Interview: Tumi Morake and Vanessa Frost Talk Characters, Comedy and Other C-Words in TEASE!

Now showing at Sandton's Auto & General Theatre on the Square, TEASE! invites audiences into the lives of Eva and Neo as they ride a wave of sexual awakening and self-discovery. Leads Tumi Morake and Vanessa Frost tempt us with a piece of behind-the-scenes talk of what makes up this humorous, heart-warming piece of a theater.

BWW: To start with, can you give us a brief description of your characters?

Tumi: I play Neo who is a hairdresser and wife whose marriage is going through a slump.

Vanessa: We essentially play many characters - I play the octogenarian Bobba, man-eating journalist and faithful prude. The main character I play is Eva, co-owner of a hair dresser that has fallen on hard times.

What do you find makes your character work well against the other? Are they polar opposites or are they more similar than they realize?

Tumi: As Vanessa said, we have so many characters in the show, and the best friends Eva and Neo are fantastic because they are at different points of comfort in who they are. The other characters in the show create catalysts for Eva and Neo that force them to take action and move closer to finding themselves.

Do you relate to your characters in any way? Are there similarities between your friendship and that of Eva and Neo?

Vanessa: I always relate to the characters I play, I think it is very important to relate in order to connect with the truth of who you are playing. That being said, I am a lot more confident than Eva . However Neo and Eva are close and Tumi and I have become very close during this process. I think that the audience can feel that real connection.

Tumi: The similarity is that we do get up to naughtiness together and work well together. And I am more of a prude than Neo! (laughs)

What's your favorite part of working with your fellow costar?

Tumi: Vanessa is a very generous actress. We get to play and offer each other opportunities to play. It helps to have a visionary of a director like Jose who keeps us focused on telling a heartfelt story than playing for laughs.

Vanessa: The whole experience is great. I guess what I appreciate most is how safe I feel and love sharing the stage with her.

In a nut shell, what's the story line of TEASE!?

Vanessa: Partners in a hair salon fall on hard times, each going through their own relationship issues, stumble upon a sex toy shop one night after too much tequila. What if they sell toys from the back room to supplement their income? ... And they can offer clean floors!

Described as a "journey of self-discovery", how do you do this through comedy in TEASE!?

Vanessa: TEASE! is a well researched play, with a comic edge but most importantly it is a heartfelt story about taking back personal pleasure and ridding the shame too often attached to female sexuality and desire!

Tumi: We take the stuff around sex that people are scared to tackle and put them in bite-size comical situations.

Have there been any challenges in pulling TEASE! off?

Tumi: Mainly financial. We reached out and Play With Me came on board as a sponsor and now we can share good vibes.

Vanessa: Also managing our schedules - Theatre is not well supported enough for any of us to be able to do it as a full time thing. So we all had to make allowances and adapt our rehearsal and performance schedules accordingly. So far, so good.

Lastly, what would be the ideal takeaway an audience member would get from TEASE!?

Vanessa: Sex positivity - own your body. Rid yourself of shame and give into hysterical abandonment!

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TEASE! will be showing at Sandton's Auto & General Theatre on the Square on 27th February and runs until the 21st March. Tickets are R100 - R165 and bookings can be made with Computicket (call 0861 915 800 or online www.computicket.com). Tickets can also be reserved by calling the theatre on 011 883-8606.