JOY MWANDEMANGE | SINGER, DIRECTOR, MUSICAL THEATRE ACTOR
City: Malawi; Ottawa, ON
Socials: N/A
Previous work: RENT!, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Bonnie And Clyde: The Musical, The Ghomeshi Effect
Born in Malawi and now based in Ottawa, Joy Mwandemange is a lifelong performer. She caught the bug for performing in front of audiences back in elementary school when she learned to play the recorder before moving on to the Eb Tenor Horn and the flute, and joining the drum line, school choir, jazz band and the Bongo Bang Boom Drum Band where she learned to play a variety of African drums.
But it her during her time at Carleton University where she studied music with a specialization in Musical Theatre Voice under the instruction of soprano Shawne Elizabeth Beames that she set her sights on acting.
“I’ve always been interested in music, but it wasn’t until I was completing my undergrad in Music (specializing in Musical Theatre Voice) that I really started developing a hunger for acting”, she explains. “Since then I’ve tried to throw myself at every opportunity I could to hone my skills and gain as much knowledge and experience as I could. I have participated in community theatre, dinner theatre, web series and touring productions and I want to expand my skills. I’d love to be able to have inside knowledge of every aspect of putting together a play and maybe delve into scriptwriting and producing in the future.”
Also performing under the name Thandie Dice, often alongside her partner in crime and life, Sirus, Joy has performed in Orpheus Musical Theatre productions of RENT!, Legally Blonde, and Hairspray, as well as Bonnie And Clyde: The Musical (Sock N’ Buskin’) and The Ghomeshi Effect (The Gladstone Theatre). More recently, she transitioned to directing making her directorial debut with the Taboo Theatre production of The Goat: Or, Who is Sylvia?
More about Joy Mwandemange
How were you first introduced to your creative discipline?
“A friend of mine shared a cd of the Wicked soundtrack with me when I was 11 and I immediately fell in love and memorized the entire soundtrack. I would then make visiting family members sit and watch me perform songs for them from the show (a cappella) until they had to make excuses to leave. I then did a Musical Theatre Focus Program for a semester in grade 11 which was wonderful and I got to be in my first show, Grease. I got to play Rizzo! But it wasn’t until I was about to graduate high school when a Musical Theatre Voice student from Carleton University came to practice her jury at my church that I realized I could go to school for this and pursue it in earnest. All that has led me to be able to truly play for work!”
How has your city, region or places you were raised impacted you artistically/creatively?
“I actually grew up in many places. We moved around a lot when I was growing up so I lived in Paris (France), Ottawa (Canada), Lilongwe and Blantyre (Malawi) and it really impacted the way I see and understand people, the way we live, and how we interact. The similarities and differences in the way we perceive each other and ourselves. That is the biggest thing that has impacted me personally and therefore the way I go about telling stories. Theatre is such a beautiful and comprehensive medium for us to understand each other and show pieces of ourselves and communicate things that sometimes words alone can’t always say.”
What’s something people should know about you?
“While Canada has given me a wonderful home and a safe place to play, I am still very proudly Malawian and the soul of my people sings and shines through all the art that I create.”
