Spanish serenades, comic escapades

Today I performed a full-on Spanish dance… for a girl.

Definitely not the way I expected to start any of my blogs. Comedy, yes. Acting, maybe, but Spanish dancing?

Not even I saw that coming.

OK, let me explain myself here: Noxi Mafu, a lovely friend of mine, dropped a bombshell on me and told me only yesterday that her birthday is on the 17th of May – today. [Don’t judge, we’ve only known each other for a few months].

Anyway, I figured this would be a chance to entrench myself into her memory by doing something crazy.

Here’s the formula: Spanish guitar tune + Tyson in a half-unbuttoned formal shirt, smart trousers and shoes + Tyson performing a rendition of a Spanish dance = Comic birthday serenade.

Have you seen Toy Story 3? Anyway, in that movie, Buzz Lightyear goes into a smooth-talking Spanish mode and this was the basis of my special skit for the incredibly fortunate Ms Mafu.

This is how it went down:

Noxi was scheduled to have rehearsal at 6pm at the drama department. The plan was to interrupt the session and I was to proceed to dance and deliver some well-rehearsed Spanish as the rest of the cast looked on in astonishment.

The talented Jonathan Bell, a friend of mine from my residence, provided the Spanish tune as we burst into the rehearsal space.

The music gathered pace, I entered in the most cocky “matador” character I could muster and the reaction was priceless.

“Oooh” and “Aaah” bounced off the walls from the many girls as the spotlight fixed firmly on Noxi. She liked it and that immediately eased my nerves.

I did say happy birthday, though. Incase you were wondering.

This guy dancing here is sort of what I tried to replicate for the shell-shocked Ms Mafu:

On the comedy front, the improv comedy troupe met for the first time on Sunday and we have our first rehearsal soon. I’m really looking forward to that one.

The name for our new troupe: Naturally Caffeinated

I love the ring of that. Imagine, once we’ve developed a solid understanding and have regular performance slots: “Hey, are you going to see Nat Caf on Friday?”

That would rock.

The success of Innovations has also been such a blessing. Apart from the other looming ventures I mentioned in my previous post, Sandi and I have attracted a sweet amount of interest.

Another on-campus society has approached us for a possible performance. I’ll get into more detail once that’s ironed out.

A post-grad director is also keen to explore themes which we covered in our skits.

The indescribably amazing performer-extraordinaire and head of the drama department, Andrew Buckland, also spared some valuable advice for us, which I found particularly inspiring.

On a more personal note, I’ve also been approached by a fellow student and upcoming comic, Lincoln van der Westhuizen. Turns out he has identical ambitions to start a regular performance spot for stand-up comedy.

My attention at the moment is spilled across my commitments to the drama department and it’s going to be interesting to see what happens as time rolls on.

I remain as keen as ever.

Thank you to everyone for the warm words and support for all the madness.

Keep watching this space.

-Tyson