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Acting on a smart card
- Details
- 23 October 2012
Three actors are explaining smart cards to Rea Vaya commuters through an interactive piece of ambush theatre being performed on buses and at stations.
A TRIP on a Rea Vaya bus over the next few weeks will be more than just getting from home to work and back again. It will include 10 minutes of ambush theatre, done by three energetic actors to promote the system's smart card.
The promotion of the cards runs from 10 October to the end of November, set up to explain to commuters how the cards work. They will replace paper tickets, which will not be sold after 31 January next year.
The three actors are Thandi Mtshali, Leigh Mathipa and Xolali Magengenene, who are professional industrial actors. They work for corporates around town, including City Power and Pikitup. Magengenene says the message has been very well received so far. "The interaction is very powerful."
In the theatre piece, Mtshali and Mathipa chat animatedly, with the help of an enlarged credit card. Magengenene, on the drums, occasionally joins them to dance and sing. The three perform at stations and on buses, doing up to eight performances a day. Helpful questions and answers go back and forth. Feedback from commuters is encouraged.
Magengenene says the routine is easier to do inside a bus, where there are more people and where they are more attentive. "We can manoeuvre inside the bus, create our own space, and behave like commuters." He adds that it is important not to make people feel uncomfortable. The secret is to always be polite while getting people's attention. Then the characters go into an exuberant question and answer routine, interspersed with singing and dancing.
"We engage with the audience very closely. It means we can make eye contact showing we mean what we say. We can also get instant feedback."
The three work under the direction of Lawrence Lichoba, a writer and director. He explains that once he is given the brief, he works on a script, rehearses with the actors, and then makes presentations for the client. Editing is done if necessary, in discussion with the actors. He moves around stations and buses with the actors initially to fine tune the work.
Pre-registration for smart cards through SMS and the internet opens on 22 October, and at selected stations on 12 November. Cards will be free until 28 February next year, and thereafter they will cost R20 each. With a smart card, commuters will not have to buy tickets every day, and they will not have to carry cash with them. They can load money on to their cards at any time.
The card, or Automatic Fare Collection system, will be officially launched on 12 November. All stations will be fitted with card-reading machines. All commuters will need to do is tap their card on the reader to open the gate into the stations. They will only be billed on their card when they tap out at their destination. The advantage of this system is that commuters will pay only for the distance travelled.
An added bonus is that users will also be able to use their smart card to buy groceries up to the value of R200 at selected stores. They will be able to load credit of between R60 and R1 500 on their card.
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