Cecilia du Toit

Cecilia du Toit (1952-) is an academic, lecturer, author and playwright.

Biography

Born Cecilia Magdalena Schoeman born in Pretoria. She grew up in Bloemfontein and matriculated in Pretoria. She married Peet du Toit in 1978 and raised three children.

Training

She began her studies at the University of Pretoria, completing a B.A. with English and History of Drama as major subjects in 1972. She obtained a H.E.D. in English Language and Literature in 1973 from the Pretoria Teachers Training College, followed by a BA Honours from the University of Pretoria in English (1976), an Advanced Diploma in Education (with a focus on the gifted child) from the College for Further Education in Pretoria (1985), an M.A in English and a PhD from the University of Pretoria.

After teaching for three years, she became a lecturer in English at the Pretoria Teachers Training College in 1977, resigned in 1980 to raise three children, and worked part-time at the Centre for Highly Gifted Children from 1981 to 1992. She again became a lecturer in English, literacy education, reading promotion and adolescent reading development in the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria from 1993 until her retirement in 2012.

She wrote academic articles on adolescent reading promotion and several textbooks on the teaching of English. A children’s novel, Giepie en Grootjie, was published by Human and Rousseau in 1993.

She won first, second and third prizes at the Bloemfonteinse Skrywerskring in 1991 and was awarded first prize in 1998 at the Potchefstroomse Skryfskool for a short story entitled Die Orakel.

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

As a creative writer, she has written children’s plays, radio dramas and plays for adults.

Two of her early children’s plays were published in anthologies, namely Die Skuld van Sarel Sluim, oftewel Hoe die Heldhaftige Hendrik Heuningkom die Papenpools Gehelp Het (1994: in Hauptfleisch en Pretorius. Die Magiese Kring. Cape Town: Juta) en Slim, slimmer, Simon (1995. In E. van Wyk. Van die Banke op die Planke).

In 1998 she was awarded second prize in the RSG radio drama competition for Barnardbodensteinbuysgoeiemôre.

Two other radio dramas were also broadcast: Klippekloof in 2014 and Die Sneeuman in 2016.

She wrote a verse drama, Thunderbird, for Alexander Johnson, who composed the ballet music for performances in the Aula of the University of Pretoria in 2002.

In 2008 she won the Afrikaans section of the Maskew Miller Longman Drama competition with a children’s play, Boetie Beter Bester. Her first adult play, Maskermaan, was a finalist in the Nagtegaal Teksprys competition. The play was performed at the KKNK, Woordfees and Volksbladfees in 2009. Maskermaan was also an ATKV Woordveertjie finalist in 2009.

She won the Maskew Miller Longman Drama competition with her youth play Swewende Maan in 2012, and again in 2014 with BFF.

In 2012 a play for adults, Granaat, was a finalist in the ATKV Woordveertjie competition.

Five of her youth plays were produced for the Tienertoneel Drama Competition in 2014 and 2015.