It’s about keeping it simple and doing what he really wants to do says director, actor, writer and teacher, Greg Homann.
Chatting about the return to Sandton’s Auto and General Theatre on the Square of the successful Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, starring Judy Ditchfield and José Domingos, he explained his reasons for leaving AFDA (SA School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance) as the Head of School of Live Performance, Joburg at the beginning of the year.
“I thought it was time for me to focus on my freelance career,” says this artist.
With Six Dance Lessons (which had a season at Theatre on the Square and the Hilton Festival) back on stage until next week (April 4), he is still teaching on a much smaller scale, has some lectures at the University of Pretoria later this year, has already written/edited two books, and is in the process of recharging his acting career while working on two National Arts Festival productions.
“I liked the balance when I was both acting and directing,” he says.
He feels the one feeds the other and believes he had focused on the directing side these past few years. There wasn’t always a choice because of awards like last year’s Young Artist which determined this focus. But he also knows that as someone working in the arts, the more skills you practise, the better your chances. “It’s a tough ride,” he knows, but he’s willing to give it 18 months to a year to see how it pans out.
So far so good. “I’m at an age where it will just get tougher,” he says and this way he could also control his work more.
“I don’t want to spend my time sitting behind a desk.”
What appealed to him most about Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks was that it was heartfelt with a big heart. “It’s funny with humorous one-liners,” and in the end, he was surprisingly moved.
Ditchfield initially approached him with the play and once having read it, he was on board. Casting the male lead was a trickier proposition, but when he auditioned Domingos, he knew they were on.
He was also delighted to discover that Ditchfield and Domingos were coupled previously in Isidingo as Stella and Vleis!
That meant an immediate rapport and a kind of shorthand which helped with the production. “They’re a great team on stage,” says Homann who delights in this work because he feels it has an embracing appeal.
“Doesn’t matter where you are in life, there’s a way in.”
Lily Harrison (Ditchfield) hires an acerbic dance instructor, Michael Minetti, (Domingos) to give her private dance lessons, hence the title. What begins as an antagonistic relationship blossoms into an intimate friendship as these two people from very different backgrounds reveal their intimate secrets while waltzing through the different dance styles.
It’s about connections both physically and emotionally, many of which catch us off guard. “It speaks to wider issues than first thought,” says the director, and he’s thrilled that we can experience international plays as well as homegrown stories.
Revisiting the drama has shifted some of the weight of the play as it will do in the process of growth. “It’s been an invigorating experience,” concludes Homann.
For this year’s Grahamstown, he has combined forces with actor Ralph Lawson both as co-writer and director on a piece about Alan Paton. “We’re dealing with a very particular time of his life, the Liberal Party days, his time in education, the loss of his first wife and it’s quite prophetic about where we are today,” he concedes.
He describes it as dealing with loss while reflecting on human connections and relationships through the prism of politics.
He is also directing a fringe comedy review titled Naked Knitting and other Contradictions with a few former students.
In the meantime, he is collaborating with director/writer Prince Lumla, Kutjo Green and Sello Sebotsane and they are work-shopping something which they hope will pan out. “I want to be in the hands of someone else for a change,” he says about this passion project.
But this time around, Greg Homann is aiming for much more, a career in the arts on his own terms. And the fight is on.