By Jaime Uranovsky
Almost every industry has been affected by the coronavirus, and the entertainment and live events industry has been no exception.
With many actors, technicians, decorators, producers, directors and other role players being left stranded during this time, successful executive show producer, creative director and stage director David Bloch, sought to lift the spirits of and pay tribute to those in this line of work with a video titled #ReinventYourROAR.
David lives in Johannesburg, but was born and bred in Cape Town and is a proud Herzlia alumnus. He has been in the entertainment industry for 21 years. He explains how he came up with the concept:
“Our industry was the first to go and it will be the last to come back and I was feeling particularly down and demotivated.
I was very overwhelmed by how many people were in distress both financially and mentally. I was talking to a friend of mine from overseas, and she was saying she really misses being able to work with me and it organically grew out of a conversation.
“I came across my track for Roar which I had produced for a show back in 2014, and it suddenly resonated with me. I thought, let me reach out to all my friends and colleagues who I have worked with over the years. I wanted this to be something personal for myself as well, so I reached out.”
This idea culminated in an invigorating and inspiring music video and cover of Katy Perry’s ‘Roar.’ The song was recorded by artists in 15 different cities from 11 countries, all of whom David has worked with over the past 21 years.
All those involved, including Bryan Schimmel, who arranged the music and who is a recipient of the Jewish Achievement Award for Arts and Culture, did so for free. David says, “I want our song to be something for the live events and greater entertainment community. I wanted our song to be a song of hope and a song of belief and a song of inspiration or aspiration to my community, my family. The only intention was to share something positive online. It was a passion project!
The artists involved include Lelo Ramasimong, Graeme Watkins, Chad Saaiman, Fem Belling, Sifiso Mazibuko, Richard Stirton, Melanie Scholtz, Lyle Anthony, Naz Holland, Shaun V, the Clarisse Sisters, Shanay Shah, Appassionante, Cristina Ramos, Tal Vaknin and Christina Bianco.
As well as this project, David is currently presenting a live show that streams every Saturday evening at 19:00, virtually reuniting casts of shows performed in South Africa, such as the 1995 South African casts of Westside Story, Mamma Mia! and Rent.
To check out David’s other projects, visit his Instagram page, @David Bloch International, or watch the #ReinventyourROAR video.
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