'Rejection Is A Big Part Of An Actor's Life'

Carmen Pretorius, 28, talks to Julia Bain about her big break, landing her dream role, and what it’s like to date another actor

Born in Joburg, Carmen grew up performing from the age of eight. winning gold medals at the Sa Championships of Performing arts gave her the opportunity to perform in the U.S. at 16 and in Japan at 17. in her final year of school, she won the m-net reality show High School musical, which kicked off her professional performing career. Since then, she has been a familiar face in film, on tv and on stage. Carmen starred as Lien in the South African film Lien se Lankstaanskoene, has appeared in recurring roles on local tv shows such as Isidingo and Binnelanders, as well as being a presenter on Pasella. She has been cast in multiple musicals including Jersey Boys, Footloose, the Sound of music, mamma mia! and most recently Chicago. Carmen lives with her boyfriend Keaton ditchfield, 28, inNorthwoodd.

My earliest memory is being three years old and singing along to music in my mom’s car. I was raised listening to music like Roxette, Bonnie Tyler and ABBA, as well as theatre classics by the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber. My childhood dream was to be a recording artist. I started singing lessons when I was eight and my taste in music changed – I listened to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and the Spice Girls. At that point all I wanted was to be a pop star...