City talent reaches for the stars
A KIMBERLEY resident, Sebastian Tshepo Majanaga, has been selected to attend the International Models and Talent (IMTA) event in New York later this year.
An excited Majanage said yesterday that he had discovered his passion for acting when he was a pupil at Elizabeth Conradie School.
In 2015, he attended Nelson Mandela University and joined the university’s drama society and in his final year of studying he wrote and directed three plays.
He received the Vice-chancellor Award for Arts and Culture Person of the Year for his remarkable work in the arts at Nelson Mandela University.
Majanaga said that he was forced to drop out of university after his grandfather, who was funding his education, died and he returned to Kimberley.
In 2018 he was selected to participate in a film and television learnership offered by East Coast Media in Durban and graduated in March 2019 with a NQF5 qualification in Film and Television and is now a qualified media practitioner.
Last year he auditioned for the International Arts Talent Showcase (IATS) in Kimberley and received a callback to the IATS which took place in September in Krugersdorp.
“I wasn’t sure that I would be able to attend the event due to financial difficulties so I started selling muffins and asking people for donations.”
Majanaga managed to raise sufficient funds and he was able to present his talent in front of international casting director from Tyler Perry Studios, Rhyvann Drummer, and international talent scout for IMTA and Ford Models, Joey Hunter.
“Nate Butler (A&R for America’s Got Talent) and Blaze Johnson (The Voice America) were also present.”
Majanaga said he had received a call at 1.32am on September 29, to let him know that he was one of the selected few who had received a callback to the IMTA Convention that will take place this year at the Hilton Hotel in New York.
“Nothing should ever stop you from dreaming big. Believe in yourself. Speak your dreams into reality even before they manifest, and watch the magic happen.”
Participating in the event in New York will cost around R150 000 and Majanaga is hoping to raise the funds to secure his place in the spotlight in July.