MUSIC. School sucked, budding artist attest

By: Tebogo Molefe

HAROLD SIBUYI is a workaholic. He is an administrator, an actor, musician, health promoter, and many other things under the sun. It is no wonder he is known as “Super” by many of his friends. Super comes from the dust-beaten settlement of Etwatwa, Daveyton in Benoni. He is arguably a man of many talents. This activist is in love with this sleepy township, and his wish is to establish an acting academy to put it on the map.

When he is not on stage he plays drums, drama, African music, hip hop, dance and dramatised poetry. At home he paints, and does a lot more other things. Away from home, and away from the office, and away from the stage he is a basketball coach. On top of it all, he organises events. After all that, he works for Ekurhuleni Health Department as a volunteer, where he gives health talk about HIV/AIDS, and circumcision to residents.

Harold started doing art in 1997, at Tshepo Themba Multi-purpose Centre but, of ‘politics’ there and overbooking, he and three others decided to start their own thing. Percussion Art Theatre was born in 2009. He co-owns Percussion Art Theatre with Troy Kgomotso Mdlalose and two other people.

After dropping out in grade 11, he went to the Sibikwa Arts Centre in Benoni and attended Saturday classes in arts from 1998 to 2000. ‘’After that I decided do it on my own because I knew I could do it. If Sibikwa could make a lot of money, using me, then why couldn’t I do it on my own?” Harold opines. “We used to perform on big stages, where we would open for a prominent artist who we knew was paid a big sum of money.  Sibikwa would get this big fat cheque, and would give us money for transport, which was, say, a paltry R20 or R40.So I thought, I can also do this. But I was not complaining because they gave me experience. I learned a lot there, and I’m very grateful.’’

Harold has already rubbed shoulders with renowned personalities and celebrities. He was directed by Sello Maake KaNcube for a play called Harilla, which was staged at the Pretoria State Theatre. But he nearly caused the great man to burst a vein.  “One day I irked him not only once, but twice. I arrived late for rehearsals, and I did not switch my phone off, and it rang while we were busy. Sello was so angry he lost his cool. He shouted and ranted, telling me ‘this is not the township’. I was so hurt and embarrassed that day.’’

His role model is Zulu Boy because I love the way he is, his character. The way he speaks fascinates him, to him he is so original, and doesn’t change so much in the things he does. Harold is not into drugs, and agrees that most artists use drugs to deal with stage fright, but he feels that if you are talented you will perform to your optimum no matter how many people are watching you.   If it is your talent, and you have passion, then you won’t need drugs to do it.

However, he still goes to Sibikwa with his group to perform at their festivals. There is no love lost there.  They perform at the Masakhane Festival in Soweto every year. They do corporate theatre for, among others, the Ekurhuleni Health Department, and for the South African Police Service. “Percussion wants to have a theatre in Etwatwa but the only problem is finding the right place on which to build our premises.

His family did not support him in his preferred career at first; they thought it was a waste of time and money. But when he started bringing home some money their faces beamed, and they became supportive.  He grew up in Pretoria until the age of seven, and then moved to Etwatwa to stay with his grandmother and his three siblings.  “My grandmother raised us all by herself. She was my role model, my friend, my everything.  Sadly, she passed away last year in July. My mother only moved in with us when my grandmother was very sick, and she has been staying with us since.”

He went to J. J Mpengesi Primary then went to Dr Harry Gwala Comprehensive School where he dropped out in grade 11.  “I dropped out because that school was boring. When I registered they told me that I had to hand in my hand work every quarter, but I failed to do so. Fair enough, they have a workshop where we could do hand work.  We had resources to do science and electrical projects, but we did not use them because the teachers were lazy. I was very disappointed with that school. I mean, I love working with my hands, and I can do anything you tell me to do with my hands, but that school sucked.’’

His subjects were Tsonga, Electricity, Business Economics, Physical Science, Mathematics, Technical Drawing, and English, and his favourite subject was Technical Drawing.