PDBY spoke to artist Kefentse Dlamini about her aspirations in her life, her future and her achievements in the entertainment industry.
What initially drew you to the entertainment industry?
Similar to many artists, anything creative is developed at a young age via passion. And as cliché, as it sounds, I have always loved acting, theatre and music. From age the age of eight, I was already in musicals, singing and acting on stage. My passion grew deeper as I grew older and I went to an art high school named Pro Arte, in Pretoria, which is where I majored in drama. This led me to further my studies all the way to honours here at the University of Pretoria.
What is your speciality?
Definitely acting, due to my degree in drama. But I would like to say that singing is my first love even though radio stole my heart.
What do you hope to achieve for yourself this year?
I hope to achieve success in the industry in numerous variations of it, mainly in acting, singing and radio. Also, I would absolutely love to be on your screens representing big advertising names in SA.
What has been your biggest achievement thus far?
My biggest achievement is definitely completing my honours and being signed under an amazing agency, named talent-ETC. In addition, having the opportunity to be on TuksFM really stole my heart, and interviewing and learning a lot from artists who are in the industry too.
How have you gone about reaching your goals?
I have been shooting career shots as often as I can. My agency has assisted me with and throughout auditions. I learned from the influential people in the industry and in my life, as well as networking in social spaces and ensuring that I create meaningful connections.
Where do you hope to see yourself in five years’ time?
In five years I would like to be so established in the industry that I [can] start up my own production company that will assist amazing new talent to be noticed. This is a passion of mine because it is really hard to break through the glass ceiling and I genuinely […] would like to help people in the future with the struggles [I’ve experienced].
Has this pandemic hindered you in any way?
In the beginning, definitely. Every audition had to be digital. Ask any actor and they will tell you about how annoying self-tapes are. However, now that we are back to level 1, auditions are on-site again, with the COVID-19 regulations in place.
What do you pride yourself on the most?
I pride myself in the personality I have, I would like to say I am warm, social and kind. I actively try to create a safe space for the people I meet and the people in my life. I also work really hard to get what I want and achieve.
What struggles or challenges have you faced and how have you overcome these?
The biggest struggle is constantly reminding yourself that – because you chose to live out your passion – you cannot give up fighting to achieve it, no matter how hard it gets. I overcame my challenges by constantly reminding myself about my dream and how it is really achievable with hard work.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists?
This is definitely a hard question because I am not nearly close to where I aspire to be, but what I would like to say is aspiring artists should never stop learning. In addition, always represent yourself and craft well in different spaces. Also, do not give your passion up. You need to fight for what you want because it is the only way you will get noticed.
Images provided
