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Proscenium Drama Competition

Welcome to the multilingual Proscenium Drama Competition, which offers high school learners from grade 8 to 12 the opportunity to participate individually and express their creativity at a national level.

Prizes to be won
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How does it work?

You will meet successful professional actors and other mentors, and you will rub shoulders with like-minded achievers in cultural and other fields. By the time you reach the finals at Artscape, your network will be much stronger with valuable contacts.

This is a Tribuo project

TOP 8 l-r: Mahlatse Molubi, Henré Henning, Janru Steenkamp, Khian van der Boon, Ronald Theron, Jana Enslin, Luca Human, Francois Retief
Participants in JOSHLIN: MEER AS ‘N NAAM. A professional production debuting at Toyota Woordfees on 11 October 2025 and made possible by Die Stigting vir die Bemagting van Afrikaans. (SBA) l-r: Michael Ruzvidzo, Chriswill Kotze, Mahlatse Molubi, Bronwyn Damon, Sandra Prinsloo, Maundrey Jantjies, Janru Steenkamp, Ronald Theron

What is the purpose?

The aim of the competition is to introduce young actors to the world of the performing arts. Participants are exposed to various facets of the entertainment industry, such as theatre, television, radio and dubbing. Your career decisions will be much better informed after this experience. You will also forge valuable links during the final rounds at Artscape. Enter now and become part of an unforgettable experience.

Rules for participating

Timeline

Date
What happens?
November 2026
Entries open for 2026
29 January 2026
Closing date for entries
23 February – 27 March 2026
Audition rounds in various centres
2 April 2026
Finalists announced
6 – 9 May 2026
Finals at Artscape Theatre

Rules for participants

  • Participants may use material in Afrikaans and/or English. Poems presented in the audition and second rounds, may be in any other official South African language, but candidates are required to provide adjudicators beforehand with a summary or translation of the original text.
  • Time limits must be observed strictly. If participants exceed prescribed time allocations, they will be stopped.
  • After the closing date for entries (29 January 2026), participants will be informed about the date of their first round. Other practical arrangements will also be made. Elimination rounds will be held in various centra all over the country.
  • All high school learners (grade 8 to 12) may enter, but all participants will compete on the same level.
  • Any school, private drama school or teacher may enter pupils. Individuals can also enter on their own.
  • Candidates compete individually, even if they enter under the name of their school, private drama school or teacher.
  • After 2 April 2026, the 60 participants who qualify for the final rounds, will be informed. Final rounds will be held on 6 – 9 May 2026 at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town.
Proscenium Dramakompetisie

Round specifications

  • A poem (own choice)
  • A prose excerpt (own choice)
    The programme may not exceed 6 minutes.
  • A short improvisation (The topic will be announced by the adjudicator.)
  • After this round, adjudicators will select 60 participants who qualify for the next round.

Competition rules

  • Participants may use material in Afrikaans and/or English. Poems presented in the audition and second rounds, may be in any other official South African language, but candidates are required to provide adjudicators beforehand with a summary or translation of the original text.
  • Time limits must be observed strictly. If participants exceed prescribed time allocations, they will be stopped.
  • All high school learners (grade 8 to 12) may enter, but all participants will compete on the same level.
  • Entries are submitted online at proscenium.pro
  • An entry fee of R220,00 per entry is payable via EFT.
  • After the closing date for entries (29 January 2026), organisers will inform participants about the date of their elimination round.
  • Any school, private drama school or teacher may enter pupils. Individuals can also enter on their own.
  • Candidates compete individually, even if they enter under the name of their school, private drama school or teacher.
  • Adjudication will be done by professional experts, appointed by the competition organisers.
  • After 2 April 2026, the 60 participants who qualify for the final rounds, will be informed. Final rounds will be held on 6-9 May 2026 at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town.
  • After the final rounds on 9 May, all winners will be announced during the prize-giving ceremony in Artscape’s Theatre in Cape Town.
  • Results will be final and the adjudicators’ scores will remain confidential.

Prizes

2025 Winners

Middle in first place: Ronald Theron
Left in second place: Janru Steenkamp
Right in third place: Francois Retief

RSG Radio drama

l-r Brendan Kruger, Hanno van Zyl, Kobus Burger, Nina Strydom, Michael Ruxvidzo

Best Junior winner

Renier Pieterse with Sandra Prinsloo and Karen Meiring

2025 Northlink Bursary Winner

Bronwyn Damon with Northlink’s Academic Head, Heloïse Lotz.

