 Good morning. You keep talking to me like this and looking at me like that. You're going to make me feel some type of way. Yes, you. At 254Facebook, 2254Channel on Twitter. Hashtag all the day is why in the morning nika bama mese ma leo shoni yango. Sita jam, mi na ku like. I like talking to you. Now, after this, sit down and get the rest of the day. Ma ne nos tako sumi nisha. So, fa le kwa mtandao. Tidoli za jobgani ime andama niwa, but ikona do. Alafu apu vengene mewa, please. Musizo eniki vangu one day for evil things. It's not an everyday thing. We have just a couple of people, Pablo Morda, ICU, Femins, Mbone, Lois Moli, Adisa, Fostini, we have John, Westie Gibson, Kimzy, Issa Matiz. And everybody who's watching, I was just telling you, just continue, continue interacting. No, aniki kutadze gin at least, you know, I'm thinking about you. Yeah, at 254Facebook, hashtag iswa in the morning. My name is still Valentine, if you're wondering. And you can still find me at ColourMeVal on everything. And now we are on to a different kind of conversation. We've just concluded one with Malin on mental health and all those wonderful things. And now we are going to sink in to something more entertainment like. Are you ready? Let me allow my guests to introduce themselves. Good morning. Good morning. Mam, miskiyo kizungyoten mongaya. Ni naisha hapa studio, hapa, hapa, hapa, hapa. Please introduce yourself. Allow me to start with Lady. Okay. My name is Berry Londo. I'm an actress, a stage manager, a production manager. I am a lover of arts. Stage manager si kazi raizi? No, si kazi raizi. Actually, no one I quit na mtuam kono ama kazi njengo. Okotizi. I want to... But she's not guilty. I didn't know you've been a state manager. I have so much more respect for you, imagine. Thank you. Na aku dili na actors wenga sumo times tu na kuwangan ama. And you are, sir? Well, my name is Derek Komoli. I'm an actor. I'm a director. I'm also a student at Kenyatta University doing theatre arts and film technology in 4th year currently. Ya, acting is my thing. It's my passion, art. I live art. I eat art, I drink art. Ya, it's just art itself, it's everything to me. Ya. Do you think something like art is a profession that's undermined? It's really undermined, especially in our country right now. But I think it's kind of catching up with time because we cannot do away with the fact that at least we are making major steps. But still, if you just go to the root cause maybe deep even in the society and tell a parent such that you want to venture into acting or art, they'll be like, are you really sure this is what you want to do? Ya. Nikiwa ni kwa kwa ambiwa. Ni kwa ma watu kisha skimtu ako in the arts. Also kupita exam. Ya, exactly. That's why you're doing this. Ya. Yes. Mm hm. Shame, shame. So Akili is a little bit, but you can entertain. That's why you're doing the arts for shame. That's the beautiful thing, very beautiful thing. Ya, that's true. Mm hm. All right, so let me ask you this transition from the conversation we just had. How do you feel about mental health, especially, let me start with Beiru, especially with entertainers? We have this capresha to be happy all the time, especially because when the limelight either one way or the other, we are in front of people. And how do you balance or how do you keep yourself in check? Kwae wo siji sahao? Uneza shinda kwa karakta, kwa karakta and yourself are two different things. Uneza shinda kwa karakta wo ji sahao e manye, but they are not happy. But my character is always happy. I love people just to entertainers possibly have one of the highest suicidates. So how do we balance? That's true. It's not an easy balance, but I think what you should advocate for more is the de-rolling session because not so many people invest more in de-rolling because that is what will help you after the production that you have had. Because when you are in the production, we actors tend to find ourselves going into the deep ends that are times you didn't even know I could reach to that position. So de-rolling is key. Personally, even I had, I made an initiative of actually starting a de-rolling session because I used to tell myself maybe now my de-rolling session would have been if I finish a production this Sunday, I stay at home either week or two, not talking to anyone, but all I didn't know is there's now some part of me that I continue numbing and also being a mother, it's even now more. When mama am out, if you cut to evil, guy, your snapback game says. Yeah, thank you. And then before mother would, I could actually maybe get to that moment, but now the kid do not care. I don't care whether mama means okay or not. So I have decided to put her as a possession and also my surrounding. I have started being intentional with who I want at my surrounding at what particular time and why. And in that space, what am I actually fitting in for new other particular men. All right. How do you feel about it, Derek? Well, I think mental health is a major issue, especially to us as artists, you know. I always say that an artist's best friend should always be a therapist because we are people, we are the most vulnerable people in the society because an artist most of the time, especially an actor, is not living his own life. But most of the time is always in a constant transition into one character, living the life of another and it's always a long journey to prepare for a character. So it fully gets immersed into you. So I think we get affected a lot and we really forget much about who we really are. And just as Berilla just said, I think decharacterization should always be something which is considered, should always be the last step because when you come out of a production, the first thing you need to do is to decharacterize for you to go back to being the normal you. But when we go back to, we just go back home and we tend to have the impact of whatever we perform there still ruling our life. And we are undergoing a series of depression, anxiety, a lot of pressure from the society. Life itself is becoming unbearable with the economic drain. So we really get it tough outside