Art & Management

After 23 years service veteran artist Kiros Haileselassie now looks at managing the biggest project of his life [the Addis Ababa Millennium Celebration] that will become visible in less than a month


By Alemayehu Seife Selassie

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Many know Kiros Haileselassie with his current film acting, appearances and TV dramas. But what many do not know is the reason he reserve himself from pursing with the passion for acting. “I cannot say I am happy with the number of appearances I have had with my 23 years of working”, the artist now states. His behind the scene achievements working at the Addis Ababa City Hall Cultural Center however, speak volumes for themselves. Working at a department which screens and give comments for Ethiopian filmmakers, the open hearted approach is something which has given the industry some boost.

Tamed by modesty he however, says, “I cannot take credit for the number of films that blossom in recent times, but I can say that most of the famous artist that are not graduates of Addis Ababa University or educated abroad took some courses in our training center”.
Despite his reserved satisfaction, the acting he did in over ten full length plays, appearances in five major films, and enormous short plays, Kiros has his share of screen and stage appearances which he is remembered with. “When I am cast for a film, I get the urge to act. But there are lots of meetings and office engagements and I fail to be present in trainings and have become less demanded by directors. They say Kiros will delay us he has his meetings and for that I am very much disappointed.” He testifies. Having studied theatre art at the Addis Ababa University and theatre anthropology abroad, Kiros has taken many workshops which made him speak with confidence that he has nourished his skills. But he is reserved when he said, that he has not served the society as much as he should have.

“I was selfish to take this office managerial position because I had the urge to get some money and raise my kids in a better way and in the process of doing that, I have hurt my self. I know my colleagues and I are more concerned than any layman, we have probably made out center far better than it was.”

Getting employed for 500 Birr (~ 55 USD) a month salary at Hager Fikir Theatre two dozen years ago, Kiros has been promoted to a salary five times more than that. And he states, “I guess everyone has his time where he look back and say those old good days. May be I have reached that age. We used to enjoy our time with that 500 Birr. You can smoke and drink and pay the house rent but when you have a family of your own, you would realize that human needs are endless.”

Kiros compares the times he used to get 20-25 birr (2.5 USD) payment for the TV dramas with the current film acting 20,000 Birr (2,300 USD). “The money is thousands hundreds of times folds but you can not buy a house with that either. The one thing you should know is money is your slave you should not be a slave for it.”

How did Kiros get in to acting?
In his teens when he was a boy scout Kiros was acting. But with his diminished voice the characters that were assigned to him were a girl, a servant or a house maid. “My father used to get angry, he used to say, you only become what you wished for, and he was not so supportive of my acting.” By the time he joined the Addis Ababa University, Kiros was highly encouraged by his relatives to study political science. But his previous acting days did not let him turn a deaf ear on them either. Falling in love with theatres such as Ha Hu Besidist Wer, he gave due attention towards going to the theatres. But the field he was aiming on studying was political science. “I guess it was due to my facial expression, somehow my friend told me and suggested that I should study theatre arts.” Kiros remembers.

This actor was more successful in the acting than the theoretical part of his studies and it did not take long before he was hired at the Hager Fikir Theatre when he graduated. But taking a walk on the memory lane brings some sadness on his heart as the friend Kibebe Megersa the person who encouraged him to join theatre, and later ended up being a national Theatre artist himself has passed away. Manager of Hager Fikir theatre, actress and director, Menbere Tadesse, director, actor and play writer Zewdu Abegaz, the Oromiya Cultural Center art director Dima Abera, and Addis Ababa University Cultural Center Director and instructor at the theatrical department Associate Professor Aboneh Adenew are some of Kiros’s classmates who stayed in the art.

Another sad incident that left a bit of a scar in Kiros’s heart is being unable to show his father that the acting art is also a respected profession. “It was unfortunate my father never stayed alive long enough to see me graduate. He passed away at a time when there was a serious war and I was not able to go to Tigray and he was not able to come to Addis. My mom was liberal and she loved music Eskista dances she used to watch my acts and used to cheer me up. I don’t know if she understood those Shakespeare’s plays or not but she encouraged me.”

Kiros has been the artistic director for Hager Fikir Theater for many years before he moved in to the City Administration’s Commercial and Cultural Bureau. Working on the department which evaluates films, Krios said that it was time for the industry to grow. “The directors’ using equipments which can deliver some quality, has helped the industry to boom. We were open-hearted and were setting some standards which might ease up the situation but we are not professionals in the filmmaking for the industry is new for us too.”

Kiros Director of the Addis Ababa Millennium Celebration Committee
Currently Kiros is the director for the Addis Ababa Millennium Celebration Committee. Working with his 37 colleagues he is responsible for the temporary (festivity) and permanent (development work) millennium projects.

Under the current projects he is charring the construction of five free service clinics and five schools for street children, the constructing of five major statues, one major city library capable of accommodating 1,000 people, and the constructing of different winged 158 hectare Addis Millennium Park with Addis Ababa Tower and Clock are some of the projects. “We have not had any negative comments so far we have had many positive responses”.

According to the director the permanent projects might take 10-15 years and the committee is looking for sponsors who are interested to have their names written for eternity.
“We are planning on planting endogenous trees for Addis Ababa and make the city recognized for its flowery trees.”

Among the festivities the over night long, landscape art where 2,000 artists and personalities take part is a major one. The whole Millennium celebration is going to start in less than a month. And Kiros states that it will run for 15 months from the end of the millennium to the beginning of the next one.

The delay of action and hot air element is something which many raise concerns of and the inauguration of the logo after the year is half way over did not help the situation either. And Kiros has this to say, “Had we started with only one project, it would have been easy to implement it but there are many. It is a process, you cannot have a baby instantly and we have evaluated and given certificates for 120 individuals. And those projects are also in the way.” Among the projects he highlights cleaning the city and beatifying it with planting grass and flower, reordering of billboards to a certain standard buying one kilo of dirt for ten cents and open for 12,000 job opportunities are some of the projects that are in progress. The planting related projects are going to kick off in a month time when Addis gets in to the rainy season.

The one thing that Kiros guarantees is the safety of the projects. “When people come to us with their ideas, we say don’t tell us. Just prepare the project, and let us register it for you that way it will be safe. Our policy is first come first served if there are mischief’s out side they should take it outside.” And he passed on his message, “This is time we celebrate a thousand year’s history and we should have open heart to change for the better.”

May 11, 2007