STAGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE AKWA IBOM STATE COUNCIL FOR ARTS AND CULTURE

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>1.0 &nbsp; GENERAL INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p>Stage management has been a<br>long existing concept since the advent of theatre practice. It exists for the<br>good of the product, the production or performance before an audience. It<br>contributes in all its activities, decisions and procedures toward the artistic<br>success of a theatrical production in the greatest possible manner.</p><p>As a branch of theatre<br>practice, Nwamuo defines management as, “…the art and science of planning,<br>staffing, organizing and motivating, directly and controlling human and<br>material resources in the art of the theatre” (2), Fazio Posit that stage<br>management is:</p><p>… the practice of organizing<br>and co-ordinating a theatrical production. It encompasses a variety of<br>activities, including organizing the production and coordinating communications<br>between various personnel-between director and backstage crew, or actors and<br>production management (5).</p><p>Thus, attacking the term<br>“management”, an essential activity which involves the co-ordination of<br>individual effort towards achieving group goals on the stage, stage management<br>seeks to establish “an environment” in which the actors can achieve group<br>goals.</p><p>Approaching this study from<br>Umukoro analysis of Jerzy Grotowski’s notion of the poor theatre where he<br>concludes that all we need to create theatre is the actor and the audience”<br>(202) theatre, as a unique form of entertainment happens once there is an<br>actor-audience relationship, a possible interaction between the actors and the<br>audience. This is the whole essence of managing the stage-ensuring that the<br>performance contract between the actors and the audience is not violated or<br>broken.</p><p>Contextually, “stage” here<br>doesn’t denote a raised platform-above the level of the auditorium floor as<br>people conventionally conceive, but as a place where a performance takes place;<br>a place suitable for locating the drama considering the relevance of a well<br>managed stage to the success of production. It can be suggested that there is<br>no compromise or short cut to a successful production other than ensuring a<br>proper management of the stage.</p><p>There is, especially, in the<br>contemporary theatre practice, an extraordinary interest in management and its<br>consequent effect on the theatre practice. Based on this, Thomas posit that<br>stage management is:</p><p>…responsible for every aspect<br>of stage productions, including ensuring that everything, including props<br>scenery, and furniture; and everyone, including actors and technical staff, is<br>in the right place, at the right time(35).</p><p>As a matter of fact, stage<br>management goes beyond mere “ordering” of the stage or actor’s world, but<br>involves detailed duties and responsibilities in order to make a production<br>become a success.</p><p>Stage management in our<br>modern day is highly technical and advanced in nature. It stands in contrast to<br>that of the Greek and the Elizabethan system or techniques of management with<br>all levels of concern. Stage management must satisfy, encourage, motivate and<br>also stand like a bride in the communication process between the actor’s world<br>and the audiences’ world.</p><p>However, for this research,<br>stages management shall be examined from its organizational perspective and<br>also from the aspect of life performances through examining stage management<br>practice in the Akwa Ibom State Council for Arts and Culture.</p><p><strong>1.1 &nbsp; STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM</strong></p><p>The major challenge of a<br>theatre organization in the course of putting up live performances is stage<br>management. This is because the success of a performance depends on an<br>effective management of the affairs of members of a cast in a production both<br>on stage and back stage towards having a successful performance.</p><p>However, as an art of<br>management, different ideologies are applied especially, in the 21st Century<br>theatrical performances. This is a two-edged sword. Its successful application,<br>enhances the stage performance while an unprofessional approach to the<br>practice, can cause the “death” of the performance.</p><p>The purpose of this research<br>is to correct the inabilities of the stage managers at (AKS) Council for Arts<br>and Culture for a proper and effective management during performances.</p><p><strong>1.2 Research objectives</strong></p><p>1.To know the history of stage play in Akwaibom state</p><p>2. To study the growth pattern of arts and culture in akwaibom state</p><p>3. To understand how stage management has promoted arts and artites<br>performance in akwaibom state.</p><p>1.3 Research questions</p><p>1. How does communication help in stage management</p><p>2. How does the training of stage managers prome arts in akwa ibom state</p><p><strong>1.4 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY</strong></p><p>Since stage management<br>involves an effective and a proper co-ordination of the affairs of members of<br>cast in a production both on stage and at back stage with a view of ensuring a<br>successful performance, it uses different managerial skills to this effect. The<br>nature of this work aims to analyze the approaches of stage management used in<br>Akwa Ibom State Council for Arts and Culture which emphasis will be centered on<br>the relationship between the stage manager and the cast and crew of each production.<br>This work therefore proposes that art organizations should adopt the approach<br>of management in this project.</p><p><strong>1.5 &nbsp; SCOPE OF THE STUDY</strong></p><p>This research shall focus on<br>stage management as it applies to both the public and private theatre<br>organizations generally, but, with specific emphasis on the Akwa Ibom State<br>council for Arts and culture. The case study is identified due to its long<br>standing theatre establishment with a management structure which limits the<br>purpose of this research.</p> <br><p></p>