We lit the fire!

A couple of weeks ago I gave Bongani the “opening scene” of the script. I explained to him that we need to start spending time together to work on his understanding of the dialogue, before we officially start rehearsals in April.

MY sole purpose, of course was to get him “up to a standard” so that his shortcomings, in terms of language and comprehension, does not delay our; already “very tight”, rehearsal schedule. He listened to my explanations for a while, the way he does with his eyes cast down and his right ear cocked towards me, until his face broke into a beautiful smile, the way it does every time he grasps a concept. “Yes”, he says “I understand now” and he tells me that we need to get the fire started before we can throw logs on and make the fire big enough for other people to sit around and enjoy the heat and the light…

Bongani speaks and makes sense of the world in images… he listens to conversations and foreign concepts attentively until he can find an associated image in his mind… only then does the comprehension visibly rise over his face and will he smile and nod in acknowledgement. From there on, his contribution leaves all other participants gob-smacked at his sincerity and the effectiveness with which he communicates.

So, I guess, today we lit the fire, Bongani and I.

In a coffee shop in Empangeni, we dissect the opening scene together. With every step Bongani understood more… more of the characters, more of the story, more of the irony, suspense and intrigue. Eventually I could see his brain work overtime as he threw his hands up in the air and exclaimed: “things are happening at the bottom, the middle and the top!”

For every concept or sentence I explained, he responded with an image to prove to me that he understood, an image so strong and symbolic that no other words were needed.

I found myself looking at him in amazement thinking: All I wanted was an actor…