Alemtsehay Wedajo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Acting career
Alemtsehay was born in October 1955 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As a youth, she took stage at different venues including the Hager Fikir Theatre.[2]
After graduating from high school, she trained under the poet Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin for two years, after which she began to act and write full-time.[3]
She has written over 400 lyrics that were performed by over 40 artists,[4] such as Aster Aweke, Theodros Teshome, and Ephrem Tamiru.[5]
In January 2000, she founded The Tayitu Cultural and Education Center, a non-profit organization based in Washington metropolitan area.[6] The centre primarily focuses on producing and presenting theatrical or literary works by Ethiopian-American authors. The centre also supports a range of educational programs, including youth tutoring and mentoring schemes, along with providing lessons in Amharic poetry writing and acting for young Ethiopian-Americans. The centre was named after Empress Taytu Betul, a co-founder of the city of Addis Ababa, known for her role in the 1896 Battle of Adwa.[1]
Alemtsehay also founded and ran the YeLijoch Amba – the First Children's Theater Group – running it from January 1990 to December 2000. This organization focused on training young, orphaned children in music and drama, and performed in multiple European and African countries.[7]
She co-founded The Ethiopian Theatre Professionals Association and acted as a chairperson for 14 years after its establishment, from January 1986 to January 2000.[3][8]
Alemtsehay wrote and directed Tiru Nakfaki. She has played the role of Ophelia in Hamlet, among others. In one of her films, Woven, she played an Ethiopian mother who holds to Ethiopian traditions while raising her Ethiopian-American daughters.[9]
Activism
Alemtsehay has engaged in activism through her life. She is associated with the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP).[10]
Poems
Alemtsehay has written numerous poems, some of which are inspired by traditional war songs composed by women. For example, one of her poems, titled Marafiya yattach Heywot and published in 1996, translates to "A life that has no resting place".[11]
Awards
She won the 2016 Bikila Award for her contribution to celebrating Ethiopian culture.[12]
References
- 1 2 "Founder". TayituOrg. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
- ↑ "Biography". Retrieved 2026-01-15.
- 1 2 "Biography". Retrieved 2026-01-15.
- ↑ Insight, Addis (August 28, 2018). "Ethiopia's First Female Director of Ethiopian National Theater Returns Home". Addis Insight. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ↑ "Tadias Interview: Alemtsehay Wedajo, Founder of Tayitu Cultural Center at Tadias Magazine". Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ↑ "About". TayituOrg. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ↑ "About". TayituOrg. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ↑ "Book Details – Ethiopian Ebook and Audiobook, AfroRead – AfroRead – Ethiopian Ebooks and Audiobooks app".
- ↑ Woven, Lima Production, Ur-Mee, WitNas Productions, 2018-12-14, retrieved 2025-11-22
- ↑ Abebe, Surafel Wondimu (November 2018). "Decolonial Embodied Historiography: Female Performing Bodies, Revolutions and Empires in Ethiopia".
- ↑ "Founder". www.tayitu.org. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ↑ "Bikila Award: Events". bikilaaward.org. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
External links
- Empress Taytu Betul
- Education
- Tadias Interview: Alemtsehay Wedajo, Founder of Tayitu Cultural Center at Tadias Magazine
- Ten Arts & Culture Stories of 2014 at Tadias Magazine
- Woven at IMDb
- https://addisfortune.news/eternal-echoes-and-living-legends-alemtsehay-wodajo
- 20 Of The Best Poets And Poems of Ethiopia (Qene included) — allaboutETHIO
- Wayback Machine
- Ethiopia's First Female Director of Ethiopian National Theater Returns Home