Export thespian nails a role in The River

Gaosi Raditholo is on a roll in her career. The Motswana born actress has recently clinched an exciting role on South Africa’s telenovela, The River. The River airs weekly on 1Magic ( DStv). She plays the role of Tshephiso, a young woman whose God fearing mother wants nothing to do with her because of her sexual orientation. The community of Refilwe, where she resides is also not very open to her Lesbianism as she is constantly being judged. She finds refuge at the household of the Mokwenas.

Coincidentally, this is not the first time that she is tackling a role like this. A few years ago, she had a similar role on Season 1 in Keeping Scores which aired on SABC 2. She has been on Muvhango, where she acted as Wawa/ Warona, the sister to Marang, another Botswana export, real nname, Sharon Seno. Gaosi has also had the opportunity to work with the Fergusons on The Queen, where she was cast as Refilwe.

Getting a role in the highly competitive South African acting industry requires one to be a step ahead of others, which is what she is excelling in right now. She also says that the fact that these days the industry requires one to have qualifications goes to show that this is a bigger industry where not just about everyone can strike gold.

Raditholo is very versatile. She is not the sort of person who gets confined to one role/ job description. She is an actress, director, writer and has also done work on the big stage of the Market Theatre. This truly illustrates that she takes her craft very seriously, and that she is not one to be content with just one responsibility/ talent. The different roles that she has portrayed in the different productions, all bring out the best in her. And very soon, they will land her, that next bigger and meaty role in a Hollywood production.

She believes that each and every one will have an individual artistic journey. What has worked for someone else might not necessarily work for her or the next person. Over the years, she has never stopped and is not about to stop training and sharpening her skills.

“You can never stop growing,” she tells this publication.

Some can go for as many as 200 auditions and still not get any role. This is the type of environment that she finds herself in. Raditholo further says that on the days when one is down and out, those are the times when they need to remember their whys. It is also during those moments that she gets to reflect on her journey and why she is doing what she is doing.

“I take every chance that I can get to harness my craft,” explains Raditholo.

Raditholo studied Drama at Wits University with a major in directing and play directing. Her big break in the industry can be traced to her fourth year, where they had a showcase that saw agents coming to scout for talent at the campus. It was during one of these visits that an agent spotted her, and signed her to an agency. She has also recently completed her Masters in Film, which she completed while juggling an acting career. Her first show at the Market Theatre was an American play titled A Raisin in the Sun. On top of being cast in productions at the Market Theatre, she has also enjoyed the opportunity of being behind the scenes and directing plays for audiences at the Market Theatre.

Besides these local productions, she explains that she has auditioned for a number of international productions including an HBO production titled Worry on, as well as Vagrant Queen which aired on the Sci- fi channel, as she is very talented when it comes to accents.