Tell me that I can do it and I will give it my all – Evelyn Kemizinga

When and how did you join acting?

My classmate and friend, Veronica Namanda, was the one that encouraged me to join Theatre Factory. We were both pursuing a Bachelor’s degree of Arts in Drama so she knew me well that she must have spotted my potential as an actress.

How did you mold your career in professional acting after you joined the theatre outfit?

Even before joining the university, I had a lot of love for drama because of the happy and lively life it offers. When I got the opportunity to act on stage, I felt the joy it brings to the fans. I got to meet actors and actresses with different talents and traits, which helped me grow fast and also learn from different people.

What did you learn and from who?

I first learnt from the female actresses - Vero and Faith Kimuli. From Vero, I learnt spontaneity, flexibility. From the boys I learnt how to never hold grudges because with them, you could clash in the morning and in the afternoon, they have moved on and expect you to handle business like nothing happened. I learnt to be fast. Also, I realised that the creativity of men is different from us women. They will look at scripts from a different angle.

You are celebrated for your role in television drama shows, Mizigo Express and now Popi. Looking at your journey and the artist you have become, what anchors your abilities?

I attribute the experience I have gained to the trust my fellow actors and actresses have put in me and how they have pushed me.

I am self-motivated but I had low self-esteem growing up with my nieces. The boys were so active and I climbed trees with them and they would mock me for my small legs.

They were handsome and I was not beautiful. That killed my self-esteem too. That is why any word you tell to a growing person affects their esteem. Parents and guardians have got to be so careful.

When I joined Theatre Factory, before forming Fun Factory, my self-esteem was low, so it is the trust these people put in me that pushes me. They always tell me, ‘Eve you can act this skit’, then I go for it and I end up excelling.

Talking of skits, which kind are you comfortable with?

If you give me the role of a mother or aunt, you will never regret it. I can handle children because I am a mother. I also excel at skits where I handle or insult in-laws as well as portraits of teachers.

And which roles would you rather not take on?

Acting like a prostitute makes me uncomfortable and I am often cast to act as one. And even if I begged the week’s director, on my knees, they simply laugh at me, and you know, the director has the final word. I also hate acting like a mad woman but when I act as one, it comes out well.

You are in a lead and rather serious role in Popi, what has it taken for you to own and execute this role as a police woman?

My friends woke up and said, ‘Eve you can manage this project and you are going to be the O.C (Officer in Charge)’ which is the main role and main character. I argued that it was a sharp adjustment from Mulokole to O.C. They insisted and trusted me and once you trust me, I can do everything. Even if you trust me that I can be a footballer, I play it. It was not easy for me because it is so formal and is strictly in English.

I have to be very serious yet I am used to light roles where I am cheeky and laughing all the time. In the first episodes, I almost gave up because it was totally different from the role I had been used to playing but my director kept encouraging me, saying I could do it, and here we are.

When I am going to shoot Popi, I prepare my brain to be serious. So immediately I get out and get on set, I know people are going to salute ‘madam O.C’. I am getting used to my serious role.

Your roles and your amiable personality have endeared you to audiences and a good fanbase, how do you deal with the attention your talent and personality have brought to you?

Fans can be confusing. Some end up asking for love but I smile for everybody. It is sometimes a struggle. The genuine fans are a delight and I am happy to interact with them. I am not proud so when they call me Mulokole, I stop and chill with them.

How do you handle those who ask for more than a simple ‘hello’ and hug?

Those are not so many but the fact that I am not going to accept it does not make me want to abuse them. I put them off technically through disappointments. If they ask me out on a date, I will accept but on the day when we are meant to go out, I will lie about being held up or to have gotten a last-minute engagement. Once, twice and thrice and many guys will not pursue further. In the end, they might disappear for a while and then reappear. Many times, we remain friends.

Besides the trust your fellow Fun Factory members have in you, your community has trusted you with church funds as a treasurer. Are you surprised by the confidence people have in you?

It surprises me. My Church, St. Mathias Kikajjo, Kasenge, has many attendants, including Buganda Kingdom ministers such as Ow’ekiktiibwa Kyewalabye Male, Ow’ekitiibwa Simon Kaboggoza, among others.

I think the way I carry myself and my dresscode matters a lot. It communicates respect to God. I go to church in a gomesi and only put on skirts and pants when I am coming to the theatre.

If a meeting at church is communicated while I am on the way to town, I will go back and change into a gomesi, so I dress according to where I am going. People say I am humble. I am proud to say that my background shaped me into the person that I have become. I am happy to have been linked to Compassion International. I am Born Again and humble.

You are also good at playing the piano. Did you learn that from church too?

I learnt how to play the piano while at the university because it was a requirement to learn how to play an instrument. As a child under their care, Compassion bought me a piano.

 Do you ever get time to play it?

Yes, I still have it at home and when I get some time, I play it 

 And where did you learn French from?

That was at Masaka Secondary School. I started learning while in O-Level and continued learning the subject at A-Level because I liked it so much, thanks to my teacher, Stella Kahigiriza. After high school, I wanted to study French at the university but they gave it to me in Kyambogo University while Makerere University offered me a Bachelor’s degree of Arts in Drama. I went to Makerere because it was the only prestigious university at the time.

Do you ever speak French today?

Unfortunately, I do not have anybody to speak it with. Dickson [Zizinga] tries but he keeps mixing it with Lingala.

You are a stage actress, a television actress, a treasurer in church, a wife and mother: how do you balance all this?

It is honestly very hard to balance work, family, church and personal life because each is a big institution of its own. It is God who helps me.

 You are a fan of live music, where do you enjoy this from?

There is a live band at Imperial Royale Hotel and also the Quintet Band which is run by my friend. They play at a bar in Kabuusu and along Gayaza Road.

I imagine you enjoy your time out with your husband. Who is this lucky man, and what is your love story?

His name is Moses Igasira. We hail from the same village in Ibanda. I met him during my S.6 vacation. We got married after university. He is a cool and quiet man. I am his opposite; loud and chatty.

Tell us about your family background.

I was born in Ibanda to Mr Katuramu who passed on when I was five and because my mother had no capacity to take care of us, my aunt, Ms Pelagia Kyenda picked me and brought me to Masaka for education. Compassion International sponsored me at secondary and at university.

What is on your wish list?

I want to be happy, in a good environment and driving a good car. I dream of investing in real estate, alhough I know it requires some good capital to invest but I trust the Lord will make it happen someday.