27 Mar 2014

It is not wrong to be a go-getter, but it’s always best to know exactly what you want and how you are going to get it.

It is even wiser to always understand that the road to success is full of hurdles and requires hard work, resilience and a lot of patience. Members of Bogogobo Theatre Group, formerly known as Baitlhophi, had this in mind when they started in 2010.

The group is made up of energetic young souls from Middlepits and surrounding villages of Bogogobo, Kolonkwaneng, Khuis, Khawa and Gakhibane.The group’s director is Mmoloki Malepeng, a 27-year-old young man from Tsetsebjwe.

As a director, his main job is to coordinate the presentation of real or imagined events through gestures, music, speech and dance. He perceives an artist as a medium of expression that can be used to portray important messages to the world.

“That is our main objective as Bogogobo. We aim to spread the message of life using stories that revolve around the social, religious, political and economic aspects of our daily existence. This has enabled us to become very knowledgeable about what happens in our societies,” he said.

The story of Bogogobo theatre group dates back to 2010 when a group of 15 youths, bound by a common love for drama, song and dance, ganged together to form a drama group called Baithaopi. Malepeng said at the time they were a bunch of fiery youngsters who just wanted to perform.

They were aspiring performers who just wanted to hit the stage, to sing and dance. According to Malepeng, members of Baitlhophi were bound by an even stronger common trait, they were all unemployed, yet they wanted to make a change in the society they lived in. “Theatre was our ticket out of poverty and unemployment.

We were aware of the dangers of unemployment and the lures of bad habits like drinking and drug abuse. But we wanted none of that. We stood up and formed this group because we wanted to save ourselves, fellow youth and other Batswana,” he said.

Parents contributed what they could and some good Samaritans from the community also helped. In no time, Baitlhophi was part of the President’s Day celebrations. Unfortunately, in that year, 2010, they didn’t proceed to constituency levels. But they were not deterred, instead they worked harder and the group became even stronger.

Their efforts paid off because by 2012 they were a regular feature in celebrations, workshops, kgotla meetings and ceremonies. “We gained massive recognition in the blink of an eye.

The community around Middlepits and nearby areas started inviting us to their events and even paying us for performing. Suddenly we hit the big time,” said Malepeng. He was however quick to point out that success did not go to their heads.

Instead they became one big happy family, bound by the massive support they enjoyed from their parents and friends. As time passed, Malepeng said he and his fellow members decided to register their group as a business.

In December 2013, Baitlhophi was legally registered as Bogogobo Theatre Group (Pty) Ltd. It was now a fully-fledged business.
Malepeng revealed that the group is currently conducting a workshop for pupils in Std 1 to 4 at Middlepits Primary School, with the aim of unearthing raw talent and nurturing it from an early age.

“We are doing this for free. This is part of us giving back to the community. This is very important because we also started from a very young age,” he said.

For Malepeng, working with Bogogobo was a dream come true because it allowed him to do what he loves. Although he now works as a constable in the police force, Malepeng said his first love will always be performing, poetry and acting.

“I cannot begin to describe how grateful I am for working with all the members of this group. I am a director of a very successful group and I am doing what I love,” he said.

As in any other project, Bogogobo has its own challenges, among them lack of transport to and from events they get invited to, lack of equipment and escalating rental costs.

However, Malepeng remains confident that they will overcome their hurdles through hard work. “With hard work we will be able to defeat all our problems. At the moment we are actively looking for a sponsor who will help us grow,” he said. Ends