Company Manaka Empowerment Prod. Was founded 2014 by performer, actress and theatre maker Ntando Cele together with the composer and musician Simon Ho, a writer, musician and dramatic advisor Raphael Urweider an is seated at the capital of Switzerland, Berne. The work of Manaka Empowerment combines Performance, Music, Text and Video. Manaka Empowerment challenges identities, faces prejudices and tries to detect stereotypes. Knowing that a multicultural Society does not necessarily leads to intercultural understanding, Manaka Empowerment tries to broach the issue of backgrounds and to create something universal and global. Ntando Cele has a National Diploma in Drama Studies from the Durban University of Technology (1999-2001) and obtained her Master of Theater from Dasarts-Amsterdam (2009-2012). Cele has worked on a diverse number of projects as a freelance artist; She has been invited to perform Face Off at the Zürcher Theaterspektakel, the Festival Belluard, Switzerland and Compagnie Theater, Amsterdam as part of Neu\NOW Festival 2013. In 2014 Ntando Cele played in Erika in Afrika by Kämpf/Urweider in Schlachthaus Theater Berne and developed the musical Lecture Performance Complicated Art for Dummies which had its first release at the Live Art Festival in Cape Town. 2015 she created Black Notice, a blend of racist self-help-class and Punk Concert for the Festival Afrovibes in Amsterdam and die Heitere Fahne, Berne. Besides she acted in Ost.Küste.Horror by 400asa/Berger-Kohler/PengPalast in Fabriktheater Rote Fabrik Zurich and Tojo Theater, Berne and in Hotel Kosmos by Club 111 in Schlachthaus Theater Berne. Her performance concert BLACK OFF had its first release in November 2016 also in Schlachthaus Theater Berne.
Credits
Director: Ntando Cele
Author: Ntando Cele / Raphael Urweider
Producer: Manaka Empowerment Productions
Performance and Videos: Ntando Cele
Composition/Music: Simon Ho
Music: Patrick Abt, Pit Hertig
Text /Codirecting: Raphael Urweider
Light: TonioFinkam
Technical Director: Maria Liechti
Portuguese version: Hugo Casarini
Executive Producer / Stage Management: Michael Röhrenbach
A co-production with PRAIRIE, co-produced by Migros Culture Percentage for innovative dance and theater companies in Switzerland.
