Alumni Spotlight: Phumzile Sitole '16
The Alumni Spotlight is a place to hear from the School of the Arts alumni community about their journeys as artists and creators.
Phumzile Sitole is is an actress and voice over artist from Johannesburg, South Africa with an MFA in acting from Columbia University School of the Arts. Recent theater work includes Yellow Card Red Card at the New Ohio Theatre, The Comedy of Errors and Othello at Classic Stage Company, and Macbeth at The Connelly Theater. Her television credits include: Orange Is The New Black, Elementary, and The Good Fight. She played alongside Olivia Washington in the short film LostFound, which was selected for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Phumzile participates on panels and gives readings and speeches with The Aspen Institute and The Public Theatre.
Was there a specific faculty member or peer who especially inspired you while at the School of the Arts? If so, who and how?
Wow, quite a few actually. I think it's really quite tricky to separate the impact that faculty vs peers had during my time at the School of Arts. Where there were days when my peers were as in the 'gutter' or excavation of the process as I was, I found solace in the words of Andrea Haring, who continuously made us believe that we were more than capable of being our best selves even in our exhaustion. She was a brilliant resource for channeling our everyday life struggles into our work in a healthy way while challenging us to take responsibility for how we bring ourselves into the room. Then there were days when I would look a year above me at someone like Marcel Spears. A peer of outstanding talent who brought himself into the school with the most overflowing generosity of everything anyone could need. He really showed me how to put myself aside for the benefit of another and how essentially that is a vital tool for acting as well. Learning to be selfless in your pursuit of relating to someone else. He still inspires me, with his ongoing success and influence on us all.
What advice would you give to recent graduates?
I would definitely advise recent graduates to trust themselves more than ever before. I think there is a tendency after graduation to feel like the carpet has been ripped from underneath you and your sense of self becomes a bit distorted. But to remember that the three years Columbia provided were just a collecting-of-tools and that you are the vessel that now has the liberty to use those tools however you please. The industry is ever-changing in a really exciting way and it definitely won't be a walk in the park, but neither was grad school, so keep up that work ethic and you'll be okay.