2025 winner of financial support from the Ben de Haeck Bursary

Chriswill Kotze with Janeen Wallow, Theltom Masimila, Saartjie Botha, Karen Meiring, Fiona van Kerwel

A variety of prizes and opportunities

Please keep an eye on our social media platforms for the announcement of 2026’s exciting prizes and opportunities.

Enter now for the Proscenium Drama Competition

People involved

Cornelia Faasen

Gillian Mitchell

Herman van der Westhuizen

Ira Blanckenberg

Janine Opperman

Karen Meiring

Proscenium Drama Competition entry form

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Participant details

Name Surname Grade Actions
     

Particulars of parent or teacher

Name *(Required)

MAKE ONLINE PAYMENT (R220 per participant)

EFT INFORMATION

Account name: TRIBUO
Account number: 270245251
Standard bank
Account type: BESIGHEIDS- LOPENDE REKENING
Branch: Stellenbosch
Branch code: 051001
Reference: Proscenium

Max. file size: 3 MB.
Declaration(Required)
I declare that the information above is correct and that I will adhere to the competition rules. I hereby grant permission that photographs of the participant(s) may be used on the competition’s website and social media, as well as in the news media. Included are high quality head and shoulder jpeg-photos of each participant, and also prove of payment to the amount of R220,00 per participant.

Cornelia Faasen

Cornelia Faasen studied Drama and Theatre Studies at Stellenbosch University, obtaining her masters degree cum laude with a research component completed at the University of Amsterdam. In 2010, following the controversial Reitz video incident, she was appointed as Head of Arts and Culture at Free State University – a position focusing on transformation and integration among students through the arts and culture. She became Dean of Student Affairs at the University after serving in a temporary capacity for two years. In 2016, Cornelia joined the National Afrikaans Theatre Initiative (NATi) as CEO. NATi focuses on funding and developing new theatre productions, in collaboration with commissioning festivals. The organisation has a specific interest in the position of Afrikaans as a member of the South African family of indigenous languages, as well as alternative narratives and previously marginalised voices in Afrikaans. Cornelia is also a part-time lecturer in Stellenbosch University’s Drama department, and she specialises in Advanced Theory for post-graduate students, and Introduction to the Industry for undergraduates. Since the inception of the Theatre and Dance Alliance (TADA) in 2021, she has served as deputy chairperson; she is also a founding member of Tribuo, a fund supporting artists. Cornelia lives in Stellenbosch.

Gillian Mitchell

Gillian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCT and an MBA from the UCT Graduate School Business. She has always had more than one thing on the go at any given time, and has been, amongst many things, a dancer, award-winning choreographer, writer, performing arts adjudicator, content creator, entrepreneur, philanthropy advisor to ngo’s and universities, bank clerk, editor, events planner, translator, conference organizer and professional fundraiser for universities. She has lived in various cities in South Africa with a stint or two in Tel Aviv, Toronto and New York City. She strives to remain curious above all things and to control her somewhat unpredictable sense of the ridiculous. Gillian lives and works in Cape Town.

Herman van der Westhuizen

Herman, a former teacher, is passionate about developing young talent. From 2002 to his retirement in 2019, he was the organiser of the National Drama Competition. Herman had served for two decades on the Fleur du Cap panel and he acted as convenor of the Fiësta and Kanna panels.

Ira Blanckenberg

Ira has an honours degree in Drama at Stellenbosch University. For the past 25 years, she had worked as an actress for stage, television and movies; also as director, voice artist and SACE registered drama coach at her own drama school. She has twelve years’ experience as a national adjudicator for the ATKV Tienertoneel competition. In 2022, Ira was nominated for a SAFTA as best actress in a supporting role for her performance in the film Toorbos.

Janine Opperman

Janine (born Pretorius) holds an honours degree in Drama from Potchefstroom University. Since 1985 she had been working as freelance actress, voice artist and dubbing specialist. Among others, she played the lead in the radio drama “Stralerjakkers”, and she appeared in TV productions such as Kampus, Cul de sac and Plek van die vleisvreters. After an extensive career that ranged from supervising producer for M-Net to head writer of Villa Rosa, and included various managerial positions, Janine retired in 2022 from M-Net’s as Senior Manager: Reality and Entertainment for kykNET channels. She is currently a project manager for Tribuo.

