Motherhood vs. Career

September 2002

Zenebech Tadesse, on stage or off, is Ethiopia's leading theatrical personality. She portrays everything that is contrary to Ethiopia's long tradition of reticent women, yet she is popular. In fact, she is the most popular

actress in Ethiopia.

Why do the people of Ethiopia love her wherever she goes? Why do they accept and admire her and her work? In an intimate talk with Zenebech Tadesse, we find some of the answers to these and other questions.

Let's face it - the life of any successful stage performer in any country is hard, tedious and difficult. Along with talent, a would-be performer must have perseverance, endurance, and above all, patience. The 34-year old Zenebech is a successful performer who possesses all these qualities and more. She grew up at a time when the stage performer - whether a singer, dancer or actor - was not recognized or supported and was often misunderstood. This attitude is slowly changing thanks to people like Zenebech and Ato Eyouale Yohannes, the famous playwright and head of drama and stage at the Ethiopian Patriotic Association.

 Zenebech recalls that as a child she felt something marvelous and exciting about the stage and performing.  She attended the Alliance Franciase and the Swedish Mission schools, and whenever possible, she always participated in school plays and dramas.  Her favorite childhood experience was playing hooky from school and going to watch Ato Eyouale perform.  She never dreamed she would one day have the chance to be on stage.  After her school year, Zenebech went to Ato Eyouale and asked to become an apprentice in the theatre. He taught her how to sing, to dance, to walk, to talk, and in short, all the arts of a successful actress.

These first years with the Ethiopian Patriotic Association were difficult ones. Zenebech said that after each performance she used to cry, not just for herself but also for everyone, especially Ato Eyouale, who worked so hard.  People did not seem to realize that she and her contemporaries genuinely loved their work and that performing was not a dirty or lowly profession. Zenebech sees her art as an expression of Ethiopia's tradition and culture that she acts out through song, dance or drama.

In recent years more Ethiopian's have had an opportunity to go abroad for education and, more important, for exposure to the arts and the stage.  Upon returning, they have had a different opinion about artists and performers.

Today, there is more support, better attendance, and fuller appreciation of the performing arts.  A chain reaction has begun. More support means more money.  More money means better paid performers.  Zenebech recalls, "In the old days we couldn't perform well on empty stomachs.  How could we look like professional performers with our low salaries?”

 
She feels the times are changing as she performs, more often than not, to a packed house. One of her chief ambitions is that one-day she will make films. She is presently studying acting, drama, voice diction, and camera techniques under Eyouale. Her followers predict that if Ethiopia ever has a film industry then Zenebech Tadesse will surely be sought after.

As a member of the Ethiopian dramatic group she has had many opportunities to perform abroad. Places she and the group have given performances include the African nations of Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, and Senegal. They have also traveled to the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. Everywhere the people loved them and invited them back.

Zenbech had this to say about all Ethiopians and their changing attitudes. She feels that the long tradition of the reticent, shy, retiring female is not natural. It is a situation that exists from habit, from an imposed belief. Deep down both men and women love to dance, sing and be merry.

The less educated populace can admire,
respect, and enjoy an actress who through hard work and perseverance has gained what they have not achieved. Perhaps she is loved because through her art she is able to express emotions of love and joy other people can not or dare not acknowledge but would secretly like to express.  Perhaps in many respects, she is loved because she lives for her audience.

The modern, educated Ethiopian, through exposure to the creative arts, is learning that Ethiopia has a heritage and a tradition that can be expressed through the forms of dance, song or drama. 

More and more Ethiopians are realizing, Zenebech believes, that she and her fellow performers are making a worthwhile contribution to Ethiopian society, literature, and culture, both here and abroad. She feels the person most responsible for these changing attitudes is Ato Eyouale. 

Zenebech has a great deal of admiration and respect for this playwright and teacher, who through love of his craft, has contributed so much to the theatre in Ethiopia. She feels she would not be the star that she is today if she had not become his protégé.

The actress said that Eyouale always tries to convey to the audience what she and the other performers are doing. Before each performance he gives a talk to the audience telling them about the production and the cast and the significant contribution each of them is making to Ethiopia.

He has written plays dramatizing the plight of actresses and actors and their non-acceptance in Ethiopian society.
Personal hardships and heartbreaks are not rare in the lives of great artists. For their success and popularity, there are always sacrifices and a price to pay.

Zenebech has not achieved success without her share of heartache. In private life, she is a divorced mother of four young boys. The controversial question asked in most countries is whether a woman can have a career and also be a wife, a homemaker, and a mother. 

In Zenebech's case, it was not possible. She said, " I want the best for my sons, as every mother wants the best for her children. It was a very difficult decision to make - to divorce my husband. He wanted me to give up the stage completely and stay at home. I just couldn't give up what I had striven and worked for so many years to accomplish.”

The long hours of practice and rehearsal, the years of arduous training, and the demanding work of performance are among the many sacrifices actors and actresses must endure for the sake of the audience.

In Zenebech's case, she has also sacrificed a full family life. Perhaps this, too, helps to explain why she, above all other performers, is loved and accepted by all Ethiopian audiences.

(reprinted from Menen magazine)

Zenebech has not achieved success without her share of heartache. In private life, she is a divorced mother of four young boys. The controversial question asked in most countries is whether a woman can have a career and also be a wife, a homemaker, and a mother.  In Zenebech's case, it was not possible. She said, " I want the best for my sons, as every mother wants the best for her children. It was a very difficult decision to make - to divorce my husband. He wanted me to give up the stage completely and stay at home. I just couldn't give up what I had striven and worked for so many yearsto accomplish.” The long hours of practice and rehearsal, the years of arduous training, and the demanding work of performance are among the many sacrifices actors and actresses must endure for the sake of the audience. In Zenebech's case, she has also sacrificed a full family life. Perhaps this, too, helps to explain why she, above all other performers, is loved and accepted by all Ethiopian audiences.