The Art of Directing in African Traditional Theatre
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2238-3999.v13i2p27-53Keywords:
Directing, African traditional theatre, Stage, Fluidity, Arena stagingAbstract
The existence of the director in African traditional theatre has always been a subject of controversy amongst theatre scholars. While some scholars believe that the director exists in African traditional theatre, others, especially Euro-American theatre sympathizers, radically disagree. This belief is premised on the argument that African traditional performances do not have sufficient theatrical elements to qualify as theatre. However, this researcher supports the position that African theatre does exist, and tries to locate the place of the director in African traditional performances. Furthermore, it examines what constitutes African theatre, its advantages and disadvantages, and goes on to examine the directorial aesthetics and implications of directing on the African stage, as this would provide directors who want to direct or reinvent African traditional performances with the necessary information and guide they need. The study employs the case study and content analysis research approaches of the qualitative research method to realize set objectives. This researcher observed that studies on the art of directing in African traditional theatre are few, and therefore calls for more studies to be carried out in this area to fill the knowledge gap.
Downloads
References
ADEDEJI, Joel Adeynka. “Alarinjo”: The traditional Yoruba Travelling theatre. In: YEMI, Ogunbiyi (Ed.), Drama and theatre in Nigeria: A critical source book (p.221-248). Lagos: Nigerian Magazine, 1981.
ADEOYE, Abdul Rasheed Abiodun. On theatre scholarship and controversy: The case of the director in the traditional African theatre. The African Symposium, Vol. 10, nº. 2, p. 84–93, 2010.
BARRANGER, Milly. Theatre: A way of seeing. New York: Barnes & Noble Inc, 1991.
BELL-GAM, Henry. Leopold. Akwafaribo: The directorial function of the master drummer in Nji-Owu performance of Opobo. Anyigba Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2, nº. 2, p.9-15, 2003.
BELL-GAM, Henry. Rudiments of play directing. In: H.L. Bell-Gam (Ed.), Theatre in theory and practice for beginners (pp.71 -87). Port Harcourt: University of Port Harcourt Press, 2007.
CLURMAN, Harold. On directing. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1972.
COLE, Susan. Directors in rehearsal: A hidden word. New York and London: Routledge, 1992.
COOK, David A.. A history of narrative film. New York, London: Norton, 1980.
EBO, Emmanuel Ejiofor. Traditional theatre architecture as a panacea for reviving live performance in Nigeria. In: ODODO, Sunday Enessi. (Ed.). Fireworks for a lighting aesthetician: Essays and tributes in honor of Duro Oni @ 60 (p.168-176). Lagos: Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), 2012.
EBONG, Inih. Play production processes. Introduction to Effiong Johnson (p.19-32). Lagos: Concept Publication Limited, 2001.
IDEMUDIA, Eunice Uwadinma. Spaces in places of theatre performance. In: ODODO, Sunday Enessi. (Ed.). Fireworks for a lighting aesthetician: Essays and tributes in honor of Duro Oni @ 60 (pp.155-167). Lagos: Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), 2012.
JOHNSON, Effiong. Visions towards a mission: The art of interpretative directing. Lagos: Concept Publication Limited, 2003.
KRAMA, Ilami Clive. African traditional theatre and drama: Themes and perspectives. Port Harcourt: University of Port Harcourt Press, 2000.
MUSA, Abiodun Rasheed. Play directing and directors: An evolutionary documentation in the Nigerian theatre. Humanities Review Journal, Vol. 2, nº 1, p. 46-56, 2002.
OGA, Calvin Emasealu. Theatre directing: An introductory statement. In: BELL-GAM, Henry Leopold (Ed.). Theatre in Theory and Practice for Beginners (p.88-95). Port Harcourt: University of Port Harcourt Press, 2007.
WILLS, Robert. Director in a changing theatre. California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1976.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Revista Aspas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Whenever publishing material referring to the article published in the aSPAs Journal, the authors commits to mentioning such publication as follows:
“This article was originally published by aSPAs Journal volume (insert the volume), number (insert the number) in the year (insert the year) and can be accessed in: http://revistas.usp.br/aspas"
