Project Me

Angela Guastella’s irrepressible personality blasts through the airwaves on Sunday evenings on 5FM, offering listeners the perfect mix of ‘out of the box’ humour, fun and all-round wackiness. Achieving a seamless balance between music, talk and unadulterated entertainment; Sunday evenings with Angela are the perfect way to see in the end of a deliciously lazy weekend.

Angela was producing and co-hosting a syndicated show entitled ‘Point of View’ with Randall Abrahams when 5FM got in touch out of the blue and asked her to submit a demo. Needless to say, she was offered her very own show on the station and soon found her greatest dream coming true.

Angela studied Journalism for a year at Varsity College in Cape Town before deciding to specialise in copywriting. She then completed a Red and Yellow School of Logic and Magic Diploma in copywriting. After a stint at Ogilvy working as a Junior Copywriter, Angela’s increasing frustration with the corporate world and the desire to leap into entertainment eventually grew so large that she made a decision to change direction. She subsequently moved to Johannesburg and worked any jobs she could while simultaneously working at UJFM to gain as much radio experience as possible. She never dreamt that success in the form of a show on a national radio station would come so quickly.

In her spare time, Angela pursues a diverse range of interests – from dancing to playing drums to cultural activities and plays. “I think it’s incredibly important to grow yourself as a person in order to be interesting on air. That’s why I find it hard to separate ‘work’ and ‘life’, the two are never very far apart from each other. The greatest challenge for me is being patient. I want to learn and know everything now. But at the same time I’m glad I’m impatient, it keeps me pushing harder. You’re only as good as your last show.”

Angela is never one to rest on her laurels: “I’m currently learning to DJ – something I’ve been wanting to do for years – and I can’t wait to be able to get dance floors making ridiculous ‘Woooooohhhh I love this song!’ noises. I still do copywriting on a freelance basis and between you and me, would still love to win a Loerie. I’m currently working on a column, which is very much in line with my on- air personality and which I am planning to pitch to various magazines this year. I want to own my own clothing boutique in the next three to five years; I have always had an interest in fashion merchandising. I’d also, in good time, like to explore television opportunities in order to expand on my portfolio as a broadcaster.”

Something not many people know about Angela is that she was trained in dance, drama and singing from the age of four and desperately wanted to pursue a career in Musical Theatre. When the first production of CATS came to SA, she auditioned and made it to the final cut.

That was the moment when she made the difficult decision to explore a more ‘academic’ professional path and study Journalism.

Angela has big plans for her radio future. “I feel that my strength lies in my passion for sourcing and creating unique content, listener interaction and the fact that I have something valuable, entertaining and often off-the-wall to say, very often about the ridiculous. My ultimate slot would be week days 7pm-10pm. It’s a sexy slot. There’s something a little naughty about it. It’s at a time when you can really push the envelope and be a little off the wall and also at a time where people are very open to interaction.”

Angela Guastella tells her Project Me story:

What is your definition of happiness?
For me, it’s the affirmation that you matter. That you are accepted, loved and appreciated exactly as you are.

If you could have everyone say one thing to themselves every day, what would it be?
How you doing? (Joey/Matt LeBlanc style).
Ok, seriously though, I’d have them say, ‘Don’t let the world change you, go out there and change the world.’
I really believe that we all have that power in us, even if it’s just making someone feel good about themselves. That is change.

We all need someone to believe in us. Who is that person for you and why?
I cannot separate my mom and my dad. They are one, supportive unit in my life that has made countless sacrifices to always give me the absolute best opportunities to reach my full potential. They’ve backed me in absolutely every step of my journey to where I am and have always let me know that I matter, no matter what.

What quality do you believe we can never be taught because it is our birth right?
Goodness. We all have it in us. We just need to choose to find and use it.

Describe the moment when you realised that you could achieve anything?
To be honest, I don’t believe I can achieve anything, but I do believe I can achieve anything I want to. Let me explain. For example, I don’t think I could be the world’s greatest basket ball player, or the next Calvin Klein model. I don’t have the height or the build. But that isn’t a bad thing. And besides, I don’t have the slightest desire to be either. I believe that everyone is given strengths and talent in some areas. It’s what makes us different and interesting. I know my strengths, and I want to work at developing and achieving in those areas. In that capacity, I know I can indeed achieve incredible things.

What have you always dreamed of being or doing and have you reached that dream?
I have always dreamed of affecting people through entertainment. I want to make them feel something. Through dance and drama, writing and broadcasting, I have had the privilege of doing this, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say ‘it has been achieved’.  I am the kind of person that always wants more.

When life gets in the way, what do you always remind yourself of?
That everything happens for a reason and that I know my own worth, no matter what may smack me in the face.

We all have something unique to offer the world, what is yours?
I believe that one unique thing we all have to offer is simply, ourselves. Who we are, our choices, opinions, how we make people feel, how we execute our talents. Each one of us is a unique combination of all of those things, including me.
I also think that we all have the ability to offer the world good and bad – it’s which one we choose that really matters.

How do you deal with the fears that could potentially hold you back?
I take them on in a staring match and generally they’re the first one to giggle. 
I really just ask myself, ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen?’  The answer has never been scary enough for me to quit.

What do you believe we have lost sight of in the world as a whole?
Who the hell we are. Everyone wants to be like the next one instead of embracing and showing the whole world what is so fabulously different about themselves.

The charity Angela supports: POWA
POWA was formed in 1979 by a group of women volunteers in order to provide referral services and sheltering to women who were experiencing domestic violence. POWA was the first organization to establish a shelter for abused women in 1981. The organization also pioneered second stage (or transitional) housing for women in 2009 in Gauteng. The direct services delivery component of the organisation forms the basis of and informs all advocacy interventions, at local, nation and regional level.
POWA currently has 7 physical working sites in Gauteng that provide counseling, sheltering and legal support to women at face-to-face level. Over the years we have become an organization that is considered to be an expert on issues of women’s rights and are consulted by the private sector, government and civil society on educational and decision-making matters pertaining to women’s safety and enjoyment of their rights. As an organisation, our aim is to‘open spaces for us as women in all our diversity to enjoy our fundamental human rights.’
In order to achieve this, we have structured our organization in a manner that allows us to engage with grassroots women’s groups and organizations in various provinces as well as engage and influence national institutional structures such as the legislature, regional forums such as the African Commission on People and Human Rights (ACPHR) and international forums such as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Working in partnership with other women’s rights organisations and building cross-sectoral alliances with human rights groups has proven to be one of the most successful strategies adopted thus far. POWA plays a leading role in and is the secretariat of the Oneinnine Campaign, a network of 26 organisations formed in 2006 with the following objectives: raising awareness through direct action and public education around the challenges and obstacles confronted by survivors of sexual violence when attempting to access justice; providing legal support to complainants in sexual violence cases and advocating for a more responsive and protective criminal justice system.
In the regional (African) context, POWA is a member of the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR), a network consisting of 27 civil society organisations and development partners on the African Continent working towards the promotion and protection of women’s human rights in Africa by inter alia, engaging in lobbying and advocacy strategies to ensure the ratification, domestication and effective implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
POWA’s strategic approach is designed to ensure that women in South Africa enjoy the freedoms and rights entrenched in the Constitution and guaranteed in international human rights commitments.

 

 

 

 

With courage, consciousness & a sense of humour