Patrick Ssenjovu
Encyclopedia
Patrick Ssenjovu is a film
and theatre
actor
. He is additionally a film director
and producer
.
, Uganda
.
and the United States
, including Woza Albert!
, a political-satire
play.
He then moved to New York City
, New York
, where he became a member of the Great Jones Repertory Company
and worked with such people as Meredith Monk
, Ellen Stewart
, Ping Chong
, Seth Barish and Robert Wilson
. Ssenjovu has performed at venues including La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
, Lincoln Center, the Ohio Theatre and the St. Anne's Warehouse, all four located in New York City; and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center
, located in Newark
, New Jersey
.
In 2000, he appeared as himself in Secret History, a theatre piece written and directed by Chong, at the Ohio Theatre.
(2005), a sport, comedy-drama
film directed by Michael Hoffman; and Sydney Pollack
’s The Interpreter
(2005), a mystery
-thriller, drama film
directed by Sydney Pollack
.
Additionally, he voice acted
"Other Characters" in X-Men Origins: Wolverine
(2009), a science-fiction
, fantasy
-action video game.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is additionally a film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
Early life and education
He was born in KayungaKayunga
Kayunga is a town in Central Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Kayunga District. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
.
Theatre work
At age fourteen Ssenjovu became the youngest member of Impact International, a dance and theatre troupe, performing throughout EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including Woza Albert!
Woza Albert!
Woza Albert! is a political satire that imagines the second coming of Christ in apartheid-ridden South Africa.-The play:The play opened at Johannesburg's Market Theater and toured in Europe and America as the most successful play to come out of South Africa, winning more than 20 prestigious awards...
, a political-satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
play.
He then moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he became a member of the Great Jones Repertory Company
Great Jones Repertory Company
The Great Jones Repertory Company is the name of the main performing company at La MaMa, E.T.C. in New York City. They take their name from the street where the main rehearsal space for La MaMa is located, just a block south of the theater itself. The artistic director for the company was Ellen...
and worked with such people as Meredith Monk
Meredith Monk
Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
, Ellen Stewart
Ellen Stewart
Ellen Stewart was an American theater director and producer and the founder of La MaMa, E.T.C. . In the 1950s she worked as a fashion designer for Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, and Henri Bendel.-Biography:Ellen Stewart was either born in Alexandria, Louisiana or Chicago,...
, Ping Chong
Ping Chong
Ping Chong is an American contemporary theater director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He was born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City...
, Seth Barish and Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson (director)
Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
. Ssenjovu has performed at venues including La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is an off-off Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, and named in reference to her. Located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the theatre grew out of Stewart's tiny basement boutique for her fashion designs; the boutique's space acted as a theatre for...
, Lincoln Center, the Ohio Theatre and the St. Anne's Warehouse, all four located in New York City; and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...
, located in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
In 2000, he appeared as himself in Secret History, a theatre piece written and directed by Chong, at the Ohio Theatre.
Film and video-game acting
Ssenjovu appeared as Ibrahim Moshoeshoe in Game 6Game 6 (film)
Game 6 is a 2005 American film directed by Michael Hoffman, first presented at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 and released in the United States in 2006...
(2005), a sport, comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film directed by Michael Hoffman; and Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
’s The Interpreter
The Interpreter
The Interpreter is a 2005 political thriller film starring Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener. It was the final film to be directed by Sydney Pollack.-Plot:...
(2005), a mystery
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
-thriller, drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
.
Additionally, he voice acted
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
"Other Characters" in X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (video game)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 action-adventure game loosely based on the film of the same name. The game release coincided with the release of the film on May 1, 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed...
(2009), a science-fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
-action video game.
Film producing and directing
Ssenjovu produced and directed Awaken (2009), a short, drama film.External links
Official website- "Woza Albert!", a performance flyer at La MaMa Experimental Theatre ClubLa MaMa Experimental Theatre ClubLa MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is an off-off Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, and named in reference to her. Located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the theatre grew out of Stewart's tiny basement boutique for her fashion designs; the boutique's space acted as a theatre for...
's official website. Accessed August 24, 2010.