Zimbabwean singer lands role in Lion King musical

Australia – Zimbabwe-born female singer Tarisai Vushe took Australian Idol (2007) by storm and eventually came fifth in the singing competition. In April 2010 she launched her debut single ‘Head Over Heels’ before 50,000 people in Sydney. 

Journalist Lance Guma caught up with Vushe to speak about her new acting role. The singer has landed a role in the Disney Musical “The Lion King” and she is clearly excited about her new career adventure.

Lance Guma: So what character or characters are you playing?

Tarisai Vushe: I have been given a total of three roles covering Shenzi and Rafiki and am also part of the ensemble. Shenzi is a female hyena, an idiot that dominates all the hyenas in the show. She is in a trio with Banzai and Ed. They work along with Scar to plot evil against Mufasa.

The trio is very maniac and vicious. Crazy is the word for them three. Rafiki is the sangoma of the jungle and pride rock. She basically mentors Mufasa and look over SIMBA when Mufasa dies. Everyone looks upon Rafiki for advice as the mother of the nation.Rafiki is a beautiful role and also challenging in a different way from Shenzi.I am going through rehearsals with the director right now Michael and there is a lot of music cues to remember and vocal technique that is required for Rafiki.

Guma: A Zimbabwean in the Lion King, you must be excited?

Vushe: I am excited about the whole show. During rehearsals half the cast cried because we sound amazing and the whole experience is a journey for each individual. On the 17th of November we moved into Capitol Theatre and we were touring the place. It is an amazing theatre and the design of the show is amazing.

When I got offered to cover Rafiki I was excited because Rafiki is mainly offered to South Africans due to the language of the dialogue that is used which is a combination of Zulu, Sesotho, Xhosa and Setswana.

I felt the relief and amazed that the director allowed me to use Shona in the dialogue as part of my script. This reminds me of my culture and it is the best feeling. I felt honored to be offered that role when all the girls auditioned for the role. For Shenzi it was obvious that I would cover Shenzi as I am known to be one of the craziest ladies in the cast.

Guma: So I take it you will be wearing costumes?

Vushe: I love my Shenzi costume and my lioness costume. The puppets Taymor the director also designed each puppet of this musical. There are about 200 puppets in the whole musical and every one of them is different.

Each puppet costs thousands of dollars to make for example Timon cost a couple of thousand dollars to construct.His face paint is worth a lot so we aren’t allowed to touch his face except for his body which we always play around with and make him dance to Beyonce’s Single ladies.

My Shenzi costume is amazing. The puppet is unique and combining the legs, singing and saying the dialogue at the same time while dancing is kind of complicated but I am getting the hang of it with bits of practise and help. My lioness costume is beautiful and has so much detail. It is inspired by the Masai African tribal women. It has beading and all the unique jewellery that African women wear.Rafiki costume is unique.It has lots of things around it and just fun.A typical sangoma is what Rafiki wears.

I know Julie travelled to Indonesia and picked up the choreography ideas from there especially for Nala and Rafiki. She also travelled to Africa and studied animals which inspired the movements, dressing and the behavior of animals in the jungle.

Guma: Have you ever had a role in a musical like this before? If it’s your first, how are you feeling?

Vushe: Scoring a position in the Lion King was amazing. This is my first musical. All I have done in life is contemporary shows such as Australian Idol. Australian Idol is very different from the Lion King.

I am feeling awesome about it and each time I look back from where I was this time last year, I am so grateful. 2012 was a very difficult year for me.

I was not feeling well most of the year but with support I managed to do auditions and settle back in to complete my graduation recital while going through the Lion King auditions.

Guma: What was your reaction when you got the part?

Vushe: When I got the phone call from Disney, I was fast asleep. I woke up and at first I thought that I was dreaming. I asked Paula is I was dreaming and she said nah darl you are not. I was still jet lagged from my Zimbabwean trip.I was so excited. The next day I had to be rushed to have measurements for my costume and I was still in shock.I couldn’t imagine myself singing Circle of Life as Rafiki on stage one.A song I always used to listen to watching the movie in Zimbabwe.

Guma: How have the rehearsals been like so far?

Vushe: Rehearsals were amazing. The first week was tough because we had to learn all the music and prepare for the media and interviews as well. It has been six months so far and we are an awesome cast. We are a huge Disney Family.

Our directors and choreographers are really cool. Everything has so much detail and we all support and cheer each other when we are rehearsing. hooligan time! Now the whole show has opened and we are now settling in.Recently we launched the Brisbane tour and the Melbourne tour.

