From Kehinde Adewole
A Professor of Dance and Performance Aesthetics and Ekiti State Commissioner for Arts, Tourism and Culture, Prof. Rasaki Ojo Bakare, has said that lawyers, particularly, students of Law, need acting skills being taught in all departments of Theatre Arts of higher institutions so as to achieve success in their profession.
Bakare, who is Nigeria’s first Professor of Dance and Performance Aesthetics, noted that the Law Court is a performance space and lawyers who wish to succeed in such space must master acting skills which are excellently taught in Performing or Theatre Arts departments in tertiary institutions.
The University don made the remarks during the twin performances of Zulu Sofola’s play, ‘Wizard of Law,’ and an adaptation of Dan Kpodoh’s ‘Scourge’, by both the100 level Law students and the final year directing (Theatre) students of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) recently.
The performances were Theatre Production Workshop (TMA109); a borrowed course from the Theatre and Media Arts (TMA) Department, and a Directing Course for 400L of same Department. Both performances, which were directed by the course lecturer, Mr. Tayo Isijola, were performed at the ‘Quadrangle’; an outdoor, non-conventional playing space of the FUOYE Theatre complex. Isijola was assisted by both Mr. Ajibola Oyewole, a lecturer in the Department and Femi Olufowobi, a Post graduate student.
While urging Isijola and other lecturers teaching Directing in Performing Arts to encourage acting by students from other departments, especially Law, so they could acquire more skills needed in practising Law, Prof. Bakare said: ” What a lawyer does in court is actually acting to convince and persuade the Jugde. Excellent acting skills are therefore, some of the attributes of a good lawyer. The Law Court is a performance space and lawyers are trained for that space and so we should let them train in that aspect.
” Law students borrowing acting courses from the Theatre Arts departments should not merely see the courses as just to take them in order to pass. It is more than that. Lawyers have become accomplished actors and even enterpreneurs in the acting industry. This is an opportunity for you to hone your skills because this may end up being your profession after school,” he advised.
Prof. Bakare, a former artistic Director/CEO, Abuja Carnival, also cited other stars who have come from other fields to excel in acting to include star singer, Falz, Richard Mofe Damijo, Funke Akindele and others.
He advised the students to endeavour to create new songs for their new performances, saying:
“Creativity is bringing into existence what has not been. To further succeed as Directing students, learn other performance styles. Be vast in the arts of creating drama and directing them.”
The performances by the students was thrilling, spiced with contemporary secular songs which reinforced the tempo and assisted in communicating the messages by actors.
While the ‘Wizard of Law’ is a comic satire, satirizing the foibles of the major characters, ‘Scourge’ comes as a somewhat dark satire, offering critical views about the HiV/AIDs scourge, creating awareness and also advocating for better treatment for victims of the disease.
Such issues as corruption, gender discrimination, political instability etc are also brought to the fore in the performance by the final year students in their beautiful adaptation of the original play, ‘Scourge’.
The performance of ‘Scourge’ also features a generous dose of contemporary and interesting songs to reinforce the messages and provide entertainment. It also gives information on the need to prevent AIDs, and x-trays various ways the disease can be contacted. It also criticises challenges of discrimination being faced by victims of AIDs, and equally excites the audience by introducing other comic reliefs such as suggesting heavy consumption of palm wine as elixir to the problems of social menace and epidemic. This aspect of the performance is reminiscent of the carefree character, Lanke Omu, in Amos Tutuola’s romantic play, Palmwine Drunkard.
The suggestion of dance as another elixir to social challenges is a reminder of that truism that ‘art brings order to the choas of life’ as rightly opined by Dr. Soji Cole, winner of 2018 Nigeria Prize for Literature.
The twin performances showcase the capacity of the students in creativity as evident in their improvisation and role playing among others.
The wake up call that one should not engage in unchecked merriment in order to temporarily escape the harsh realities of life is also apt, while excerpts from China Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, which is deployed to engage a serious discussion of the ‘Scourge’, AIDs, is impressive.
Speaking about the performances, Isijola said: “Wizard of Law’ is the tale of Rufiat; a cloth and goat seller, who oversees sales in her shop at Gbagi market, and employs Akpan as the care-taker for the herd of goats. The welfare condition pressures Akpan into eating up some of the goats, and selling out others without remittance to his employer. So, she arrests Akpan and charges him to court. On the side, Sikira, pressures her brilliant but poor lawyer husband, Ramoni Alao, on the need for new wrappers for the coming Ileya festival. She will want to appear as a lawyer’s wife should, and Ramoni will meet the need by every means. Thus, he goes to Gbagi market and gets 9 metres of velveteen lace from Rufiat’s shop, only to declare that he forgot money at home. On the grounds of honuor, Rufiat accepts to stop by at Ramoni’s house for her money later in the day. So, she releases the wares to him. However, she meets the rude shock of Ramoni’s dying state, and that he has not stepped out of home all day. She departs, on the conclusion that an impostor has duped her. Then, Akpan arrives, seeking for the services of Ramoni on the charge from his employer. To win the case, Akpan agrees with Ramoni that the poor working condition has turned Akpan to a goat, and so he should bleat during court interrogation. Rufiat is thrown into confusion in court when she discovers that Ramoni is alive, and in court to defend Akpan, so she mixes up the incidences of the cloth with the goat, and becomes incoherent. On the other hand, Akpan can only bleat like a goat and cannot speak; therefore, the Judge dismisses the case. In the same token, Akpan refuses to pay Ramoni his fee as he continues to bleat like a goat, after the court session.”
” ‘Scourge’ is an eclectic performance in the style of African performance aesthetic. It focuses on communicating HIV/Aids awareness to young adults in the audience through a fusion of music dance and drama. At opening, the performance highlights human helplessness amidst the severe and incurable disease. It shows the causes, and effects of the virus on victims, and then take the audience on an excursion into the pathetic story of Stella; an undergraduate student who contacted the virus though immoral act. The plot x-rays the level of public ignorance which causes discrimination and stigmatization of victims. Stella was not only refused entrance in church, she was also disallowed from using the service plates and spoon of the pubic food vendor. The performance advocates for tolerance, to give hope for survival unto victims,” Isijola explained.
Commending the directors and students on the success of the performances, Head of Department of FUOYE’s Theatre and Media Arts, Dr. Lilian Bakare, said : “We appreciate you all for this effort. And I urge the students to save the experience in this course, because later, you will need it in life. I am sure you didn’t have any serious challenge during the training. For the final year students, take the corrections Prof. Bakare has given and that would make you better.”
While other lecturers of the Department, including Associate Professor, Desen Jonathan Mbachaga, Wole Balogun and others were present to watch the performances, a handful of audience members, mainly students of FUOYE, who were billed to comply with the university covid-19 regulation, also graced the event.
