Two Words with Taku

Facing fear. Writing. More fear. Standup comedy. Zimbo politics. Aussie politics. Jokes about my Mama. Feminism. Typos in sexts. Working with kids. Developing TV characters. Running a company. Story. Creative freedom. And laughter…lots of laughter! Yep, this and more in my hearty chat with Claire for her podcast Just Make the Thing. The original episode […] The post Episode 86 – Candid Chat about Fear, Creativity and Writing with Claire Tonti appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Look Ma – I’m producing! The Youth Affairs Council of Western Australia (YACWA) invited me to train 15 young people in public speaking and I suggested we also make a podcast with their short speeches. In this episode I share what I learnt from creating the Shout Out Youth Speakers podcast. I’d like to thank […] The post Episode 85 – Lessons from Producing a Podcast for Young Public Speakers appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Dear Tomi, this is the most biased book review I’ve ever given. But I absolutely loved reading Children of Blood and Bone! In this episode I share why I’m excited by the magical words woven into this African-inspired fantasy novel. I also share a snippet from Tomi’s Good Morning America interview with Robin Roberts which […] The post Episode 84 – Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Finding and growing your tribe is a two-way street. Yes, I know that doesn’t make grammatical sense, but hear me out as I explain how this podcast is connecting me to people I’m excited about…and people who are excited about me too. I go through 13 questions that might help you suss out where your […] The post Episode 83 – How podcasting is growing my tribe of fellow writers and storytellers appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

The book based on my radio play is coming soon! JoYOLO by Taku and Peo. Omg I’m dying!😭 I recorded this impromptu episode in a park the other day. Disclaimer: it’s raw and unedited! Then I made this quick little video – sorry the music is so loud and dramatic but I was in ridic […] The post Episode 82 – I finally found my book illustrator for JoYOLO appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Youth Marketing Australia was simply eye-opening! I went to the YMA conference to learn about marketing to young people, but I learnt a whole lot more from watching the different speakers and how they represented their own [media] brands. Disclaimer: these two-word summaries are my own and not necessarily what each speaker spoke about. Two-Word […] The post Episode 81 – 10 Branding Lessons from VICE, Junkee and Contiki at YMA 2018 appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

I highly recommend Lynda.com for learning Photoshop, Word and other software. Lynda.com is an online learning site with over 3,000 courses on topics like business, design, web development and multimedia skills, and software (Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite and open source applications) that can help you pursue personal and professional goals. The courses are delivered […] The post Episode 80 – Listen Lynda.com, I Love your Software Lessons appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

My Mama taught me how to mind map 20+ years ago. And now I do it all the time. For almost everything! Yesterday, I helped 19 young documentary makers generate ideas to shoot for Youthworx‘s Our Voices film project. The mind-mapping definitely sparked their creative juices and I can’t wait to see their docos later in the […] The post Episode 79 – Teaching Young Filmmakers How to Draw a Mind Map appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

An overdue update on my mad writing adventures. I’ve recently written pitches for my kids’ TV show, an investor in my production company and for a book publisher. Also, my MC hat’s back on again, tying together speeches at government-funded symposiums to The Moth story slams in Melbourne. Lastly, I reflect on lessons learnt since leaving […] The post Episode 78 – Pitches, Speeches and a Pit Stop in Perth appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Our Moth StorySLAM theme was simply…Manners. Seriously, out of that whole Moth experience of discussing former in-laws on stage, having an amazing audience that responded to every beat of my story, to having my friends in the crowd cheering for me, to jumping off stage and dancing, to being with other phenomenal storytellers…the ONE thing I […] The post Episode 77 – Manners made me a Moth StorySLAM Champion in Melbourne appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

It just sounds like a probability nightmare! Look, I completely support the heart and intent of the campaign. I used to be on Tinder, I’m currently in an interracial relationship* and I loooove using emoji^. BUT I just don’t understand how Unicode can make it easy for us to trawl through 10 000+ more possibilities […] The post Episode 76 – Tinder’s Interracial Couples Emoji Campaign’s Giving Me a Headache appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

We recorded for an hour and it feels like we didn’t even scratch the surface! Last Sunday, I sat in a Melbourne studio with four creative storytellers to review Marvel’s Black Panther movie. Between the five of us, individually, we make films, write stories, write poems, take photos, create visual art, draw, record podcasts, perform […] The post Episode 75 – Unfiltered Black Panther Review by 5 Black Storytellers in Australia appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Today’s Two Words: Be Kind. “I’ve got 99 ideas and can’t pick one”. Yep, story of my life! In this episode I share how I’m kind to myself in my (creative) life. Everything from time out, napping and going out for a burger and wine. Kindness to myself is letting myself play, try, make and […] The post Episode 74 – Be Kind to Yourself appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Officer Jason Dixon is human after all. *Spoiler and profanity alert for this episode.* Watching the evolving character of Jason Dixon in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri challenged how I want to write baddies for my own stories. The Martin McDonagh movie stars Sam Rockwell as Officer Dixon, Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes and Woody Harrelson […] The post Episode 73 – Dixon Character Review – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Katharina Keil’s a script supervisor with 20+ years’ experience. She’s read 1000+ film and TV scripts in her career, so I nervously asked her to read one of mine. We discuss everything including characters, synopses, continuity, timing, production to life on set. Everything! We also chat about using voiceovers in scripts, which can sometimes be […] The post Episode 72 – My First Screenwriting Session with a Script Supervisor appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

A Spontaneous Poem: Co-founder Wanted Dear Self, Who’re you kidding thinking you can do it all alone? This stuff is getting bigger than you and it’s time to ask for help. In fact, why not just free flow into your phone what help you’re really looking for? Oh wow. That’s some truth. You know what, […] The post Episode 71 – Co-founder Wanted for TV Production Company appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

My screenwriting mentors are so kind to me. They’re also quick to give reality checks and sometimes say things I don’t want to hear. But I love them for that – they’re helping me tell better stories every day. (Important note: I also have my loved ones on speed dial for those moments when I […] The post Episode 70 – Which Mentors are Holding Your Hand? appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Yay! I’m a writing + podcasts finalist in frankie magazine’s awards. Here’s my Good Stuff Awards entry…Two Words with Taku is a podcast exploring the process of writing and storytelling in five main categories: technical writing, business writing, comedy, speech writing and creative writing. I originally started it as a creative development project, to air […] The post Episode 69 – frankie, do you remember the good stuff? appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Daina Reid is an award-winning Australian TV and Film Director. And she’s just lovely! In this interview, she shares how a Tropfest short film led her to leave acting and became a director. She talks about her recent work on SBS’s Sunshine TV drama and what she learnt working with the South-Sudanese community in Melbourne. Later […] The post Episode 68 – Daina Reid on Directing Australian TV Drama, Comedy and Sunshine appeared first on Taku Mbudzi.

Today’s [confronting] two words: So What? So what if I write and I speak? Who cares? Who should care? Who do I care about? Why do I care? So what? I really believe we will only see the stories that are different on our TV screens and on our radios if we write them. And […]