Alone Together: Noteworthy mid-month virtual events

As the country continues to try and make sense of the different levels of lockdown and what they mean for day-to-day life and livelihoods, many are using the opportunity to put up online events to raise funds for great causes and fellow industry peers. This weekend, we kick off with a couple of events that let you do some good while you’re being entertained.

Level up!

This Saturday the 16^th of May at 2pm, prominent South African chefs David Higgs, Zola Nene, and Rudi Liebenberg will host Level Up Your Lockdown Cooking, an online cooking and Q&A session to raise funds for Iris House Children’s Hospice. Here’s how it works: each of the chefs have posted a meal on this page, as well as the value of the meal. The idea is for participants to pick a meal, donate the value of the meal, and then receive a link for a Zoom hosted chef’s table, where “each chef will run through their dish and share valuable cooking tips, thereafter a Q&A session with the chefs will take place. The recipe will be sent to your mailbox so that you can replicate at home.” See the dishes and donate here.

Mamma Mia, here we go again.

One of the new streaming platforms to be launched in the wake of the lockdown is &Scene, “a live online streaming platform for theatre folk, by theatre folk, and for all those in the general public who love the live elements of entertainment.” And one of their popular weekly shows is Together Again, where they bring cast and crew members from previous performances for a live chat and to share some behind the scenes stories, as well as stream highlights from the performance. This Saturday the 16^th of May brings together members of the cast and crew of Mamma Mia in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the hit show’s 2010 South African premiere. While it’s free to watch, viewers are encouraged to make a donation to the Theatre Benevolent Fund, a fund that was established to support those who have worked professionally in the entertainment industry, be it film, radio, television, theatre, dance, circus or the opera. Visit &Scene here and the Theatre Benevolent Fund here.

Fire burn

If you’ve ever been mesmerised by fire dancing, you might want to check out Fire Tribe, a professional “flow arts” performance group that specialises in fire dancing and LED shows. This Sunday the 17^th of May, they’re taking their monthly fire jams - typically held on the beach -  online, as the beach is currently not an option. Check out their previous jams here on their Facebook page.  For this weekend’s jam, they’re “putting out a Virtual Busking Hat for signed up artists”, so that you can support them. Remember to “leave a note if it's for someone specific or it will be shared among those whose livelihoods have been severely impacted by the global shutdown.” See details here.

Bonus film festival

This last one is not about fundraising, but it’s totally worth it if you’re into interesting film work. Photographer and filmmaker Tyler Mitchell, who is popular in his own right, but even more so since he shot Beyoncé for a Vogue cover, is hosting his second “Night at the Cinema” on Friday the 15^th of May from 1pm to 11pm EST (7pm – 5am SA time). The idea kicked off a month ago, when Mitchell streamed “A 24 hour movie and video night”, featuring a range of feature films, short films, music videos, artist internet content from his computer. So successful was that first iteration, that now he is bringing a streamlined “Vol. 2”, featuring special presentations by Solange and Kelsey Lu, director Jenn Nkiru’s “Rebirth is Necessary”, and many more. See the full schedule here and watch here. DM/ ML