Siphesihle Mabuza takes Showville crown

Ms Siphesihle Mabuza is the winner of the Ermelo leg of the Showville South Africa show.

The show, aired on a national channel, takes audiences around South Africa, targeting small towns, looking for talented acts whether it be music or drama and showcasing their talent on the small screen.

After a round of auditions in a particular town, the top four acts are selected and mentored by well-known celebrities Ms Lorcia Cooper and Mr The Squire Morena.

After the two-day transformation, the acts showcase their acts in a finale where the winner is crowned.

Ms Mabuza was a head above the others and walked away with the R10 000 grand prize, the bragging rights of being crowned Ermelo’s winner, and will be on television in the next year.

Her one-woman show wowed audiences and judges alike.

This 24-year-old is not an overnight sensation, but is a hard worker who believes in her craft.

Born and bred in Ermelo, she is a product of Ithafa Secondary School and is now working as an actress at the Change Academy that is based in Mbombela.

Ms Mabuza has rubbed shoulders with theatre legends, having been chosen to play a main character in a Mr Mbongeni Ngema production.

She has worked with various famous acts, including the award winning group Abanqobi Gospel Group and The Soil.

Ms Mabuza lives by her motto: “Nobody can do what I can do better than I can do”.

This is why she prefers working alone on stage and doing monologues.

A writer, director, composer and actress, she is a Jack-of-all-trades when it comes to theatre work.

“I believe that talent on its own is not enough, so I push to where I want to go and encourage any young actors to also push, and most importantly study their craft,” Ms Mabuza said.

This is just the beginning for the young woman who is on her way to stardom.

Ms Mabuza goes around the province to audition at every theatre production so a director or producer can discover her talent.

The Showville win has boosted her need to make it on the big stage and working with accomplished thespians added to her drive.

“I now know that I am good and capable, so the sky is the limit for me.”

During the interveiw Ms Mabuza was already on her way to another theatre audition where the grand prize is a whopping R150 000.

What is she going to do with the money?

“I am going to build and fix my mother’s house in Extension 33.”

Her mother is her hero and has been her cheerleader since she began dreaming of being an award-winning actress.

“Other parents would rather have had me study for a career that is stable and rewarding in the money sense, but my mother said I must follow my dreams.”

However, Ms Mabuza is going to study as she has been accepted to study at the State Theatre in Pretoria.

“Look out for my name and work, I will make Ermelo proud,” Ms Mabuza concluded.