Acting real: “I call it tell-lie-vision.” – Tshepo Maseko
Tshepo Maseko isn’t done with soapie work, but for the time being he’s focussing his talents on Gospel Classics.
Gospel Classics Season 6 Sundays SABC2 (*192) 21:00
“It’s like I’m reliving my childhood on television before my very own eyes,” laughs Tshepo Maseko, who was raised in a Catholic home. He’s been hosting lifestyle show Gospel Classics (2011- current) since 2012 and makes no excuses that “this is totally me – albeit a little subdued because, you know, gospel has to have energy!” Soapie fans know the 40-somethingyear- old as jewellery designer Parsons Matabane, who was a household face in the early 2000s on Isidingo (1998current) thanks to his TV family and their trials and tribulations. “Parsons and I are very different though. We’ve both got strict parents but that’s where we diverge. I was raised in a catholic, urban life. He has more rural roots, customs he does not maybe conform to,” explains Tshepo. “Parsons doesn’t see the world as it is. I call a spade a spade. ‘Substance abuse’ is a nice way of saying drug problem. Get to the point. Be vocal. Make people listen. That goes for everything in life.”
WORKING WONDERS
While Tshepo’s show seems off the cuff, it’s actually scripted. He’s also given his job a nickname – “I call it tell-lie-vision because you need to come across as genuine. Having been raised singing in church on Sundays makes this show an easy fit.” He adds that he’s got to be comfortable with the content, “So I’m involved with the episode scripting, but not that in-depth. I know what’s going on and I like to make notes so that it flows nicely on a Sunday evening.” He also makes no excuses for any abruptness in his presenting, saying that it helps cement the show and the guests and the episode in the viewers’ minds. “There’s a journey to be told. You need to get people to understand that. It’s the same when I talk at schools. Students need to be taught about repercussions, not just choices. If you don’t know where a decision will take you, you know nothing,” says Tshepo sternly.
WAXING LYRICAL
While he hosts a “music show”, Tshepo coyly admits that it will be a bit of time before he performs on Gospel Classics. “It will happen… one day. You have to remember that here, singing for men is more of an off- camera thing. You don’t see men leading the singing in churches.” That being said, he loves the practice of gabola church, where the congregation meet in a tavern or shebeen and drink alcohol while listening to the word of god. “It shows that you can still have good values and be religious even if you’re slightly off the rails,” jokes the host. And as a father to three girls, Tshepo is strict about how he and wife Masego raise Naledi (12), Kamogelo (8) and Katlego (3): “We watch shows with morals as a family. We want them to be raised correctly.”