Pallance Dladla wants actors to stop looking for handouts

26 October 2017 - 08:00 By TshisaLIVE
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Pallance Dladla is hosting a workshop for aspiring actors.
Pallance Dladla is hosting a workshop for aspiring actors.
Image: Via Pallance's Instagram

Pallance Dladla has some strong views about actors, who he believes feel entitled to roles because of their talent, and don't work hard enough to sell themselves. 

Speaking to TshisaLIVE, Pallance said as a young actor he too struggled to see the bigger picture of the industry and was placed in a box until he made a breakthrough. 

"A knowledge and wider perspective of the industry is something I didn't have. It was a challenge for me because I was stuck in a box where I believed that if I acted someone would find me. It is the attitude many artists in South Africa have, that all you have to do is wait until someone gives you that opportunity, but that is a difficult. We need to stop this open handed and entitled attitude and empower ourselves," he said.

This is one of the reasons Pallance was inspired to start an acting workshop to be held in Johannesburg next month.

"A lot of people want to just get a job or be on TV but we are trying to break that culture and show them that they can create. If we isolate ourselves in the industry, we will never grow. I believe in the power of collaboration, that is what got me so far, because people recommended me to other people because I had the potential.

"If I did not have that it would have been hard for me to break into the industry. I believe that the only way to grow as an industry is for us to come together and share skills," he said.

Pallance said that the industry really changed with the rise of social media fame, but warned about that only lasting for a certain amount of time. 

"My only problem is that because platforms to showcase your talent is there, people don't take time to refine their craft. They are going to get lost. Financially and professionally lost. Women may benefit from social media for a few years but as soon as they get to a certain age the industry forgets about them and they look for the next big thing. Their careers then become obsolete because they didn't grow their craft and relied too much on social media," he warned.

The One Day Acting Master Class with Pallance Dladla, Sdumo Mtshali and Ayanda Sithebe will be held on November 4.

Actorspaces full day masterclass. See you there. @actorspaces @sdumo.mtshali @asithebe @ernestmahomane

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