South Africa Experience

I am writing to you all from the Cape of Good Hope. It is the tip of South Africa, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic. It is over 100 degrees and the blue ocean and the blue sky are really one. I was recruited by the African Center for HIV/AIDS Management Program at Stellenbosch University, but let's start from the very beginning...

I arrived In Cape Town at 10:30 PM in the middle of a hot summer rain. I was met by Professor Jan du Toit, head of the African Center for the HIV/AIDS Management Program, accompanied by Professor Jimmie Perry. They both conveniently forgot to tell me when they were recruting me that I would spend over 21 hours to get to them. From the airport, they took me on a dangerous mission to one of the Black townships of Kayamundi. They wanted me to start to learn my lessons immediately. And so I did. Even in the dark I could see the shanty town with shacks made of cardboard and tin for miles. A very dangerous drive, they told me, as hijacking and robbery are very common. OMG!!! First of all, I couldn't believe I was even there, let alone being confronted with the poverty (no water, electrcity or toilets). Black and "colored" townships were created during Apartheid. So the Xsoa and the Zulu Tribes were forced to move from their tribal lands and live on the small lands given to them by the goverment. Ten years later, even with a new government, the effects of Apartheid still exist.
Stellenbosh University is the oldest school in South Africa. And I was amazed when I was told the conference room I was sitting in was where Apartheid was born. Once again --- OMG!!

So why am I here? Professor Jan du Toit, the founder of the HIV/AIDS Management program, told me that 1 out of 4 in the Black and colored townships are infected with the virus. So he has, along with Professor Jimmie Perry (Pilate in the European Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR) created an Educational Theater program where they will create twenty-minute mini-musicals with discussions afterwards on Prevention and Awareness.

The gala to launch the Educational Theater was to be in a week and I had my work cut out for me. The theater at the University was still using the equipment they had when the theater was built in the 1930's. Everything is done by hand. We could only write a limited amount of lighting cues because we had very few lights. But that was the challenge; that's when the creative juicies kick in. Yes, there's a lot you can do with dry ice and shin busters pointing upward.

The talent that performed were amazing. Our host for the evening was Ruda Landsman, the Barbara Walters of South African television. She has her own magazine show every week. The African groups that sang and danced dressed in their native costumes. It was just what I wanted to see in Africa. I picked up a few good steps, too.

As we started our tech rehearsal we were stopped by the President's security men. They came to check out the theater and seating for President Mbekki and Vice-President Zuma. Then, at approximately three o'clock, the video tape arrived with Nelson Mendela's welcome speech. I had to pinch myself. Was I really here in South Africa? So let the games begin.

One million dollars was raised for the HIV/AIDS Management Program. Educational Theater will be a big part of that. Mini-musicals will be created on the topic of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Awareness. These shows will be taken into the townships along with nurses and psychologists to have discussions after the program as well as testing for the virus. Students as well as professional actors will be a part of the company performing as well as creating the shows. I'm hoping to get some of my talented friends in New York to contribute to this effort as well.

During the day, we took another trip to the black townships. It still devastated me to see all of the poverty, but this time, I saw smiling faces as I watched the witch doctors doing their dances on the sidewalks. And a church group singing on the streets, harmonizing and dancing better than anything I've seen at the American Idol auditions.

The drive from the Western Cape around and up the Eastern Coast of South Africa was absolutely breathtaking. Port Elizabeth, East London, and then finally we flew into Johannesburg. We had an approximate 2 1/2 hour drive to the famous Sun City. A resort in the middle of valleys and mountains. The Palace Hotel's theme is the elephant. The columns holding up the building were the feet of the big animal and each dining room or small area had life-sized elephant statues as water falls or just standing on three feet. Sun City is next to the Pilanesberg National Park, where we went on safari. Seen basking in the 6:00am sun, we found elephants having their breakfast, rhinos and zebras hurdling together after a disturbance from the bushes. Maybe a lion? And lots of Kudos, a local animal that looks like a deer as well the Wardo wild pig.

So what can you do when you have a delay at the Cape Town airport of 4 1/2 hours? Then fly to Amsterdam for 10 1/2 hours then to be told you are coming into a snow storm and won't get home for another 24 hours? Thank God, I love shopping and airports!

Baayork

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