Femi Makinde, Osogbo
Many actors and lecturers of dramatic Arts were recently at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, to honour one of their own, popularly known as Uncle Laide Adewale, who died 10 years ago.
Adewale, a member of the Awo Varsity Theatre, died in May 2007, a year after he retired from the university, but his colleagues in the movie industry, lecturers and students gathered at the Pit Theatre where the first memorial lecture was held. It was titled ‘University-based Theatre Companies in Nigeria: The glorious past, the present lull and the future we can birth.”
The experts suggested that each university should have a resident professional theatre company in order to raise the standard and expose students to the rudiments of what is required of them to excel in the profession after leaving the university.
The Dean, Faculty of Arts, Federal University of Oye-Ekiti, Prof. Rasak Bakare, recommended that there should be residential professional theatre groups in Nigerian universities to provide avenues for students to learn the practical aspect of drama.
The don, who suggested this while delivering a lecture, said this would improve the capacity of theatre practitioners and would put an end to mediocrity in the profession.
Bakare said such theatre companies would serve as laboratories for theatre students, saying this would assist in polishing talented actors who had no formal education.
He said, “Every Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts should have a resident professional theatre company. The company will do for the departments what a teaching hospital does for a college of medicine. The resident theatre is like a laboratory and clinic where the student in the various theatre departments go to run their practicals.
“The experience of the Ori-Olokun Theatre, now known as the Awo Varsity Theatre, defunct Ife Acting Company, defunct Professional Ahmadu Bello University Theatre Troupe and UCPC of Calabar – which is still existing – are all desirable that we should have such troupes in our universities and they must be well serviced.”
Also, seasoned actor, Dele Odule, expressed his pleasure to be part of the programme organised in memory of the deceased, whom he described as one of the finest in the industry. He said the lecture would encourage his colleagues who are alive to show more commitment to their job.
He said, “I’m happy about the programme because it is a good way to remember those who have contributed immensely to the theatre and Uncle Laide was one of them. There is the need for universities to sustain the movie industry and this can be done through the theatre companies in various varsities so that it will influence those who are not privileged to go to school to have formal training in the profession.”
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