there but most of us don't want to tackle the problem itself. Soon up at the major way that we use to get rid of it is go to the next play, get that character which is probably joyful, then you will think like life is already good. But immediately when you go to the stage, when you are cheered up by the crowd, you feel like now life is good, they have loved your performance, when you go back to that home, that bed seat, you go to bed room, you go to bed room, when you are now there and lying on that bed is when things start running back again, that life is a total mess to you. And most of us go through a lot of societal thoughts that people don't know outside there. So I think the characterization is something that should always be put into a consideration by most of the actors, yeah. Do you think also we are prone to substance abuse? Uda pata ati sasa wa sana we ingindo anakunyuangasana amando anapenda nga shere sana or is just something to do with some type of addiction? Do you think we are prone to it because of that is true because in the entertainment industry shere ni kitu kubu asana kwa or ati we ingindo anapanya entertainment but most of them are using it as a as a leeway or an escape route from whatever is happening. Not because they want to, not because that they feel it's fun but life is just pushing them to that direction. They see there is no other way and they cannot handle things with their like life the way it is in reality. So they have to at least do something to put them in another level at least where they don't see life as raw as it is but at least feel a little bit of that illusion of joy, happiness for that single moment and then it's gone. So na pata when it's gone now you're back to reality you don't want to face the reality because it's ugly. So you find another way again to snap back to that illusion again. So people really do abuse drugs and substances in this this industry. And I think it's a major problem that should always be tackled. People should come out, people should talk, people should engage in programs, mentorship programs for young artists that are coming through. It's not even affecting people who are still not making, even people who have made it we find that they don't know what una pata yo pese me kushitua you don't know what you want. So una na tu nishere maybe to repay the longer life that you lived where things are not okay so una dan itu, ah, it pese kwa pata na fatuishere ke you don't think about investing, you don't think about engaging in business and the things that can even better your life better the society at large. We may have lost you a little bit when you were talking about the therapy sessions so maybe we can do that again in the day rolling. What I would think is actually looking for therapy sessions to start them because at some particular point I found out that maybe I had lost myself because I used to hide in theatre and numb some part of me and try to forget about it and I also noticed that not so many people consider the de-rolling part because you finish a session and after that production the much we usually do is maybe repost the beautiful moments that we went through even catching up with either the director or the actor that you were with on set is not much of a session that people plan for so the de-rolling for me I used to do it maybe hiding at home for a week or two, I go nothing no communication, no nothing but now since things changed in my life because I am a mother I had now to look for something else and now I am intentional in who is around me when you are around me what are we doing because as the way he has said the times that we do alcohol to be specific as that slight tipsy moment nibliki for lack of a better word I sleep and wait for the following day and now the sad part is when you wake up the following day the problem is not twice as much when it hits you so yeah I am really really looking forward to my therapy session I am both as a mother and then as a burial and then as an actor at that calibre you are very articulate I like it ok so we have just been touching on mental health and the arts in particular these rates of suicide the addictions the substances and all these things it's a very real situation jumbona kuna inza spirit almost every 5 meters inza nani nani anas tu me so let's talk about these things kindly hashtags in the morning tell me about your experiences what is maybe the biggest production when did you feel like a new SSA a mini actabuana buni e shimu when you started telling people I've done this maybe I'll start with you Derek personally I can't say that I've been in that much of a bigger production oh jadibu kwaanha see kuka mama I'm just being truthful here because I'm still on the journey of learning and growing you know being mentored and the fact that this is what I study so it's still a long way for me but at least getting engaged with people outside there who have been in big productions working with great directors like Stuart Nash production like Sarofina I can say it's a great experience but I started off as a a travelling theatre actor that's my basis though there is a background which I cannot expose here still because it was it's kind of ten ten ten ten ya issi ya certain production which is kind of a secret but so majorly I started as a travelling theatre actor doing set books just immediately after fomfo that's in 2018 after that came to Nairobi life became still unbearable did a little bit here shambalama Nairobi linifunza but we were still doing it for the love of art then joining Kenyatta University I think it opened doors for more production they are working with production like fifth wheel conservatory Nairobi performing art studio majorly being mentored by great coach like Helen Tawali for the voice and stuff Stuart Nash I've mentioned that kitchen production but my greatest achievement so far maybe I can say is during the kid fest 2022 last year when we had a chance to perform dead men that's the greatest production I can say has impacted my life because dead men did a lot to me in understanding what this craft is all about it exposed me to even what