Lebo McKoena is an alumnus of the world-renowned Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls and co-founder of Oreo and Coconut Productions. This past summer, the company premiered “Under My Skin,” a one woman show exploring issues relevant to the “born free” (post-apartheid) generation in South Africa. We caught up with Lebo to hear more about her experiences and inspiring work.
Name: Lebo McKoena
Class: 2017
Major: Theater, Anthropology
Hometown: Johannesburg South Africa
HC: What did you hope to accomplish in founding Oreo and Coconut Productions?
LM: Well I’ve always wanted to be involved in social change and I wanted to do that through my love-which is theater-but I didn’t want to do the whole audition thing, waiting for the ‘big break’. Initially it was just a project but it eventually became a long term company sort of thing. This year I want to really get into branding it as a company so that when I graduate I don’t need to wait around for that ‘big break’.
HC: What projects are you excited for in the future?
LM: I’m excited for a new production. It doesn’t have a name yet but it’s going to be about the U.S. prison system…But it won’t be us on stage, I’ll be doing more production stuff and Rashawnda will be writing. It all started when she talked to me about how the prison system takes this census of test scores in public schools and uses that information to determine the number of prison systems built, ignoring the factors that are responsible for those test scores. We also want to spread the word about the importance of condom use and availability in prison. I’m also excited for some poetry shows and we’re thinking of collaborating with a group in Albany.
HC: In creating your one woman show, what has been the most difficult and most rewarding part?
LM: The most difficult has been that it’s only been the two of us putting it together so both of us wear so many hats. The best has been the turnout and how the project has been received—we were freshmen and I had never done a one woman show and people have been very supportive. A man recognized me on the street in Johannesburg and I was so surprised but very excited.
HC: Could you explain what the phrases “Oreo” and “Coconut” mean?
LM: We had to come up with a name for our project—coconut (in South Africa) means you’re black on the outside, white on the inside. In America, oreo means the same thing. We’re reclaiming the terms we’ve been referred to all our lives—I’m oreo and Rashawnda’s coconut. It’s a symbol that we’re the same because we’ve been thought of the same way even though we’re from different countries.
HC: Anything you didn’t expect?
LM: I didn’t expect it would cost so much money—it made me realize we need a bigger team. It’s a child being reared by parents who don’t necessarily have the skill set to provide it EVERYTHING it needs.
HC: How were you first introduced to theater and what is your favorite thing about it?
LM: I was first introduced when I was 11. I’d re-enact my own poems and they became scripts. What I love most about theater is the creation process—I’m scatterbrained and I love being used as a vessel to create so many stories that I don’t know the ending of right from the beginning. My body is like an instrument that can connect A to B and B to C and maybe C back to A.
HC: What are some misconceptions people have about South Africa and its people and what would you like people to know?
LM: People only know it in terms of Nelson Mandela—he was a great figure but he didn’t tear down apartheid alone. There were many heroes. They only see us in terms of apartheid. There’s a ‘born free’ (post-apartheid) generation, which is what our play is about. There’s also an art scene that’s amazing—and also ELEVEN languages. Nelson Mandela was so great but there is so much more to South Africa than him.
HC: What is the biggest difference between theater in South Africa and theater here?
LM: I think the USA is very about musicals and entertainment and fun. Theater in South Africa is more story-based. At every show you leave with a piece of someone’s story you might never meet. It’s protest-based and not dark but dramatic. There’s a lot of cultural and emotional depth to it—messages about society. It’s our backdrop and many stories you can trace back to apartheid.