Soapie star tells of ups and downs
It took actress Sisekho Velelo several tries to break into the industry‚ and many more battles within.
The star‚ who recently joined the cast of Generations: The
Legacy as Grace, has a long history of theatre work and spoke of her transition to television.
Velelo nailed her first TV audition and “thought everything would be easy” but soon discovered there was still a mountain to climb.
She sometimes struggled to get gigs and admitted that there were days when just heading out the door for auditions was difficult. Velelo is far from alone and said she wanted to share her story to inspire others to not give up.
“I think I faced what everyone faces: losing out on jobs‚ not because you aren’t capable but because someone else is already being lined up for the job.”
She said that it was especially difficult when she went to numerous auditions but still didn’t get a break.
“When doors are slammed in your face and nothing is going right‚ you think you are to blame. You start to think that something is wrong with you. That the person sitting next to you is a better human than you. You think they are prettier than you. They have their life together. They are everything you are not.
“It is a dark and dangerous place to be in and you have to come to the realisation that it is just not your time yet. You have to realise that your time will come.”
She said that losing out jobs to someone with a larger social media following was a real issue in an industry where popularity can trump genuine talent.
“It’s a real thing. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You go into auditions and they ask you how many Twitter followers you have and ignore the years of training I did to do this. You just want to scream.”