we are calling mental health right now we are talking about because I realized a lot about the character I was performing whose name is Doc actually this is a person whose mentally he was not okay he is the head of the government and he is running the government so you can really picture the kind of society he was really running because this is a person who is not right upstairs but he has people who are subject to him so yeah it really exposed me to a lot knew a lot on how to handle that and it still made me go through a lot of that mental health issues because after that it was really tough and hard for me to get out of that character because literally you had to mess up your head for you to be the character so you had to get out of the role you had to do a lot for it you had to take a break after that I was going for an audition but still when you are in Yonaku you still Doc even recently when I did a production for my classmates the lecturer was like you are still Doc so I went for an audition because it was such a tough experience for me but I can say so far it's so good we are still going on working with the likes of Beryl here both in Travelling Theater and in commercial theaters it's a good experience for me you keep talking about Stuart Nash man like he is he is still going on Stuart is really giving us an eye opener in the industry he is the only reason we have never been in a musical before that whole singing and dancing and acting at the same time really confused I don't think I have a multitask in my entire life now the same question translated to you would be a bit deeper because I want to hear all the dimensions as a stage manager as an actor I received the blessing thank you I also started in set books that was way back in 2013 after high school and then after that I joined for Naka Arts Productions still as an actress doing set books here and then I started seeing their shows the ones they were doing for Kikuyu back in the day and then I got interested after cutting call and then in set books both a stage manager both acts and does so you like why is this lady just set aside or this gentleman set aside for stage managing and then one time I just went and engaged with her and she is like I like being a stage manager because I get to understand and run things behind the scenes hence it also boosts your skills as an actress to understand the script because apart from engaging the actors with their times you as a stage manager in case an actor or an actress gets an emergency you have to step in for them and in those situations where you have been type casted for one thing for the same time and then you get into a space where you will have to be versatile and it's not like being prepared to be versatile it's part of the moment muna afikashom nambiwa Beryl Senso is not coming and that is what the director tells you and then he leaves when the director is not there you take up the mantle and move with it for the actors not to feel the director is not is not in session so after getting into that is when I met Mavin Kibicho he is the producer of Son of Man Productions and he was first doing shows in church and it was amazing I really loved it and I was like maybe I could add one or two as a stage manager as I honed my skills into this space Up until in 2019 where I met a music director Martin Kigondo we worked with him at Son of Man Productions and then now in 2019 December I gave birth so I took a break 2020 I was supposed to come back stage managing then COVID did the thing so it was again break by force stay at home look for something else to do and then this year we did now a project with him and I was like ya I had missed this and that is what adrenaline I get in stage managing and running left right and center and he can tell you a different character while acting and a different character while stage managing because I love doing two things that are challenging me at the same time because complacency do not bring the better out of you I love it I love it I love it English is not just for me please continue interacting with us by the way type casting has it ever happened to you how do you feel about it I've always been type casted wala being the villain character this bad guy I've never done this kind of a lover boy I've only done it maybe once and it was not working out I realized it's not really working out because every time you feel like you want to love express love to somebody you're kind of rough because you're used to handling people roughly and shouting at people commanding these authoritative kind of guy it's really tough for me it's something that I'm really trying right now to at least peel it off me to be free for my body to experience so many characters because most of the time I just reflect that if you give me a new character it's not working out because I don't feel the joy in doing it because I'm used to that other character kind of a character that's I want to just command you every now and then so you have a comfort zone step out very fast but it's not a comfort zone because every opportunity I get the people are like you can do that role I've ever seen you there so do this so yes you want to do the other role but you are not the boss so people will be like how do you get out of that better because I honestly understand what type of character you are after me I fought with it for a long time and I can see it for the first time this weekend I am doing a character I have never done because for set books majorly they look at your face not even how you relate with people they look at your face and they say you're an introvert so this character is for you and then you like counter experiment until you push out of that is when you actually get it but it is a fight it's a battle that you constantly have to prove that you do something else or you can also find some people that they tell okay you want to stress something else now they give you something weird like they tell better not do comedy I'm like okay wait chill I was just asking for something to enhance my emotions because I think this is one director who told me the reason why I have never