12/06/2025
*🎬 VERSATILE ARTIST MANAGEMENT* *AGENCY "VAMA" CASTING CALL FOR A NDEBELE FILM*🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲
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*Versatile Artist Management Agency is looking for the following Ndebele actors (Strictlyfluent in IsiNdebele).*
This is a new Ndebele FilmRequest an Audition script and then send a not more than *2minute self-tape.* Send with Your name, Age, Character applying for, and the picture.Please read the brief before applying to a brief. *No greetings, no chats, just ask for the script.*🙏🏾
*Deadine: 14/02/2025*
*Apply from: 0784677903*
1. *ZEKHABO* – Male, 19, Black South African Occupation: Aspiring warrior; chosen candidate for the "Killing of a Beast" ritual Language/Accent: isiNdebele Physical Description: Tall, lean, determined eyes, visibly young but emotionally mature for his age
- *Personality*:
● Bold, defiant, and impetuous
● Carries the weight of ancestral expectation
● Frustrated by traditional gatekeeping but deeply committed to proving his worth
Key Traits:
● Yearning for purpose and valour
● Emotionally volatile but deeply honourable
Acting Notes:
This role requires intensity and vulnerability. Zekhabo is caught between youth and legend, and the
actor must convey deep yearning, self-doubt, and quiet anger. A face that reflects pride and confusion simultaneously.
2. *THABISO* – Male, 15, Black South African.
Occupation: Teenage boy on the brink of manhood Language/Accent: isiNdebele.
- Physical Description:
Slim, innocent-looking, with expressive eyes that hint at inner turmoil
- Personality:
● Quiet and thoughtful
● Reluctant heir to a brutal cultural tradition
● Deeply bonded with his mother, Nora
Key Traits:
● Naïve but emotionally intelligent
● Haunted by expectation and fear of failure.
Acting Notes:
- Needs a young actor with emotional range, capable of internalizing fear and conflict while still projecting the stoicism expected of a boy entering manhood. Must carry scenes with minimal dialogue and convey subtle shifts in maturity.
3. *KING MNYAMANE II* – Male, 50, Black South African Occupation: The Bhala King and absolute ruler Language/Accent: Commanding isiZulu or Setswana accent.
Physical Description:
Regal, physically intimidating, a presence that fills a room even in silence.
Personality:
● Traditionalist to the bone
● Resolute, emotionally unreadable
● Treats rituals as sacred and non-negotiable
Key Traits:
● Power embodied in silence and ritual
● Wields cultural authority with cold indifference
Acting Notes: This is not a flamboyant king, but a heavy, brooding monarch. Must be able to
command respect without needing to speak. Actor should feel grounded in traditional African
royalty, preferably with experience in ceremonial storytelling or performance.
4. *ZANDI* – Female, 33, Black South African Occupation: Clerk at the Bantu Register of Deaths Language/Accent: isiNdebele and isiXhosa Physical
Description:
Well-kept, working woman, emotionally guarded
Personality:
● Witty, talkative, outspoken
● Balances pain with humor
● Not afraid to challenge taboo subjects
Key Traits:
● Loyal friend, carries a hidden sadness
● Speaks her mind more than most women in the community.
Acting Notes:
Must bring levity and sharpness to heavy scenes. A strong supporting presence that adds social commentary and emotional realism. Comedic timing with dramatic depth is essential.
5. *BUSI* – Female, 34, Black South African
Occupation:
Clerk and co-worker at the Death Registry Language/Accent: isiNdebele and isiXhosa
Physical Description:
Slightly older looking than Zandi, with an empathetic face Personality:
● Quietly philosophical
● Deeply pained by her work
● More cautious and pragmatic than Zandi Key Traits:
● Carries grief in her eyes but seldom speaks of it
● Believes in tradition but is increasingly disillusioned
Acting Notes: Must bring warmth and subdued tension to scenes. She represents the silent burden
of generations of women. The actor must deliver small but impactful emotional moments.
6. *NOKO* – Male, 57, Black South African
Occupation:
Grave Digger Language/Accent: Fluent in isiNdebele
Physical Description:
Lean but wiry, weathered face, deep lines of experience. A face that has seen loss and the otherworldly.
Personality:
● Wise-cracking but cautious.
● Superstitious but sceptical enough to keep a level head.
● A bit of a reluctant leader between him and Besanyana.
● Believes in tradition but is also swayed by money.
Acting Notes: Noko needs to balance humor with the tension of the supernatural. Actor must
convincingly shift from casual banter to fear and moral hesitation. Strong character actor who can
carry both subtlety and panic.
7. *BESANYANA* – Male, 55, Black South African
- Occupation: Grave Digger Language/Accent: Fluent in isiNdebele
- Physical Description: Slightly shorter and rounder than Noko. Scruffy always looks like he just got off a 12-hour shift.
- Personality:
Nervous, twitchy, comically cowardly.
● Easily scared, highly superstitious.
● Follows Noko’s lead but reacts quickly and emotionally.
● Opportunistic when it comes to money, but a moral coward.
- Acting Notes:
Actors must bring comic timing without undermining the gravity of the scene. Should portray authentic fear that borders on slapstick without losing humanity.
- A character actor with great facial expression and instinctive delivery of natural humor.
*CASTING NOTES:*
1. Actors should be comfortable working in ritual scenes, large ensemble ceremonial sequences, and emotionally demanding moments rooted in tradition.
2. Ability to sing/chant traditional praise songs is a bonus for roles.
3. Actors who are fluent in isiNdebele are of first preference.
4. Understanding of traditional Ndebele rituals, idioms, and dress is a major asset.
5. All cast must be comfortable performing in ceremonial or spiritual scenes involving chants, feathers, and rites of passage.
6. Cultural advisors or dialect coaches will be consulted to preserve linguistic integrity.
Good Luck
