Lack of professionalism and training is killing maskandi music. This is according to Zazi Nxele, a seasoned production manager.
He said event organisers often do not understand what it takes to stage a good event.
“Most of them think it’s about selling tickets, bringing big artists on stage and hiring popular MC’s. But in reality, you can bring all those big artists and MCs, but if your production team is poor and untrained, your event will fail.
“Most stage managers are blank, they think stage management is calling artists on stage, one after another. This is actually not the case,” said Nxele during an interview with Sunday World.
Stage management
“Stage management does not start on the day of the event. But it starts with the appointment of a production manager. This person will be responsible for everything that happens on stage, for example, music and sound. And this person will work closely with the sound engineers, stage manager, online media and everyone who works there.
“This person will have a production plan that talks to everyone who will be onstage. This means he runs the entire show, nothing must happen on stage without his knowledge and permission,” he said.
He complains that, in most maskandi events, all these critical steps are overlooked.
“You’d find that the stage manager and production manager meet on the day of the event, which is very dangerous. The stage manager and the production manager work hand in hand.
“For example, the stage manager must know the security plan of the stage. He must know the exit points and what to do in cases of emergencies. And he must know what to do in cases whereby bottles and other stuff are thrown on stage. But this does not happen in maskandi events,” he complained.
Production manager
Nxele said that, ideally, the production manager must sit in all meetings and present his plan. So that everyone is aware of what is going to happen on stage.
“But in maskandi events this does not happen. Production managers often arrive on the day of the event. It’s the same thing with stage managers, they only receive the line up on the day of the event. What’s worse is that the performing artists are not even given performing contracts. Everything is done verbally, this often creates problems and chaos on stage,” said Nxele.
He said that even maskandi artists do not know what is expected of them, which leads to chaos.
“Maskandi artists need a lot of training, most of them do not declare their itineraries and props. For example, if an artist is going to do gimmicks on stage, or bring an animal or any props, that information needs to be communicated with the production and stage manager so that the show is not disrupted,” he said.
Lack of planning
“The biggest problem is lack of planning. You’d find maskandi artists and their dancers all over the stage. Of late, maskandi artists even bring firearms and other dangerous weapons on stage. As risky as it is, there’s usually nothing you can do because event organisers entertain it,” he said.
He said that a lot of training needs to take place in maskandi genre.
Another event organiser, Mjostana “Mjosty” Mbhele agreed with Nxele. “Most maskandi events are destroyed by stage managers and production managers.
“They don’t sit and plan ahead, they just meet at the event. As a result, you’d find a stage manager changing the programme and putting his favourite artists before time. This often leads to commotion on stage, backstage and even in the audience.”
“As event organisers we need to professionalise this genre. We need professional people to manage our events otherwise people will die,” he said.
