Jeanne-Marié Koekemoer, an honours student in drama at Stellenbosch University (SU) who is making her mark on the South African theatre scene, is participating in various capacities in four productions at the 2025 Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees. 

When we meet at a bustling coffee shop in her hometown between her rehearsals, Koekemoer arrives in a bright summer dress, her face alight with enthusiasm as she speaks about her craft and upcoming productions. Words tumble out with the same effusive energy that fuels her creative life. 

Storytelling is not merely a passion, but Koekemoer’s way of being in the world. It’s how she incorporates the “thousands of pieces” of the people around her into her productions. “You just know when something is special or quirky or interesting about the moment that you’re in. And I always carry a little notepad or something to jot it down, also stuff that people say that sounds interesting. I often have lines that I know can work, and then you kind of put them on sticky notes and try and place them somewhere.”

Koekemoer’s love for theatre started early. As a child, she would put on plays with her siblings and friends in the December holiday, and she participated in productions throughout her school career. She names her drama teachers in primary and high school as among her “profound influences”. In 2017, as a learner at Stellenbosch High School, she won the ATKV Teen Drama Competition Award for best actress in a supporting role in Blessings. Two years later, she was nominated for an ATKV Teen Theatre Award for most promising performance by a female. “Acting has always been a part of who I am,” she says. Her mother is an illustrator and her sister, now a medical student, also loved acting. Her late father was an avid musician and organist who also sang in the military choir, the Kanaries. “I definitely inherited my adventurous spirit from him,” she adds.

Koekemoer recently returned from a two-week theatre and performance course held at Edinburgh University as part of the Scottish Universities’ International Summer School, an experience she describes as “life changing”. Attending the Edinburgh Festival had also been a long-time dream. “It was amazing to see not just art from Edinburgh, but from Australia, from Brazil – from all over. It was so fruitful for my practice, and now I’m just so excited to try those things out here.” 

Koekemoer has drawn on her courage and creative energy to take part in four Woordfees productions this year, each of which offers “unique opportunities for growth”. She describes Die koning en sy bruid as “the most fun show to act in, and also the most rewarding show”. Hers is a very physical role that demands acting “from my toes to my head”, she adds laughingly. Kenan ennie Klopse, which she directs, is “an incredible story that I’m so privileged to just be a part of and to witness and see”.

As stage manager for the children’s theatre production Grommels, she gets to enjoy the collaborative process without having to perform. “It’s fun because although there is not a lot of pressure on me, it is still a profound joy to collaborate with talented people whom I am fortunate enough to also call my friends.” She says the “phenomenal work” is a lovely story for children. In Die Olifant, Koekemoer takes on a technically demanding role involving puppetry. “It’s quite tricky and complicated, but it’s been a cool learning curve.” 

When asked which theatrical “hat” she prefers, Koekemoer admits she would choose directing. “Acting is something that I’ve been doing since I was little. It’s something that keeps on growing, but also something that I’m quite comfortable in already. However, the directing and the creative side of things is something that I’m starting to fall in love with only now and in this part of my life over the last three years. So that’s a very exciting thing for me because it’s so new and fresh, and I’m learning with every project.”

Koekemoer’s creative process is deeply influenced by her surroundings and the people around her. “I draw a lot of inspiration from people I look up to and theatre makers I look up to in terms of their visual style.” Furthermore, the Première Theatre Festival at SU, founded by André Gerber and Elana-Marie Snyman to encourage new theatre work, has been an invaluable platform for students like Koekemoer, providing a springboard for many of the productions being staged at the Woordfees.

Of her creative process, she says: “I often think visually first, and then I start writing.” She describes herself as “a little detective”, adding that creativity often begins with paying attention to everyday life. “I think it’s about stories and about being attentive to your surroundings and to the people around you, and to the things that are happening to you,” she says. “And I think writing, especially, is something that comes from you, because it’s questions that you have in your life that you process through the writing.”

When asked how she manages to balance the demands of acting, writing and directing simultaneously, Koekemoer reveals that she has realised the importance of prioritising balance this year. “I’m definitely still learning, but I realised that our time is very short. The people we love are also very important. I have been going at 184 miles per hour since I was 12 or 13 years old. So, I realised that this is not the only important thing in my life. It’s been special to also prioritise spending time with family and friends.”

Koekemoer turns to a poem she recently discovered as part of her coursework at Edinburgh University, “The War in England” by Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid, reading it aloud to share her deep love of nature and the outdoors:

I was better with the sounds of the sea
Than with the voices of men,
And in desolate and desert places
I found myself again.

Looking to the future, Koekemoer plans to move to Cape Town, seek internships and continue creating. She already has work lined up for upcoming festivals. “I would love to study again at some point,” she says, “but I first want to figure out how the world outside of studying works, and where my interests lie.”