Akin Lewis, Zani Challe, Doris Simeon, Others Named TAF Ambassadors

Alayande Stephen

All is set again for the production and activation of TheatreMania Africa Festival (TAF) as the International Central Working Committee (ICWC) of the Festival recently announced the Ambassadors of the March 2017 slated festival billed to take place in Nigeria.

The names unveiled by the organizers of the awards include Akin Lewis, Norbert Young, Doris Simeon, Owen Gee (Nigeria), Thandekile Grace Maseko, Sibongile Maria Phakathi (South Africa), Zani Michelle Chiumia a.k.a Zani Challe (Malawi) and Uncle Ebo Whyte (Ghana).

The CEO & Co-Founder of TAF, Alayande Stephen T. noted that, “The lineup of the Ambassadors shows a repertoire of seasoned entertainment practitioners whose field range from theatre to screen, music and even comedy. They are not just lovers of stage production but they are passionate about the African culture and story.

“Interestingly, they are also a  mixture of experienced and young at heart individuals who are determined to pass the unwavering torch of theatre/stage production to the next generation. Some of them have even made laudable contributions into ensuring that theatre performance is constantly on the rise in Africa, hence, the Ambassadors would be advocating extensively on the TAF 2016/17 theme styled  “PEACE IN AFRICA” he concluded.

TheatreMania Africa Festival (TAF) is the first all-encompassing All Africa Theatre Production/Creative Industry Awards & Festival, evolving from the African root aimed at re-writing the African story to the world in a positive way.

TAF is a not just an award festival like every others but also a system meant to appreciate African Acts (Thespians) and those who have slaved tirelessly for the theatre. The award is expected to pull a constellation of stars in a cluster to celebrate and be celebrated but more importantly help heal Africa through the ‘PEACE IN AFRICA’ initiative.

In the words of Malawian actress, singer and On Air Personality (OAP), Zani Challe, who spoke about the diversity of the ambassadors said; “I feel really honored to be picked as one of the ambassadors for the festival. Seeing how diverse we are in culture and tradition will in no small measure create a reverberating effect on the journey we are about to embark upon and I would be really delighted to see the whole of Africa stand up in unison to help echo the ‘PEACE IN AFRICA’ mantra we all so crave for”, the sultry actress added.

The mission of the annual theatre festival is to produce a world-class, television stage drama/dance/ music/artistic performance award ceremony that will promote and add value to Africa and the Entertainment industry in Africa through a standard/international broadcast machinery.

Doris Simeon, a Nollywood Diva and one of the Ambassadors also shared her thoughts on the honour saying “the minutes the whole thing was pitched to me I fell in love with it and I stopped to think and it didn’t take long before I understood why they birth the idea; it was simple.

“Music, TV, Radio and Social media seems to be getting the buzz these days and all these emanated from stage performances and I am flushed faced right just trying to phantom the fact that I am helping to move theatre to the next level; I don’t think recognition gets any bigger than that. I am definitely throwing my weight behind the movement 100%,” she boasted.

This project is an initiative of Theatremania Africa Concepts with the support of the Principal Partners of the project from South Africa, Content Africa Initiative (PTY) Ltd and supported by Oyotunji  Village (North America), Premium World Brand Management, Eagles House Global Resources, Black Image Theatre Production and Total Recall Media Limited.