March 13, 2012: The call of the stage, lights, sound and performance has long been a core part of award-winning musician and musical director Evan Roberts’s life, but in recent years it’s as an events producer that he has seized the limelight.
Evan, along with business partner Carroll Lazarus, has since 2004 been running Makulu Event Producers, a Durban-based, but increasingly nationally focused events production company. Among their considerable achievements are the Johannesburg Growth Development Strategy 2040 launch, the COP17 Faith Rally held in Durban, the CNN African Journalist Awards 2011, various events for Mediterranean Shipping Company, the AmaZulu Football Club awards evening and events for SAB.
Evan himself has won numerous awards for his work on and behind the stage, including Mercury Durban Theatre Awards for performance and musical direction. The production Cabaret – which will be touring Johannesburg and Cape Town later this year – was a multiple award winner in 2011, and Evan and Justin Southey jointly won the Musical Director award. Through his work with the KickstArt theatre company, Evan has achieved significant success on stage, building a reputation for top quality productions.
A talented pianist and keyboard player, he is as comfortable on stage as he is behind the scenes, directing operations, composing tunes or pulling the strings.
Show-stopping
Balancing theatre commitments with his passion for putting on show-stopping events, Evan is now proud to talk about Makulu’s latest achievement, unearthing and developing the talents of Ayanda Shabangu, to the point where she becomes an integral part of the Makulu team.
“I think something that is seriously lacking in South African society and business in general is the genuine desire to develop new talent and create employment opportunities. We identified Ayanda as someone with the talent, potential and passion to succeed in this industry, as someone we wanted to mentor so that she could play a significant role in our company,” said Evan.
The petite Ayanda chipped in: “I’m so fortunate that I get a chance to work and learn in this industry that’s really so vibrant and dynamic. Take the COP17 rally, for example, I got to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Arno Carstens. Wow!”
Joining the company in 2011, she has largely “gone to school”, shadowing key members of the Makulu team, particularly Evan and Carroll, who is the team member with a head for figures, accounts and quotations.
“It has been daunting at times, particularly the operations side of the business, but I reckon by the end of this year I will be getting to where I want to be,” said Ayanda.
“We want to get to the point where Ayanda can take an event and run with it in its entirety, no small achievement in this pressurised business,” said Evan.
And the former Maris Stella pupil – who started her Drama Performance degree at UKZN, still dances with Flatfoot Dance Company and studies ballet with Mary Ann Salvage – is up to the challenge. “Watch me go,” she says with a shy smile.
Just for interest’s sake, I asked this talented crew what their dream job would be.
“A major production in Durban harbour, with huge fireworks and folks up on the Berea watching the spectacle from above,” said Evan. “Opera singers on boats,” chipped in Ayanda. “And spectacular flyovers from the Bluff.”
Spectacular’s the key word … with a number of impressive “irons in the fire,” watch this Durban success story take wing and fly. – Garth Johnstone
Contact details:
Makulu Event Producers
031 312 1281
E-mail evan@makuluevents.co.za or ayanda@makuluevents.co.za
www.makuluevents.co.za or find them on Facebook “Makulu Event Producers”