{"id":20753,"date":"2025-09-08T11:16:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T09:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/lowveld\/?p=20753"},"modified":"2025-09-08T11:16:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T09:16:41","slug":"from-centre-stage-to-story-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/lowveld\/blog\/2025\/09\/08\/from-centre-stage-to-story-time\/","title":{"rendered":"From centre stage to story time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jana grew up in the Lowveld, surrounded by open spaces and long, slow summers. From early on, she knew she was drawn to drama – not drama as in chaos, but drama in the true sense: the stage, storytelling and performance. She went on to study acting, setting out on the path of a creative career. But as life often does, it took her in an unexpected direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter studying, I became an air hostess in Dubai,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was amazing. I saw the world, learned so much about different nations and cultures. I\u2019ll always be grateful for that time in my life.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For Jana, it wasn\u2019t just about the destinations, although she did tick off some iconic ones, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, temples and towers and glittering cities. It was the people that made the deepest impression. \u201cYou hardly ever worked with someone from your own country,\u201d she says. \u201cYou had to learn how to connect across languages, cultures, everything. It forced me to grow. And I loved that, it was one of the best experiences I could have had.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After a year and a half in the sky, she returned to South Africa and slowly started building her acting career. For around ten years, Jana worked mainly in TV productions. \u201cI would have loved to do more stage work, but more screen opportunities came my way and I followed them.\u201d Her love of theatre never went away, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something about being on stage. I miss that connection with the audience. It\u2019s immediate. Alive.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And then, as is so often the case, life shifted. Jana met Stephan, and they got married. Priorities shifted when daughter Amia was born. \u201cActing had to take a backseat,\u201d she says. \u201cWe weren\u2019t living in Joburg or Cape Town, and that is where all the productions are. Trying to build a film or TV career from a smaller town, with a baby in tow, is incredibly difficult. I had to make peace with that. I wasn\u2019t an actress anymore, I was a mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Four years after Amia was born, Sebastian arrived, and life became busier, richer, and so much more demanding in every possible way. \u201cThese days, everything I do revolves around my kids,\u201d Jana smiles. \u201cEvery decision I make, every plan is about them. They are the centre of my world.\u201d<\/p>\n

But recently, a familiar feeling has begun to stir. A nudge. \u201cI feel the itch again,\u201d she admits. \u201cTo be on stage. To put something together. Maybe a play. I\u2019ve been thinking about doing something local. There\u2019s no solid plan yet, not really, but its a little seed. It\u2019s there. We\u2019ll have to see where it goes\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, home has become a different kind of creative space. The kitchen is one of the places where the magic happens now, and for Jana and Stephan, food isn\u2019t just about
\nfood, it\u2019s a lifestyle. \u201cIt\u2019s not always possible, but we like to make most of what we eat from scratch, and avoid processed stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooking is a particular passion of Jana\u2019s, and Stephan loves making bread, especially sourdough. \u201cPizza is another obsession,\u201d she laughs. \u201cI make everything, the base, the sauce, the toppings. If I could make the cheese myself, I would!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Another ultra-yummy indulgence Jana makes is homemade ice-cream. \u201cI do all sorts of varieties,\u201d she says, \u201cand the kids love to help me make them. Especially Amia. She\u2019s very independent in the kitchen, and she loves to cook and help out. She knows if there\u2019s something she wants to eat, and it\u2019s reasonable, she can make it herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jana\u2019s idyllic life was shaken to its core just last year. Early in October, she
\nwent in for what was meant to be a routine and very necessary hysterectomy, which turned into something far more dangerous. \u201cI started feeling really bad after the operation, I was incredibly sick,\u201d she says. \u201cWe called the doctor, and he rightly suspected that one of the clamps on the fallopian tubes had come loose. I was bleeding, a lot, and they rushed me to ER and opened me up again.\u201d<\/p>\n

What followed was pure trauma. \u201cI was terrified. I knew that I was dying. I\u2019ve always been a spiritual person, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever prayed like that before. Not in my life.\u201d By the time they got Jana back into surgery, two litres of blood had already collected in her abdominal cavity. They had to drain the blood and do a transfusion. \u201cThe doctor later told me if we had waited thirty minutes longer, I would have died.\u201d<\/p>\n

Physically, Jana healed very quickly. Emotionally, she experienced depression, but she went for therapy and thought she was fine. She didn\u2019t know it yet, but one of the most challenging times of her life was racing towards her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was okay. I prayed a lot, got counselling and dealt with it. Put it behind me. Then, a month and a half later, around mid-November, I realised I wasn\u2019t sleeping, and that I couldn\u2019t fall asleep. I just lay there, night after night, wide awake. Looking back I think it probably started earlier, but with everything that was going on, I didn\u2019t see it for what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jana has tried everything, from heavy medication to natural treatments. \u201cIt\u2019s still a struggle. I\u2019ve learned that even though I have absolutely no issues or resentment towards the doctor, the nurses or the hospital, my body is retaining a memory of the trauma. To cut a long story short, I have something they call General Anxiety Disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The anxiety manifests physically too, mainly in her neck, especially where the tension builds up, and Jana sees therapists regularly for lymph drainage and physical stress relief. While the problem persists, she\u2019s learned to manage her sleep with as much care and intention as she manages her food. \u201cGood sleep hygiene, food conducive to a restful night, I\u2019m doing everything I can to alleviate it. It\u2019s just one of those things I have to live with, for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Despite it all, Jana speaks with quiet pride about the year she\u2019s had, and how she held everything together. \u201cMy husband travels a lot, so it\u2019s often just me and the kids, and somehow, all the right boxes are always ticked. I am so in love with everything in my life at the moment, my beautiful kids, a supportive husband who would do anything for me, and who makes me laugh. I appreciate that so much.\u201d<\/p>\n