The acronym, PIT, stands for Professional Intelligent Theatre. We are a company based on vision, passion and pure positivity. PIT Productions was conceptualised in 1998 by Mareli Minnaar as an independent theatre production house with its main goal being to entertain audiences and develop new and existing talent. It has since grown and now incorporates a fully-fledged television and postproduction facility and also a sound studio.
At PIT Productions artists find a challenging and exciting environment in which to develop new ideas and skills, and clients and audiences alike have the pick of the fruits of our labour. Export quality fruits from the heart of PIT.
Continuing our 8 years of success, PIT will once again in 2009 perform Afrikaans prescribed works for Grade 11 and Grade 12 pupils in IEB schools countrywide.
PIT Productions' educational programmes have become an anticipated yearly event at schools around the country. We send a group of professional actors to schools to present a tailor made performance of Afrikaans prescribed works. Performances are extremely energetic and are directed and choreographed by visionary directors.
In 2006 we introduced a more audiovisual approach in keeping up with our ever-changing society and to engage students on more levels.
We have provided this service to the Gauteng Department of Education, Western Cape Department of Education as well as the Independent Exams Board (private schools).
Kompleks is a 13-episode sketch comedy show that chronicles the lives and times of the people who spend their time on an exclusive golf estate. The main actors, all key actors for PIT Productions, each played a variety of 4 to 5 radically different roles, supported by a talented cast of actors. The first series was also edited by PIT Productions.
The creative writing and acting talent of Mareli Minnaar, Neels Clasen, Tiaan Rautenbach and Hannes Brümmer spearheaded Kompleks. Due to popular demand, the first series* of Kompleks has been rebroadcast twice on SABC2.
* PIT Productions was by choice in no way connected to or involved with the second series of Kompleks
Produced for the DSTV Channel kykNET by Jan Wolmarans, the core members of PIT Productions participated in this 13 episode comedy series as writers and main performers.
Blikskottel was directed by Pluto Panoussis and all original music composed by Adriaan Pelzer and an animated title sequence was produced by Diek Grobler. Due to its underground cult following, it was rebroadcast on a different youth channel in 2004.
Zef Sketse is the forerunner of PIT Productions' commercial success that has culminated in the production of Kompleks in 2006. It was a theatre sketch comedy show developed for the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees in 2002 and carried out successfully until shooting for Blikskottel began in 2003.
Zef Sketse consisted of comedy sketches with a distinct South African flavour, featuring quick costume changes and terribly strange dance moves.
New sketches were written for every performance, resulting in there being a reserve of more than 3 hours' worth of material to choose from for any given show.
An experiment in sensory theatre, the play was set in a block of flats in the city where people think they all lead separate and isolated lives, but there’s one thing that they all share – tap water. At the start of the show the audience received a glass of water as well as a small package containing something to eat, smell and feel. The aim was to stimulate the same senses in the audience and actors at the same time.
Nimf consisted of two beautiful Afrikaans short stories adapted for stage: Die Vierde dag by Welma Odendaal and Die invloed by Pirow Bekker.
Written for KKNK 1999, Jakob is a thriller performed in a big, open space near a river. Audience members receive flashlights and police dockets at the start of the show and follow a police investigator (Speursersant Malherbe) in the field as on a guided tour.
A one-woman show that enjoyed sold out performances at the KKNK festival in 1998. A simple story with a fairy tale feel of a wallflower that aims high in life and becomes the talk of the town.
Slenderella consisted mainly of prose and storytelling, accompanied by piano, flute and saxophone. The show ran for two years at different venues and festivals, and enjoyed immense success throughout.