“I have memories of putting on little shows and recitals for my family and giving them no option but to pay attention. This was before I knew people were paid to put on shows,” he said in a recent interview from his base in the U S.
Growing up in a family where everyone pursued very conventional and logical career paths (his father is a respected advocate and former Minister of Constitutional Affairs) it took time for him to be able to say out loud that he wanted to act.
He attended Peterhouse College, near Marondera, and all through high school he agonized about what he wanted to do with his life. “I researched and learnt about farming, accounting and even considered archeology. All the while performance stayed at the back of my mind. I found some creative outlet by playing marimba, singing in the choir and helping with drama,” he said.
In 2008 his inner flame was ignited. The disputed elections had just ended and Zimbabwe was engulfed in political violence and uncertainly. Amid the chaos, his father was arrested. Taku sought refuge on the stage. “It became my safe haven. My father’s arrest happened to take place at the same time as a drama competition was taking place at school. I directed and starred in the production for my house. We came second last and the show was a disaster. But the fact that I was able to act and express myself got me through this difficult time. I was able to escape and be someone else for a couple of minutes. My performance was particularly panned by the judges and I couldn’t have been happier.”
Strong emotions
Since then he has spent two years at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts where he studied acting, dance, comedy and improvisation and also received voice and speech training. He specialized in various dialects, stage combat and is an accomplished tenor.
His fascination with acting is rooted in drama’s ability to evoke strong emotions. “I remember watching Kramer vs Kramer as a young child with my father, I was barely six. I remember not really understanding what was going on but just feeling so overwhelmed, knowing it was fiction and not able to understand why I felt so sad,” he reminisced.
In one of his acting classes Take worked on a scene from the same film and gained a deeper understanding of the characters involved. He vowed then that he would put all his energies into being able to act with the same realism as Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. “This challenged my whole outlook on live and gave me focus,” he said.
“I was never the cool kid or anything like that, but now when someone calls me weird I can always tell them I’m an artist. This defines me and it has given me the privilege of being able to tell amazing stories and give a voice to those that would otherwise have been silent. It takes me out of my comfort zone. I can’t imagine anything else making me as happy and I wouldn’t want to,” explained Taku – who is refining his art and his skills in New York while waiting for his big break
Post published in: Arts