By Anote Ajeluorou
Perhaps, it was dance and choreography expert Sir Peter
Badejo who put the Mentor-Protégé Programme at the just-concluded Lagos Black Heritage
Festival 2015 in proper perspective when he said, “This a new addition from
Festival Consultant, Prof. Wole Soyinka. We’ve seen masquerades parade, experts
perform, but the mentor and protégé session is the new addition. If they can
get together in six weeks and be able to do what we’ve seen here today, then
they can do better in no time. The programme has come to stay. We hope to get
more young people to get into the arts and culture performances”.
That was the basis
for the work that the five mentors wrought on the young talents selected for
grooming in various spheres within the artistic space. The mentors were Mrs.
Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett (playwriting and acting), Dr. Tunde Awosomi (directing),
Peter Badejo (dance and choreography), Olori
Peju Sonuga (costume and make-up) and Alhaji Teju Kareem (set and lighting design).
The task of the
mentors was to groom Amy Richards and Naomi Richards (playwriting and acting),
Abraham Aklisoku (choreography and dance), Adenike Adebisi (costume and
make-up), Fejiro Adesida (directing), Silvia Oboh Oko and Joy Nweye Obuto (set
and lighting design). And they did well, judging from the enthusiastic
testimonies of the trainee artists and the output of their performances.
Fejiro Adesida is
already a final year student of Theatre Arts Department of University of Ibadan
and majoring in directing. She had her own lecturer Dr. Awosomi as mentor, and
it just about fitted so seamlessly. But she got more than she bargained for,
far more than her classroom offers, as it was essentially hands-on programme.
According to her, “It
was very nice, but it was tough and challenging. I had to stay with people I
hadn’t met before and had to direct them. At the same time, I learnt about
humility, discipline, perseverance, about being a leader and not a boss. I had
to listen to ideas from my colleagues without imposing mine. I learnt about
being a lady from the etiquette talk we had”.
The programme
afforded Adesida to be stage manager for Soyinka’s The Beatification of Area Boy that was performed during the
festival. “It helped my morals, having to run errands for older people,” she
said. Incidentally, Adesida’s project is on the same play; she has as tentative
project title, Preoccupation of Social
Reflection and Correction in play Script: Wole Soyinka’s Beatification of Area
Boy”.
For Amy Richards,
who had medicine as her first love, was mentored in playwriting and acting. She
said, “It was fun and educative being with Mrs. Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett. I learnt so
many things as an actor; I learnt determination and focus. I learnt
articulation, projection and humility. Now, I don’t think medicine is it for
me. Acting is the new calling; yes, I’m abandoning medicine for the theatre”.
Abraham Aklisoku was
the only male among the bevy of women seeking training in the arts; he came
under the mentorship of London-based Badejo. According to him, “It was an
experience of a lifetime. I learnt a lot from him; to be humble, that a
dancer’s life is not about pride, as they like to show off, that a dancer’s
life is about teaching and passing a message. It was fun and lovely. I enjoyed
myself. Uncle Badejo is one to give it all to you. I saw dance in a bigger
light; it’s not just entertainment, but to pass a message. I was given a
purpose for dancing.”
Silvia Oboh Oko had Alhaji Kareem (boss of
Zmirage Multimedia) as mentor, and she said it was a worthwhile experience
working with him and learning the rudiments of set and lighting design from the
master. Oko said, “It was an amazing experience; it was worth my time. If given
the opportunity, I will do it again and again”.
Oko gave insight to
the set she designed, which was mounted on stage on the night the festival ended. According to her, “The
big boot represents the colonial masters; I did something that was
3-dimensional and moveable. I also put a withered tree there, as victim and
made it battered and splattered with the blood of our fathers that we lost, as
a result of colonialism. The boot also stands on aso oke, which represents our traditional values, which colonialism
crushed, including our traditional institutions.
“The other aso oke used as backcloth symbolizes the
resilience of our culture and values, which can also mean military rule, could
not crush. So, no matter how much the boots of colonialism and military tried
to rubbish our values and tradition, they could not, as they remained
resilient. It was a triumph of the spirit”.
Naomi Richards also
had Ajayi-Lycett as her mentor. She found the experience exciting, as it
enabled her to go on location with her mentor to shoot films. As she put it, “We
were a group of seven in different areas of the arts; it was practical and theoretical.
It was all right, but my mentor travelled a lot so we were mentored by
different people. We learnt about body movement, voice modulation. It was a
special experience.
“I wrote the Dance to Mother earth, a dance drama.
But I did it in a rush; it just came from everything around me, like
colonialism, post-colonialism and their effects on the people”.
She said she’d like
to be mentored again, adding, “I want study education because I like to impact
on others. But I’ll do a bit of acting on the side. Teaching and writing are my
main things”.
Also for Adenike
Adebisi, who was mentored in costume and make-up by Olori Peju Sonuga, she found the experience wonderful. Already, she
has a diploma from Wale Adenuga’s PEFTI in Performance and Media Art. But according
to her, “I had been in make-up before and I thought I was good. Sonuga broke me
up into pieces and fitted me up again in costume and makeup business. After the
training, I could do things I couldn’t do before; she was perfect. The
programme really helped”.
Already, Adebisi has
her eyes set on the peak of costume and make-up, as she enthused, “Let everybody
watch out. I’m the next big thing that will come out of the movie industry. I
will be the best make-up artist. I will be better than my teacher. I’m looking
forward to mentoring others myself!”
For Kareem also, the
Mentor-Protégé Programme of Lagos Black Heritage Festival 2015 was unique in
horning the talents of young people. He commended Festival Consultant and his
old teacher, Prof. Soyinka for the initiative and the young ones for taking the
gauntlet to be part of it.
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