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For eight long years, writer and director, George van Rooyen, of Humansdorp, has worked to prepare his new show, Die Fakulteit, for national television. It will premiere on April 14 as eExtra’s first original Afrikaans comedy series.
Van Rooyen said he has always loved film and theatre, and was involved with many plays when attending Nico Malan High School.
He said he only thought of directing as a career option two years after matriculating, but since he did not have the finances to study, he initially spent time in waiting at tables and bartending, to save up enough money to enrol at the Stageworld Theatre School in Gqeberha in 2007.
Thankfully, Van Rooyen said the owner, Marlene Pieterse, introduced him to directing as an art form, and helped him realise that he could write.
Finally in 2012, after gaining some experience in the world of arts and entertainment, he decided to move to Johannesburg, with no money and a car that barely ran.
“I wanted to see if I could make a career out of it. I spent six years writing, directing, and acting for a small theatre company as we travelled around the country. Later my interests began shifting to production, and I started to learn about the behind-the-scenes,” said Van Rooyen.
He said that even though he loves his home town, Humansdorp, where he attends Christmas church services at the Dutch Reformed Church each year, it was necessary for him to move to Johannesburg for his career to reach new heights.
“You don’t come from opportunity, and you don’t have connections if you come from a small town. So, when you get here you are going to have to outwork everybody around you to get somewhere. It is tough, and it takes a lot of sacrifice,” said Van Rooyen.
In 2017 he established his own production company, CoolerBox Brothers, with two of his friends, Marno Koen and Michael van Zyl, to create great content and to offer an opportunity for young people to find a foot in the creative industry, as he continued to work on cementing his career within the industry.
“We have grown the business into a formidable boutique production company specialising in television, commercials, music videos, and social media content,” said Van Rooyen.
In 2022 they expanded to establish CoolerBox Records, a young alternative Afrikaans record label.
For the last decade, Van Rooyen has continued to work consistently in television, with some of his directing credits including Konings van Kitskos, Stem saam, Boer maak ’n plan, Wian, Die Bruid-boetiek, My Festive Menu, Rusbank-sessies met Dozi, Musiek Paniek, Karoo-Kombuis, Skud dit Af, Doodgewone Jo, Ry of Bly, Wys my ’n Huis, Ons vir Jou, Plan van Aksie, Trou, trek of toer?, Klankbank, and Hier sit die manne.
Despite being involved in talk, reality, lifestyle, and game shows, he said that the hardest nut to crack in the arts and entertainment industry has been to work in scripted format.
Van Rooyen said that after directing his first reality show for SABC 1, Reno Race, he found that many of his friends at the time complained about feeling that they did not fully understand what being an adult was all about, which inspired him to write a comedy series highlighting the challenges young people face as they navigate life as an adult.
“I’ve always been drawn to comedy, and I thought of the typical teenage comedy films we knew in the 90’s, with specific stock characters like the jock, the nerd, the hot girl, and the arty girl who wears glasses, but is secretly pretty.
“I thought of where they would be 10 years later, and I thought the only way to put them back together was to put them back in school. This time they would be the teachers. Still hapless, still failing to behave like adults, still the same high school drama, but they are in charge,” said Van Rooyen.
Despite being passionate about the storyline, he said that it took at least eight years to showcase the comedy series, Die Fakulteit, which has been produced by CoolerBox Brothers, on national television.
“A lot of people have to believe in you; you have to have the right team and the right experience, and I feel we finally had everything in place,” said Van Rooyen.
He said that everyone, from crew members to the cast, “poured their heart and soul” into Die Fakulteit and they hope that viewers will enjoy the show.
While he waits in anticipation for Die Fakulteit to air on April 14, on eExtra (Openview Channel 105) at 19:30, Van Rooyen said that in March they began filming season two of the show.
To connect with their viewers, he said that they hope to interact on Die Fakulteit’s Tik-Tok, Instagram, and Facebook accounts.
“We believe that all audiences will relate to it, because it does feel familiar. We all spent at least 12 years on a school bench,” said Van Rooyen.
