Salibonani -hello-
I'm from Zimbabwe and make multidisciplinary art in New York City. I have deep love for a nice cuppa and Arsenal Football Club #goonerforlife. Before settling in NY, at different stages I've called Botswana, England and South Africa 'home'. And while I'm loving life in NY, my Zimbo roots are what nourish and feed me as a human and artist. To quote DJ Stavo in this co-opted Rihanna song- I'm Zimbo Till I Die! 🇿🇼
FISO MAKES
Brought up on the principles of Ubuntu, I love to make art that nurtures conversations about wellness and community. Through 'storytelling installations' that include workshops, puppetry, dance interactive performance & more, my aim is to invite all people, but specifically underserved and neglected communities, to share their stories for the sake of release, healing and collaboration.
MY VALUES
Service - I love people and my work is for communities. Some places I've collaborated on theatrical projects are: prisons, high schools, senior centres, after school programs and churches.
Ubuntu -I am because we are. Every voice and story matters and is welcome into the things I make. Silalele/we are listening/listen to us.
Risk-I love growth. I love new approaches. I love a challenge. I love innovation. Masiyephambili/Let’s go forward.
Selected Acting Credits: KLII (Walker Arts Center; Redcat; Under the Radar ’23), Mud/Drowning (Mabou Mines), Riddle of the Trilobites (Flint Rep; New Victory Theatre), Red Hills (En Garde Arts), The Sprezzaturameron (BAC), Shoot Don’t Talk (Labapalooza, St Ann’s Warehouse). International: Winter’s Tale (National Arts Festival, SA), The Comeback (HIFA, ZW). As a playwright, I've collaborated with The Royal Court Theatre and the British Council (ZW). My work has been performed at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Winner HIFADirect 2011), the Intwasa Festival and the Chimanimani Festival. In 2021 I co-directed The Othello Project for Shake on the Lake and in June 2022 premiered my show [sunflower] at Dixon Place NYC. I was fortunate to be a 2022/23 New Victory Labworks Artist.
WOZA NAZO!
WHAT I'M WORKING ON
my body is geography
This interactive theatre show uses storytelling, and movement to investigate ways in which “the body keeps the score.” Weaving together a mix of personal, religious, mythological and popular fictional stories; this piece is an exploration of the ways we hold our stories, as lived and imagined experiences, in our bodies.