Writing, philanthropy and acting.
These are the top three foci in her life right now.
Ever since Gomora ended, the beloved Tshiamo, real name Lerato Mokoka has been booked and busy.
Catching up with Drum from a coffee shop, she says her breakthrough TV character opened meaningful doors for her.
“It helped me build a lot of relationships with other creatives. It gave me access to a lot more creators, to a lot more writers, to a lot more directors, to a lot more producers. So, it's a lot easier for people to back my work because I've already built that network of people. It gave me a really good platform to do the things that I really want to do or the things that I'm passionate about.”
Even as she acts as Ora on Obstruction, a Mzansi Magic teen drama series, she also contributes to the screenwriting of the show.
Read more | Cast and crew bid farewell to Gomora after final episode airs
Before the acting bug bit, the founder of The Lerato foundation had her cards placed on screenwriting. She studied film and TV production at AFDA after her interest shifted from financial studies which she pursued at the University of Pretoria.
“Writing came first for me because I've been writing since I was in high school and then I got into acting because I was curious about film production. The acting came second and when I got into it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is actually such a beautiful art’.
“I got a BCom degree in financial science. And then I went to AFDA to get a higher certificate in film and TV production. I did that for a year and then in between that, after I got my acting diploma, I did some part time classes in acting because I knew nothing about live performance and acting,” the 27-year-old adds.
Ever since making her debut on our screens as Mam’ Sonto’s granddaughter on Gomora, she’s had to deal with being misunderstood because of the low profile she maintains.
“I don't like people ruining my business, my business is very personal to me. So that's why I don't expose it to a lot of people. Only the people who are closest to me know what's happening in my life and where I really am. The misperception is because people don't really have an idea of who I really am, they go off of my characters and they expect to see me be as forward as Tshiamo. And I'm just so chilled, so calm. Some people are actually disappointed because they expect this big personality,” she tells Drum.
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Her greatest goal currently though is “for people to see her name in writer's credits, ‘written by, produced by’.”
“Ultimately, to be producing work, to be creating worlds, to be creating characters, to be creating storylines. That's my main thing, I'm still going to be dabbling in some acting. I want to focus a lot more on like philanthropy, on my charity projects and see how that unfolds, to see how that empowers people, to see how that helps people, to see where that goes even.”
While she intends to break stereotypes in her TV storytelling, Lerato also wants to marry all three of her passions.
“The philanthropy comes in when we now find ways to run our own businesses, to produce our own stuff, to find our own funding without being at the mercy of the industry and the way that it is right now.”
