Sammy Mwangi is the founder and director of Heartstrings Entertainment where he also serves as the producer.
Heartstrings Entertainment is an assemblage of Kenyan artists who use the entertainment as a tool of effective communication together.
Mwangi has achieved a lot in the theatrical stage and he has acquired among other recognitions, the Head of State Commendation (HSC).
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Background
Mwangi first stepped on stage during his time in high school when he would participate in the drama clubs.
“I was in Form One at Pumwani Secondary School when I got into theatre while in France. I loved every moment of it, so much so that I later became a three-time winner – Best Actor in French Drama Festivals. So, I continued with public theatre when I finished Form Four,” he said.
He studied a diploma in tourism, followed by another diploma in graphic art and design at Kenya Polytechnic.
He later studied French at Alliance Française.
Paid gigs
He started doing paid gigs when he was hired as an intern for a local touring company dubbed, Flamingo Tours.
Mwangi was in charge of French speaking tourists. He would accompany them to different tourist destinations in the country.
At the time, he was juggling his tour guide job and when not on duty, he would be on stage performing rehearsed scripts.
However, the Likoni clashes in the 1990s cut short his tour guide career and hopes of taking up driving classes and be a driver guide.
By the time the tour guide job ended, Mwangi had been making some money from theatre, and that is when he decided to focus on it fully.
“I got tired and asked myself why I was struggling to get a nine-to-five job instead of turning my hobby and passion into a paying job. I had to come up with an outfit that would accommodate the professionalism I wanted
“I created a home for artists who needed to exercise their craft. A good number have passed through Heartstrings, both known and upcoming,” he stated.
Together with Erastus Owuor, Victor Ber, and Ken Waudo, Mwangi founded Heartstrings Kenya, initially known as Falaki Arts Ensemble.
At the time, shows were staged for free at the British Council but Heartstrings Entertainment started charging entry fees.
“We approached theatre like an industry. In terms of marketing, there is no difference between a packet of unga (flour) and a theatre play,” Mwangi said.
Thanks to their authentically Kenyan content, Heartstrings shows could no longer fit the British Council Auditorium.
This forced the management to move from their initial home to Goethe Institute before moving to the Alliance Francaise and the Kenya National Theatre (KNT) where they would fill to the brim.
By 2015, other founding members had left leaving the company to Mwangi.
“To mark this transition, I registered Heartstrings Entertainment,” he said.
Fallout
In a past interview with Standard, Mwangi denies claims that her partners’ exit was caused by a nasty fallout.
“There was no fallout. I have had many actors and actresses pass through Heartstrings over the years and after they have used the platform we provide to nurture their talents and get exposure, they move on to other things,” he said.
As the team leader, he hired an Operations manager who deals with the everyday running of their office, the non-artistic aspect which has contracts and PDF files attached.
As the artistic director, Mwangi has focused on recruiting talent, directing them and putting on the show.
He attributes the success of his company to among other factors professionalism.
“You have to be professional. If you want to make an industry out of theatre, then like any other industry – whether media, production or even oil – you have to be professional for it to grow,” he said.
As of 2017, staging a play cost him Ksh 600,000.
