Life's a Stage is a South African reality television series produced by Born Free Media which follows Young Artist Award for Theatre winner Princess Zinzi Mhlongo and her cast as they bring together their passion, talent and personality to produce the first African theatre production to compete in the world's most prestigious festival in Austria.
The series premiered on SABC1 on Monday 8 October 2012, at 19h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 13 half-hour episodes in the series.
Life's A Stage is an entertainment/reality show starring young hungry performers at a school of Arts as they pursue their stage dreams.
One of the main characters in the show is Princess Zinzi Mhlongo, winner of the Standard bank Young Artist Award for Theatre 2012.
Princess has the honour of competing in the world's most glamorous theatre festival in Salzburg, Austria and will be up against the best young directors from Austria, France and Korea. The competition carries a ten-thousand euro prize and entry to the top league of theatre directors.
Each week the show captures the world and struggles of young people who endeavour to create careers in the world of theatre in South Africa. It starts by establishing the world of the drama school and where the characters live and how they negotiate their terrain.
Here the characters are required to come up with a series of plays and the head of drama decides on the play to be staged and which character will play which role... culminating in the final production.
Each episode of the show revolves around the lives of the group as they look for love and play in Jozi. The show explores growth in the students' talent, from mediocre performances to a transformational show - as if celebrating the coming of age of a group of students on stage.
The series aims to expose the world of the theatre to SA's television audiences and to role model careers in the arts for young people.
The cast of the featured theatre production - Trapped - includes Bongani Masango, Dorrianne Mahlangu, Nkoto Malebye, Rantebeng Makapan and Thapelo Sebogodi. The crew is as follows:
Director: Princess Zinzi Mhlongo
Choreographer: Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala
Set Designer: Noluthando Lobese
Stage Manager: Thunyelwa Rachwene
Music Composer: Zimkitha Kumbaca
Lighting Designer: Mandla Mtshali