Jerry Mpho Pooe

Jerry Mpho Pooe (born 14 August 1970). Playwright, director, actor, drama lecturer and facilitator.

Biography

Born in Soweto, he went to school in Durban, where he went to Ohlange High School ( matriculated in 1990).

Youth

Training

Theatre schooling includes a Drama Certificate from the Upstairs Theatre (1988), a BA with Speech and Drama and Anthropology at the University of Natal, Durban (1995) and a Certificate of Achievement in Theatre Arts from Indiana University (1999).

Career

His career started at the Stable Theatre under the wing of Kessie Govender.

Between 1991-1999 he was co-ordinator of the University of Natal, Department of Speech and Drama’s Community Project, served on numerous committees and community projects, and became directly involved as writer/director in such community arts projects as DramAidE, Amajika and Kusa.

In 1999 he founded and became the director of Eager Artists, a theatre company, and also became the manager of the Stable Theatre in Durban (circa 2010), as well as artistic director of the Windybrow Theatre in Johannesburg. Served as acting Artistic Director at PACOFS for a while (2012-2014?).

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Besides writing numerous aids awareness programmes and more that 20 industrial theatre and street theatre shows between 1998-2000, he also wrote and directed creative theatre works. His first play, Not Again, was created with the help of a teacher, Monde Ndandala in 1989, and was followed among others by Isililo (1989?), The Curse (19**), Life is a Journey (19**), Mathatha (1995), Living Treasures (1998), Peace in the Valley (1998), Messiah in Canaan (1999), My Life My Voice (2000).

He wrote a musical, Ekhaya Poppie, about black women in the Anglo-Boer War and co-created and directed the play Camp 13 with David Stein and The Just Don't Theatre Group in 2010.