We went to Brisbane for the day and had interviews with media and decided to treat our flight passengers by singing Circle of Life on the flight back to Sydney. So much fun and our managers were just hiding shocked but we went viral. It is a great journey full of adventures.

The first week in the theatre was about combining make up and costumes trying to change before the next scene. We have lovely dressers that assists us in changing into our costumes.We had many adventures whereby we didn’t dress on time and the scene started while we are still changing. We all freaked out and even ran to the stage in our dressing gowns during rehearsals to try and get the time. Heaps of fun.

Now the pressure of show is kicking in. We have vocal exhaustion due to singing eight shows a week but we all manage to use vocal techniques and methods to rest our voices.Vocal warm ups,physical warm ups,vocal release massages and herbal medicines all come to good use and they really help.

We also have a physiotherapist looking after us and a voice doctor, speech therapist that works with us and is available anytime to help us when we have problems.Personally for me I have my days that I rest my voice.Mondays and Tuesdays are our days off.I don’t sneer phone calls or talk.My mum knows that the days are reserved for my voice,time with God and writing music.

Thursdays and Fridays we have night shows but I usually have Rafiki rehearsals with Michael or Tim my vocal coach so I am very careful.A show like Lion King requires a lot of discipline In terms of looking after ourselves.We gets colds and viral infections easily because we are always near each other so we are all careful. Vitamins, gym sessions and eating healthy is the way to go with this show.

Guma: Any advice for Music Theatre students who want to get involved in musicals in the future?

Vushe: Music theatre students are blessed to have the opportunity to be involved in theatre. The career is an amazing experience with so much to learn. Embrace everything that you learn and make the best out of it.

Take every opportunity that you are given and do not waste it. All my life I have been singing contemporary stuff such as pop, r n b, jazz and gospel. I decided to study music theatre because I wanted to broaden my genres. Music theatre has helped me to discover parts of my voice that I did not know.

My range has just increased due to the extensive training. It also got me into acting and I scored a few acting lead roles in American TV series such as Killer Instinct and Deadly Women. Has been a great experience.

Guma: How has studying Music Theatre at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM) facilitated your talent in getting this far?

Vushe: Studying Music Theatre at AIM is an opportunity that not everyone gets. I don’t regret studying Music Theatre at AIM because the teachers taught me to have a sense of responsibility. The Music Theatre department at AIM has great teachers.

I am so thankful to have had Jennifer Murphy, Barry Quinn and the rest of the teachers. They are passionate about their work and care about their students’ future. I remember going through the Lion King audition process.

Every stage I would ask Jen for advice and she would spare her time and work through the audition songs with me. Being the first person in our graduating students of 2012 to score a big role in a professional musical is amazing.

I wouldn’t have gotten this far without many prayers from my spiritual father Prophet Richard Amoaye, my worship pastor Mike Matumaini and most of all, Prophet Uebert Angel.

When I went back to Zimbabwe Prophet Angel prayed for me as I was still worried about my role in this musical little did I know that I was gonna receive it in the next month. Prophet Richard is an amazing father and pastor Mike, my worship pastor took his time to mentor me through the audition process.

Guma: Your ultimate dream and what you hope to achieve?

Vushe: Being signed to Disney is a dream that many people would die for.one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world and it has lots to offer. It is a great experience that I can only thank God for. I have many musicals I would like to do.I had the privilege to meet Tom Schumacher, the president of Disney Theatrical. He explained his story behind the whole musical and how he got the team to create it with Elton John and Tim Rice.

It really encouraged me. Focus can help one to create amazing things in this world and that’s one of my goals. To create a beautiful show that will always bring happiness to people.The Lion King brings tears.We always have a full house in the theatre. Capitol Theatre has about 2400 seats and we are always full everyday. Tickets are sold out and people still want more.

This means that I perform for 16000 people every week and I bring smiles to their faces.It is a beautiful thing to be part of. My album is on its way including the first single being released soon. I have taken a big break from singing since I released head over heels in order to study music theatre and did a few television series and toured around Asia.

After being in the top 5 in Australian Idol I got lots of opportunities. During the time I was studying music theatre I got to accomplish what I never expected to accomplish.

It is not easy to score lead roles in American television series while you are in Australia but I found my agent scoring the roles for me which I am thankful for. Now I am combining my acting skills, singing, and stage stuff in one to continue into this big career. I am looking forward to the next few years.

The Lion King is a demanding show but one of the best musicals in the world. There is a lot of work that goes on back stage for us to deliver the best to our audience and I couldn’t be more thankful to be a part of this great journey.