Karen Meiring

Karen had an extensive and diverse career in the arts and entertainment industry. As a singer she performed for PACOFS Opera, in several musicals and pantomimes for PACT, and she was a founding member of the award-winning women a capella group Cutt Glas. As a manager and agent, she represented various artists and oversaw Club 58 in Hillbrow, The Crossing in Grahamstown and the Oude Libertas Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch. Karen organised the first KKNK and later led the festival as executive director, she is a former director of kykNET TV channels, and she spearheaded the Fiëstas and the Silver Screen Festival. She currently serves as a board member of the SBA and the Encounters Film Festival, and she is chairperson of the Tribuo artists support fund. Kscenario is her latest endeavour.

Cornelia Faasen

Cornelia Faasen studied Drama and Theatre Studies at Stellenbosch University, obtaining her masters degree cum laude with a research component completed at the University of Amsterdam. In 2010, following the controversial Reitz video incident, she was appointed as Head of Arts and Culture at Free State University – a position focusing on transformation and integration among students through the arts and culture. She became Dean of Student Affairs at the University after serving in a temporary capacity for two years. In 2016, Cornelia joined the National Afrikaans Theatre Initiative (NATi) as CEO. NATi focuses on funding and developing new theatre productions, in collaboration with commissioning festivals. The organisation has a specific interest in the position of Afrikaans as a member of the South African family of indigenous languages, as well as alternative narratives and previously marginalised voices in Afrikaans. Cornelia is also a part-time lecturer in Stellenbosch University’s Drama department, and she specialises in Advanced Theory for post-graduate students, and Introduction to the Industry for undergraduates. Since the inception of the Theatre and Dance Alliance (TADA) in 2021, she has served as deputy chairperson; she is also a founding member of Tribuo, a fund supporting artists. Cornelia lives in Stellenbosch.

Gillian Mitchell

Gillian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCT and an MBA from the UCT Graduate School Business. She has always had more than one thing on the go at any given time, and has been, amongst many things, a dancer, award-winning choreographer, writer, performing arts adjudicator, content creator, entrepreneur, philanthropy advisor to ngo’s and universities, bank clerk, editor, events planner, translator, conference organizer and professional fundraiser for universities. She has lived in various cities in South Africa with a stint or two in Tel Aviv, Toronto and New York City. She strives to remain curious above all things and to control her somewhat unpredictable sense of the ridiculous. Gillian lives and works in Cape Town.

Herman van der Westhuizen

Herman, a former teacher, is passionate about developing young talent. From 2002 to his retirement in 2019, he was the organiser of the National Drama Competition. Herman had served for two decades on the Fleur du Cap panel and he acted as convenor of the Fiësta and Kanna panels.

Ira Blanckenberg

Ira has an honours degree in Drama at Stellenbosch University. For the past 25 years, she had worked as an actress for stage, television and movies; also as director, voice artist and SACE registered drama coach at her own drama school. She has twelve years’ experience as a national adjudicator for the ATKV Tienertoneel competition. In 2022, Ira was nominated for a SAFTA as best actress in a supporting role for her performance in the film Toorbos.

Janine Opperman

Janine (born Pretorius) holds an honours degree in Drama from Potchefstroom University. Since 1985 she had been working as freelance actress, voice artist and dubbing specialist. Among others, she played the lead in the radio drama “Stralerjakkers”, and she appeared in TV productions such as Kampus, Cul de sac and Plek van die vleisvreters. After an extensive career that ranged from supervising producer for M-Net to head writer of Villa Rosa, and included various managerial positions, Janine retired in 2022 from M-Net’s as Senior Manager: Reality and Entertainment for kykNET channels. She is currently a project manager for Tribuo.

Karen Meiring

Karen had an extensive and diverse career in the arts and entertainment industry. As a singer she performed for PACOFS Opera, in several musicals and pantomimes for PACT, and she was a founding member of the award-winning women a capella group Cutt Glas. As a manager and agent, she represented various artists and oversaw Club 58 in Hillbrow, The Crossing in Grahamstown and the Oude Libertas Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch. Karen organised the first KKNK and later led the festival as executive director, she is a former director of kykNET TV channels, and she spearheaded the Fiëstas and the Silver Screen Festival. She currently serves as a board member of the SBA and the Encounters Film Festival, and she is chairperson of the Tribuo artists support fund. Kscenario is her latest endeavour.