given you a different thing is you did another traditional role so well so me when I look at you I just see a traditional person and I'm like kia nye jitu kila sa so yes type casting works and you know at some point we also ask the actors who may be entangle the director or the script writer at that particular time because if I am loyal we are loyal to the production we are diligent with our work and the guy did not attack me like attack him to tempatia pressure because there is no one who can crack me for lack of a better word so they are like let me also okay this guy is willing to do this then that is what it's what happens maybe the script writer is more of deru's type of thinking and character type so anytime he sits and writes he's like oh my gosh this is deru and then he continues and then you find also deru is like ya this is me is not like this is me and then they go with it but at times it helps but at times it limits because now the limit comes when it's hard to derol because you do something kufuatana even your life now changes to that at the time I used to read deru's status I would say relax relax we usually call him psycho even the warmups please do not do psycho warmups okay there's a thing I've once had in this journey of mine as a presenter ati did I was in auditioning my name came up somewhere to do something else similar type thing entertainments like ya so I came to say ati we don't want to recycle presenters I said okay so how do you answer such a person because that's not a creative talking and if I take offence that's not for me to take offence that is not a creative talking because how it's like saying Denzel Washington should just act one movie naksha act aende in fact we never want to see him again ni kama kusima me me by I feel you it's like saying to a production behind the scenes you're only supposed to do one show and never do another one again how do you cope with such people who have a say but they're not creative I think that's forming a major problem even in our film let me just go to film because that's why I experience that a lot in our film it's kind of an agenda that most people are pushing for because people are down here they don't want the actors always to be recycled we keep on seeing the same Maria we keep on seeing the same Pascal Tokodi every now and then yet there are people who want your brandawairimu there are people who have much more greater talent and they want to be there but ok and apuna you are good yes but we have not seen you somewhere so let us give brandawairimu we understand of course jina he can attract also but again it's really good for them to recycle for that exactly when it comes to business purposes it's helping but when it comes to growing the industry to me I think ok that's my view recycling every now and then doing with the same kind of people it's not going to work for us if you want to move on we really need to give chance for new people to come through because I believe great ideas that one I can tell you for sure are with these people who are still under who have not been given opportunity and I believe if they have been given a chance they can really do great to improve our television programs to improve our films and put the creative economy on a higher level but if I may just agree with burial I think sometimes directors don't want that extra trouble like nisha nika script nisha mkukast but I can train for 5 more months when this one has already maybe no I'm not disagreeing as budding artist because me I see it as a famous category I think I need to put more effort let me not just demand the job just because I want it if nani is supposed to have this job okay what is nani doing different from me I want to come up to before I get a job before I get a job this is what I'm bringing to the table versus me just say oh I'm new stop stop just putting the same people even as we want a chance I think also to like maybe throw a spanner in the works if we say like recycling if we say that you haven't gotten the opportunity how have you packaged your art how have you packaged yourself truth be told as much as we are theater fanatics we are theater lovers but what is your social media talking about can I tap into burial and actually see that she's doing something by the end of the day because the people that we say are being recycled go to their social media they are very active they are in our faces and nobody wants we only want to do the the gram we want to be in the gram for the lifestyle but not the art I just want to be the pretty burial but not show while burial a kona mando ana tembe ana hukon yuma atajuadze burial a kinga kwa kazi ana ana inga so as much as we might complain that they are being recycled but this person that has been on the full line the whole time how does the portfolio look like do you even have one how is your bio created that is now what speaks for you as an actor so theater is even risky because if you don't come to the theater you will not see my work so if I want you to see my work what do I do have I gone to an extra mile to even invite you for a play have I invited that director that person that I wanted to work with so it's also the back stops with me if I want to be up there let me package myself to make it easier for my work to speak but not my words to speak that's powerful so let's not just want things by force let's be prepared to put in the work it's equal to even worse I know someone my cousin's brother's uncle's father so to square more to square more money let's be of substance please kindly it's not just me telling pointing fingers alright so let's get to the meat of the conversation you have a play coming tell me all about that well we have two plays the first one is this weekend it's called it wasn't me we are the main characters but it is more of me and him and now him I feel is not having a challenge because the cycle is big and then there's Beril who's being messed up with mentally in that art space yes if I remove Miki Patina but it's quite a challenging play because it's a couple it's a couple that is a lawyer and she handles weird cases left right and center