South African actor bags third place in Ghana

Refilwe Maitisa (25) bags third place at the Africa Monologue Challenge in Accra, Ghana.

Maitisa was among the eleven finalists out of 50 who were shortlisted and battled it out on the Accra National Theatre stage for the grand prize, which includes a lead role in a film and being the face of Africa Monologue Challenge’s next edition.

Africa Monologue Challenge was launched on April 5, 2022, as a joint initiative by Mawuko Kuadzi, the African Chamber of Content Producers, and the Ghanaian National Film Authority. The challenge is focused on creating an awareness of African talent while it aims to match the standard of performances in Hollywood with existing and emerging African talents and position them strategically for global roles.

“It has been a great experience from the moment we started until the end. I was blessed to meet new performers from the continent that help and inspire you to be great. This has been a learning experience for me, and it will be an experience I will draw from going forward,” Maitisa said.
“It was an honour representing my country on an international stage and having an opportunity to share what makes my country special. The Africa Monologue Challenge is a great platform to showcase one’s talent, encourage collaborations in the African film industry and help grow film and theatre audiences in our continent,” she added.

The competition had about 500 entries from African countries, and only 11 finalists were shortlisted to compete in the finale. The processes and performance were carefully picked by a panel of judges consisting of top industry professionals from nine countries including South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Germany.

During the final stages of the competition, contestants presented three monologues each, the first one was about their countries, the second was about a united Africa and the third monologue was their own choice.

The public was given an opportunity to take charge and vote for their favourite contestant before the finale. Votes contributed 30% of the contestants’ final score and 70% was from their performances of monologues on stage. Uganda received 31.83% of the public vote, followed by Zambia with 30.06% and then South Africa with 11.57%.

The top three winners have secured an opportunity to star in the first Pan African film where the competition winner will play the leading role while the first and second runner-ups will play the supporting roles.

Maitisa is not new to performing as she also stars in the film Zulu Wedding where she plays the Young Lu. She is also a trained actress who graduated as the top student from the New York University, Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama in 2021. She also earned an Associate Degree in Theatre at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, USA.

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