WORDS BY LARA MOSES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TREPHINE
Samantha Chapman. 23 years old. Actress.
Samantha Chapman has loved acting all her life. She performed anywhere possible growing up but living in a small town made it difficult for her to expand her ability. After matriculating she flew to Cape Town to audition at City Varsity after being rejected from Tswane University of Technology’s Musical Theatre department. She was accepted into City Varsity acting course which offered both stage and camera acting. The next three years proved the best of her life. She graduated after two years with a distinction and then with an advanced diploma after the third year.
Her professional career has entailed a couple of adverts, a road show that travelled to different schools over SA for 3
weeks and today she has co-written her first production called Sex and Slaves in the City. The production is a walking tour around Cape Town based on fact with a quirky twist. She is also getting involved in the casting side of the industry and even though she is behind the camera she loves it.
What/who inspires your work?
Talented hard working actors inspire me. Rob van Vuuren is definitely at the top of my list. He just does it all and is brilliant at what he does. Seeing what he creates just inspires me to never sit and wait for work to come my way. Movie actors don’t really inspire me because we know nothing about their process or work ethic, so the people who inspire me the most are people that I’ve worked with, like my three lecturers at City Varsity; Shirley Johnston, Peter van Heerden and Werner Marx are. I can still hear their voices in my head every single day and I don’t want those voices to ever stop.
As an actress where is your favourite place to perform (stage or screen) and why?
I can’t answer this because I love both equally. It’s so difficult for me to make my mind up about this one because I really do love acting on stage and in front of the camera. When you are on set you get to meet all these talented people in their own departments and the vibe is just amazing. Plus I love the challenge camera acting gives because it’s very subtle, which I am not. But then I walk onto a stage and I feel at home. Stage acting comes more easily to me so I have a lot more fun with it. I also love the rehearsal process you go through before the curtain goes up and not knowing what might happen in a stage performance, it keeps you on your toes. So basically put me anywhere where I can act and I’ll be happy.
What have been the main challenges you’ve faced in a world where everyone wants to be famous?
My looks. Every time I get feedback from a director they always praise my performance but I never get the roles because I “just don’t look the part”. I’m happy with the way I look but I just don’t seem to fit in anywhere. Even when I dress up for the role I still don’t quite look like the business woman or sexy kitten. The sad thing is there are so many other people out there who do look the role! There is a lot of competition out there and a lot of talented people so you have to make sure that you’re on top of your game and that your passion will keep you going.
What have been the highlights of your career thus far?
Working with Luke Ellenbogen in college. Our class work-shopped a show with him about Xenophobia and took it to the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown! He was amazing to work with and really gave us a good idea of how hard you have to work in the professional world. Plus the experience of going to Grahamstown is just awe inspiring so that is definitely a highlight! I also got a big plus-size modelling shoot for C&A clothing overseas which paid rather nicely! Hence why its a highlight. But I must say the show I’m working on at the moment is climbing the charts!!
What is next for you?
Well I’m busy performing in a Theatrical Tour called “Sex and Slaves in the City”. It’s a two hour walking tour of Cape Town’s CBD and is all about slavery and the start of Cape Town. The reason why I am so excited about this is because the idea has never been done before. A fellow thespian friend and I have taken a normal tour that a tour guide would usually do and we’ve turned it into a theatrical show. We sing, we dance, we rhyme and we perform different characters in the streets of Cape Town. So audiences learn about Cape Town and get entertained by two very enthusiastic actors! We are open for public so check out our Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sex-Slaves-in-the-City-The-Theatre-Tour/189881327712746 or call Walk In Africa 0217852264 to make a booking!
Lara Moses is the associate editor of The Soapbox.
Trephine Photography is based in Cape Town