and every day fascinates her and at the same point she's also naive because there's some statements that she says and then I'm like Beril I will never say such a thing not me after this play I'm dumping that life yes that's actually the character that I do a lawyer who comes from work complaining about her work and she's like because I'm out of work let me just come and enjoy life with my boo at home and then I find my boo who's troubled at that time only to find out later that he was actually playing with my mind and then now there is my friend who I thought was naive but now apparently she's the psycho it's the quiet ones actually she's not so quiet she's bubbly you know you don't expect bubbly people to kill the quiet ones are expected to kill like you look at Beril and they will say this one can kill and then the bubbly ones you're like this one is for you she's so nice and then she's the one who kills in the play so it's a challenge for me because the last role I did touched on my my heart caught the bone so it took like a whole man to relax and then now back to this it is because that one was caged bad and I think that was the best player we've ever done and now being that it was also free I had to go to the emotions and the lens that I've never gone and think there's a quote I read where for an actor I don't actually necessarily have to cry to make the audience cry let me take you until you feel like I am crying and you will cry on my behalf and when I got that I was happy I was like but I went and cried at home later but I felt fulfilled by the end of the day so that is it wasn't me at the Waterfront Karen I'll just let him speak about his character near me yes and that one I am acting slightly stage managing I don't know what to do I don't know what to do you guys don't understand what stage managing is it's not easy how long is the play the play is 2 hours 2 hours no intermission no intermission personally I'm not leaving the stage I think I'm leaving just for 5 minutes I don't know what to do I'm just sitting stage managing your time I think it's a good idea to cut to rehearse but it's not a show it's not a stage managing because we are playing playing a boy I want you to tell me a bit about your character and then the second play the first play is this weekend I'm playing the character Alan Alan is a director in a certain production and he is married to Eva he is a lawyer a lawyer something of that Alan is this guy who has realized that the wife has betrayed him because the wife has slept with his best friend innocently they call it involuntary adultery when you imagine that involuntary adultery my son is playing this Friday, Saturday, Sunday waterfront curry so he knows everything he has the entirety but you know he's just trying to manipulate Eve to see whether she really can come out and speak for herself but already in his mind he knows the entire thing because even he himself is the one who gave the best friend custody into the house he's just he knew it was involuntary thank you so at this particular time he uses an excuse of he has killed that guy and the guy is in the kitchen the body is lying in the kitchen just to mess around with the wife to see if he can go my head is aching so the guy is a psycho because he is using all this death thingy to manipulate the wife get information tell the wife that you are going down with me anyway your career is just going to be destroyed that way you have to and at the same time also he himself has slept with the best friend kanaero I don't know the kanaero described in the script I think it's not even the kanaero thingy because the only thing that's making it unique is both of them know though she doesn't know that I've slept with the best friend even the script ends when she doesn't know but me I know that she has slept with my best friend but still life goes on like we are not even fighting I just want explanation how did it happen just tell me and everything is just going to why do you want more details it's helping me in writing my play because my form a play formed so I'm using this to write my next play which I'm planning to be like to have it as a kamba I'm done with you Alan Eric I'm not done with you but Alan I am done tell me about the second play we have to one time always runs out when you're having a really good time okay just briefly tell me so this one just to add more it is being produced by 2 hours sunset Friday is 7pm Saturday is 6pm Sunday is 6pm charges are 2,000 Bob at Karin and the next one it's that one now I am stage managing and production managing it's being produced by Sanuman Productions both plays are written by Marvin Kibicho it's a play by Marvin Kibicho a brilliant script writer and director he's a psycho I can say that but he writes amazing things and things that actually messes up with your mental space and now this one is talks more about the PTSD state of the of the emergency in 1952 a soldier who went to world war 2 and then after the world war 2 the brother in law died and because of that guilt because he had given that order he actually decides not to come back home immediately and then goes back to the war to fight a war that doesn't engage him, the war between the Germans and the British just to okay okay I am afraid I have to cut short over there but just one more time social media handles and remind us the time again of the two plays it's okay so this one is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 6pm on Saturday and Sunday and then Friday 7pm drums of war that is on 30th of April at Kenya National Theatre we have a show at 3pm and 6pm our tickets for drums of war are at muk.com they are the advanced tickets then there's the ones at the gate maybe they can just check our social media handles maybe flash sales to come at Son of Man Productions my personal one is at Berry Londo and then we have at Mavella Mavin Kibichu the director then we have at Michelle Tires at Naomi the actress at Prince Della he's also in that play and then we have at Saisee the poet yeah alright there you have it at Whitefife on Facebook keep it why in the morning good job guys thank you