Zaza’s personal experience
By Zandile Zaza Ndlovu
Every year I take on a new challenge. And it is always centered on promotion of our local artistes.
This year saw me join and help launch the Zimbabwe Championships of Performing Arts, Zicopa.
It has been an incredible journey, filled with a mixture of excitement, challenges, heartbreaks, joy and relief.
When we launched Zicopa many people were skeptical and could not fathom that we could actually operate on the global scale we were talking about, let alone take a team to Hollywood to represent the country.
The World Championships of Performing Arts were a new concept that no one had ever heard of.
So as the ground of introducing who we were and what we stood for began, and being completely self-funded; many people were shocked.
The journey to Hollywood began with us going round the country looking for local talent scouts to be our eyes and ears on the ground and help identify talent that was unique and could fare well internationally.
We opened up easy channels of communication by asking scouts and contestants to send one minute auditions via our Whatsapp platform and our Facebook page and also got the local media to be involved.
The response was incredible as many hopefuls sent in their videos.
As Zicopa we had a judging panel and narrowed the list to 30 contestants.
We asked them to find individual sponsorship to take part in the competition, however due to the economic crisis and high fees that the competition required we lost some of our contestants which was very heartbreaking for us.
In my case it was particularly sad, because these were artistes I had recruited and knew that the level of talent would blow Hollywood expectations.
Reality set in that with only two months to fundraise, we would most likely have a small team.
One of the bright moments though was having the support of the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe His Excellency Mr Harry Thomas Jr who had prior knowledge of the World championships.
He rallied his staff to support us and that helped us in a great way.
Visiting the corporate world was a nightmare, as most companies were taking up financial positions to manage the cash crisis.
Meaning there were unable to assist our team. Few individuals like businessman Mr Biggie Chinoperekwei and his wife, bought into the vision and gave us financial assistance.
Due to the economic crisis, accessing cash to pay for our air tickets became a major challenge. In the end, we had to split the team that we had with one group traveling earlier than the other.
Nothing however beats the relief of finally traveling and actually having a team to represent the country.
As the team manager no one prepares you for the kind of hard work that is put in behind the scenes.
To the public, they see the beautiful pictures and gold medals the team wins, but for us behind the scenes it’s a nail biting, nerve wrecking experience.
One that has strengthened me and toughened me to be able to face bigger obstacles.
As the team manager, I was managing four very different individuals; each with very different character traits.
Others very outgoing extrovert individuals whilst others more introvert and reserved.
It meant managing the issues of being in each other’s personal spaces, pep talks every day to rally the team on. Dealing with nerves once the team realised the competition was very stiff and not knowing if they would make it. Handling disappointment after not qualifying while others qualified. Being the team doctor as some had allergies, suffering from fatigue due to the harsh schedules, others being diabetic and knowing when to ensure they took their meds and had regular food. Being the team coach and being the drill sergeant as every day I put the team through rehearsals.
What most people don’t realise is it is not enough to be just talented. A lot of showmanship and strategy goes on before one takes to the stage. My team at first didn’t realise the value of this and probably for the first few days were unhappy with me being tough on them.
However the reward and recognition came after they started qualifying, that the rehearsals and coaching actually paid off. For seven days I managed the team’s diary in terms of knowing the times and venues they were performing in.
In all of this, I was also the team’s journalist; writing stories, taking pictures and videos and liaising with media back home on updates and running our social media platforms.
My experience in Hollywood was one I would not trade for the world. It gave me an appreciation of team dynamics, the harshness and intensity of the entertainment industry as well as the magnitude and preparation it takes to take a team to global competitions.
One of the best things I take away from this experience is the power of networking. Not only did I make great contacts with Hollywood entertainment practitioners, but I also got to meet part of the Zimbabwean community in Los Angeles.
It was such a pleasure having my good friend Tongai Chirisa an actor based in Hollywood and Nomagugu Gandary take time out of their busy schedules to come and watch our team perform. Through them we also got to meet Panashe Designer Chipo Mudzengi Hwami and her beautiful family, Philipa Sibanda from San Francisco who treated the team to a victory lunch celebration.
As the Zimbabweans in the diaspora, they expressed joy at being able to connect with us and would like to build synergies that would see them being more involved in the support and welfare of our teams as they return next year for the world championships.
To all those aspiring to travel as team managers, it is important to note that as a team you become a family. And you as the team manager are responsible for that family. A lot of patience, mutual respect, cheerleaders and tough love become the order of the day.
I am grateful to the various media houses that gave our team coverage. To the people of Zimbabwe for all the best wishes and support shown on Facebook we say thank you. We smile now but for the Zicopa team especially Jessica Nyarayi Tandy and Nontokozo Moyo our founders; it started out as a dream that has become a reality.
We have managed as Zicopa to make local Arts stars into global stars. There is nothing more rewarding than that. I personally hope to see more of our home grown talent exposed to the international arena.
