Upstart back on track

So obviously last weeks blog post was evidently a frustrated one. After taking another look at it, it is clear that I pretty much used it as a space for venting my feelings- getting everything on paper before it bottles up to the brink of boiling point. But this week, I dare say, has been quite the opposite, and the decisions we have made have been revolutionary in getting Upstart on radio back on track.

So where did the resolving start? Our first concern was the fact that the first show was supposed to air on Saturday. In a meeting that Refilwe and I had with Jeanne and Shireen, I was relieved to hear that they shared the same feeling that I did- a show on Saturday is just not going to happen. Instead, it was agreed that we used Saturday as a way for the Upstarters to familiarize themselves with the Yung Amplified show, as we also decided that the only way for our show to work was to incorporate our productions into the Yung Amplified show throughout the 2 hours that it lasts. Then comes the next issue to resolve- how are we going to get all the Upstarters to come? For our Friday workshop, I couldn’t help but feel ‘here we go again’, as three of the Upstarters pitched up. They looked particularly disinterested this week. Were they perhaps also growing a sense of concern and frustration about the lack of commitment by the others? I think for the first time, Setumo and Shireen realized how serious this lack of commitment was to the production of the show. Hence, they made sure that all but one of the Upstarters came to RMR on Saturday to listen to the Yung Amplified show. Aviwe was the one that didn’t come. The last time she did was last term, but we just can’t get hold of her.  Each Upstarter got a chance to be on the show with the anchors, and I was delighted to see how excited they were about this. Reggie and Aphiwe were shy, and I was surprised at how shy Reggie was in particularly, as his personality would suggest that he would feel comfortable with being on air from the start. Bathabile and Simemkile however, grabbed the opportunity with both hands. They were instantly comfortable and chatty, and instantly formed relationships with the anchors. It was fantastic to see, but now cue the issue that comes with this- how can we get them to come to every workshop? 

We had a final meeting with Shireen at the end of the show, and we discussed what each Upstarter is required to do before the next workshop. Once we established this, Shireen and I outlined the importance of coming to the workshops, and almost as a threat, we told them that if they don’t come to the workshops, they won’t get the chance to be an anchor. This is another decision we made. Each Upstarter gets the chance to interview a person of their choice live on air. Refilwe and I then decide who the most appropriate person is to anchor the Yung Amplified show with the two anchors. We see this not only as a great way of producing Upstart content for the show, but as a great way to assess who can anchor the show for what we hope to be a long time to come, in an attempt to keep Upstart on radio going once Refilwe and I have to leave the project.

So now I see some real direction for the next couple of weeks. Now that there isn’t as much pressure to get content produced for an imminent show, the Upstarters can prepare more content, and familiarize themselves more with the show, due to the interviews that they will be conducting. It’s fair to say that my frustration has somewhat eased!