Don't Stop Me Now

When your career is also your passion, how do you keep the spark alive? Embrace new challenges, say these three women, who are reaching exciting heights doing exactly that...

- Marike Watson

The actress

Actress and singer Nawaal Howa, 56, lives in Elfindale and has two grown-up daughters from a previous marriage. She’ll make her film debut in a new drama, out later this year.

“It’s difficult to describe how it felt to walk onto a film set for the first time, at 56, to perform my part in front of a rolling camera. Surreal is one word. My career path has been unusual – I only got into acting after 40, following a career in trade finance in my twenties and thirties. Back then, I never believed my dream to act was anything but that – a dream. But it just goes to show that embracing change can be a wonderfully life-affirming decision. What took me so long to follow my passion? I was afraid.

But that milestone birthday, entering my fourth decade, sparked something in me. It was almost a rash decision to hang up my corporate hat. I resigned from my job with nothing in the wings, but nothing to lose, either. I had no acting training nor any experience, but a lot of gumption. I called local community theatres asking about any auditions and, as luck would have it, there was a casting call for a musical production that same week. I went for my first audition with a ‘fake it till you make it’ attitude, but that old gnawing feeling of self-doubt resurfaced, and I left thinking I’d made a fool of myself. I was genuinely surprised when the callback came... before I knew it, I was on stage at Muizenberg’s Masque Theatre! The curtain went up and there I was, performing in a James Bond musical extravaganza in front of a live audience. It was absolutely thrilling!