Harnessing The Potential Of Theatre For Dev

The celebration of the
2014 edition of the World Theatre Day in Rivers State has come and gone, but it memoirs re-echo in the minds of stakeholders, experts and other adherents of the arts.  The event which was the 51st edition globally, debuted in Rivers State, after several decades of establishing the premier and institutional Council of Arts and Culture in the state.  The celebration of the World Theatre Day, for the first time in Rivers State, at the instance of the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture, and Street Ping’s Entertainment therefore availed stakeholders the opportunity to review the state of the theatre and arts development in the state.
The stakeholders generally recognised the theatre as a potent platform of entertainment and a channel of conveying messages, emotions, feelings, wealth creation and transmitting of socio-cultural values in the state, but decried the lack of proper investment in the theatre to attain its institutional objectives.  Concerns were also raised by the stakeholders over the need to sustain the vision of the founding fathers in the state in establishing a Council for Arts and Culture in Rivers State, to harness and manage the diverse cultural potentials of Rivers State for sustainable mutual co-existence.
The need for rejuvenation of the theatre in Rivers State was anchored on the theme of the celebration; “The power of theatre to strengthen Cultural Exchange and Mutual Understanding Across borders”.
Presenting a special lecture at the event which was held at the temporary office of  Rivers State Council of Arts and Culture at Agbani Darego Centre in Port Harcourt.  A university don and theatre  arts practitioner, Prof Henry Bell-Gam said the theatre was critical to the development of any society.
He said celebrated play wrights such as, John Pepper Clarke, Elechi Amadi, Prof.  Wole  Soyinka, among others, had impacted the society positively through their satirical plays and other master pieces.
Prof. Bell-Gam, who is the present Dean of Student’s Affairs at the University of Port Harcourt, called for the total overhaul of the theatre in Rivers State and Nigeria in general.  To sustain the drive for excellence in theatre, the university don, said,     “Theatre Arts programmes should be entrepreneur-based to boost self employment, theatre arts graduates should also be encouraged to stage plays against corruption, cultism and other vices”.
Also speaking at the event, the pioneer Executive Director of the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture, Chief Uriel O. Paul-Worika, said the projection of the theatre and arts development in Rivers State has come a long way.  He said the vision of establishing the state arts council was to foster a cultural identity for Rivers people, to promote mutual coexistence among the people and enhance creativity and artistic development in the state”.
The euphoria was savoured, as the people basked in the celebration of the diverse cultural elements, flavourd by the aesthetics and peculiarities of the existing cultural backgrounds in the state. It was a new dawn of socio-cultural liberation, and there was prospect of growth in all the components under the mandate of the state Council for Arts and Culture, such as, culture, tourism and the theatre.
However, Paul-Worika observed that the vision of the founding fathers in establishing the council suffered setback under successive administrations in the state, due to obsession for western precepts and values, which undermines indigenous development”.
Also an assessment of the various sectors of the entertainment industry in Rivers State indicates a disparity in terms of growth and development.
While tourism and culture is boosted through the institutionalisation of CARNIRIV in Rivers State, the development of the indigenous Theatre appears stundted, and the prospect of stage theatre in the state is stifled.
For instance, while the World Tourism Day is celebrated yearly in pomp and funfare in the state, the World Theatre day is witnessing its maiden edition in the state decades after the establishment of the state Arts Council.
To ensure a holistic development in all the components of the entertainment sector in the state, stakeholders are canvassing for equal investment in tourism, culture and the theatre.  A theatre Arts Practitioner and Chairman Rivers State Council of RATTAWU, Mrs Opakrite Erekosima who spoke with The Tide on the issue said the theatre has equal potentials and opportunities of development as any related sector.
He reasoned that “investment opportunities in the state theatre will enhance the creative talents of budding artists and also create job opportunities for them”.
He called for the re-establishment of exhibition theatres in the state to “promote our indigenous heritage”.
Commenting on the development of the Theatre in Rivers State, Executive Director, of the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture, Chief Deede Baede, also canvassed for more investment in the theatre.
Chief Baede who described Rivers State as the cetnre piece of artistic and cultural development in Nigeria faulted the ideology that cultural and theatrical performance was fetish practice.
He said such apathy has affected the development in the sector and called for a change of attitude, to save our culture from dying.
Rather, Chief Baede said the theatre was a distinctive career that required high intellectual base to practice.
“If you are not intelligent you can’t be in the theatre because you must interpret scripts, most people see the theatre as juju worshipping, it is not so.
We need to appreciate our culture and revive it from going extinct, any government that does not invest in culture and indigenous arts is not appreciating the fact of its black existence”.
The director added that “contemporary theatre should be projected on indigenous inspiration to mobilize towards the creation of an amalgamated sense of cultural identity”.
According to the director, such artworks “enhance the quality of life by augmenting our sense of asthetics and fostering greater perceptivity of ourselves and heritage”.
The director also sees theatre as a platform for national integration.  “When theatre specifically focus on aspects of Nigeria heritage, it raises our national consciousness and create an enduring sense of patriotism”.
The executive  director, assured the commitment  of the state Arts Council in sustaining the vision of the founding fathers.  He said the building of a new state of the arts facility by the present administration for the Arts Council will boost the productive capacity of staff when put to use.  As part of its efforts in the revitalization of the council, he said, an annual arts exhibition was launched last year in conjunction with Rivers State indigenous artists to showcase relevant artistic work in the state, adding that this year’s edition of world theatre day was remarkable, as it would raise awareness in the development of the theatre in Rivers State.
Speaking at the flag off of the arts exhibition in Port Harcourt, last November, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mrs Grace Akpugunum, said the exhibition was apt as it would promote competition and creativity among the artists.  The permanent secretary also called for a collaborative effort in the promotion of arts development in Rivers State.
Another area where the indigenous development of the theatre appears to be entangled is in the area of education.  There has been a fundamental contradiction in the use and application of education for the promotion of indigenous artistry.   Rather than using education to promote our culture through an indigenization policy, education had been used as a ruse to undermine the indigenous theatre, with an obsession for western values on the notion that everything African is inferior and outdated.
Veteran historian, Prof E.J. Alagoa, sees such concept as “erroneous as only fools can yield to its blandishment”.  He noted that “education only opens our frontiers but do not deny us our originality and the west envies the artistic beauty of the black race because of its spectacular features”.
Shakespeare summarises  the essence of theatre when he stated in one of his works that; “The purpose of acting is to hold the mirrow up to nature”.
This Shakespearian philosophy implies that the theatre can be used to mold the cultural identity of a people.
The localization of the theatre in Rivers State is therefore of major concern in the drive for promoting the cultural and linguistic identity of the people.
Artists should therefore use their work to foster self awareness and project the cultural heritage of Rivers people for national and international reckoning.  To achieve this feat, their artistry must go beyond passive and routine indulgences, but anchored on creativity and professional delivery.

Executive Director of the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture, Chief Deede Baede, receiving an award on behalf of Captain Elechi Amadi, presented by Rivers State Chairman of RATTAWU, Mrs O. P. Erekosimia during the 2014 edition of World Theatre Day in Port Harcourt, recently.

Taneh Beemene