Steering Committee
Neo Kebiditswe
Gaborone, Botswana
neo@marutvbw.com | @KebiditsweNeo | linkedin.com/in/neolkebiditswe/ | facebook.com/neokebiditswebw
Neo Kebiditswe is a Writer/ Director and holds a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts (Theatre Arts), and has currently completed her honors bachelor's degree in Motion Picture Medium, in Writing/Directing for film. A big believer in the impossible, Neo supports the art of storytelling as a powerful way to convey messages by stimulating experiences that are both inspirational and eye-opening.
Neo is a resilient professional in the creative industry, having spent over 3 years as a freelance theatre maker and theatre intern, where she functioned as an Administrative, Practical and Creative Support for the Theatre Department of the University of Botswana. Neo has over 6 years of writing experience in theatre, and now recently, in film. Prior to joining the University of Botswana in 2015, Neo gained stage writing and directing experience through freelancing, by working with a diverse range of organizations, including USAID, Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, Red Cross, and Petlo Literary Trust. In this role, Neo was responsible for conceptualizing, writing and directing stage productions for workshops, corporate and community gatherings.
Neo specializes in content producing and creative project administration support, and has successfully served a range of clients, including corporate professionals, government departments, non-profit organizations and private individuals. She is the author of an internationally recognized play, Motlhala, which was staged in Santiago, Chile at the Women International Playwrights Conference in 2018. Neo contributes to Botswana's creative industry by advocating for consistent work ethic and professionalism by taking part in consultative gatherings with the government, producing original quality written works and mentoring aspiring writers or creatives. Neo offers a wide range of services, including project proposal writing and creative workshops. Drawing on several years in the creative industry, mainly freelancing, Neo now focuses on building her brand and production company, Neo Loves (PTY) Ltd. Her varied background in fine arts and theatre provided the foundation to be a writer/director in television and film.
Neo's short play, Domino, was published in a sponsored compilation under the theme of Gender-Based Violence, which is made available on all national libraries and non-profit organizations that stand against Gender-Based Violence, in Botswana. Neo's work has been exhibited in local theatre festivals, the Assitej African Youth Festival, and selected for Vavasati Theatre Festival. Passionate about film and its possibilities, Neo provides an extensive background in research, that helps untold stories and contemporary issues to be broadcasted, and to also brand Botswana to the world.
Neo is currently a Producer at Maru Television, and she is available for private consultations. She can be reached on the contact information above, and on social media through Facebook and Linkedin.
'Tosin Tume
‘Tosin Tume is a Nigerian playwright, theatre creator, and scholar. She holds a B.A, M.A and Ph.D. degrees in English, Theatre Arts and Performing Arts from the University of Ilorin, University of Abuja, and University of Ilorin, Nigeria, respectively. She is a member of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Association of Dance Scholars and Practitioners of Nigeria (ADSPON), African Theatre Association (AfTA), Women Playwrights International (WPI), and African Women Playwrights Network (AWPN). She has served as the Events Manager of the Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA), and is currently the Treasurer of the body. Dr. Tume has to her credit several published and unpublished plays, and dance scripts. Her works include The Pact (2013), Tribal Marks (2014), Mojogbayi (2015), Arodan (2018), Let there be Light (2018), and The Victims (2019).
As the Drama entry for the Nasarawa State Dance and Drama Troupe, Dr. Tume’s play, The Pact, took first position at the 2009 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Annual Cultural Festival in Bauchi, Nigeria. Also her play titled Sweet Poison was among the selected scripts for the 2015 ASSITEJ SA New Writing for Young Audiences in Africa programme which was run in partnership with The Kennedy Centre’s New Visions New Voices project in Washington D.C, United States, and The Soweto Theatre in Guateng, South Africa. Her play titled Not That Woman is among the anthology of seven plays in the Contemporary Plays by African Women published by Methuen Drama via the platform of African Women Playwrights Network (AWPN). Dr Tume is a recipient of the SONTA-Theodora Tobrise Young Female Thesis Assistance Grant Award, and her play The Victims won the 2019 Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) National Best Drama Prize. She currently teaches in the department of Theatre and Media Arts, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Philisiwe Twijnstra
Philisiwe Twijnstra is a South African writer, director and actor. She resides in Durban where she founded Durban Women Playwrights in 2017. She was also selected as one of the female directors for a Women’s' Theatre Festival in Johannesburg (2016) to stage her first award winning play by a Dutch writer, Theo Fransz Matty & Sis. She was part of the novel script project at National Arts Festival after which she wrote Salty Pillows which took 2nd place at Pansa Playwright Festival. (2017). Ms Twijnstra was shortlisted for Short Sharp Stories (2017) for her short Story Little Black Sandals. She received a fellowship in Germany (2018) and her play The Red Suitcase was selected for staged readings in Canada by Zee Zee Theatre. (2018) Ms Twijnstra was recipient of the CASA playwright award for a residency in 2018 to develop her new play Not Enough Buses in Spring. In November 2019 Ms Twijnstra directed Nongogo at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Ms Twijnstra is one of the five finalists of the Distell National Playwright Competition 2020, She completed her master’s in creative Writing at Rhodes University.