Interrogating the Dynamism of Central Metaphors in Ojo Bakare's Rogbodiyan

In performance practice today, themes are considered a more salient aspects which

demands more artistic and intellectual inputs from creative hands working on the

performance. Oftentimes, the demands of communication requires that themes be

reinforced by abstract factors that further demonstrate their effects. This is usually

undermined, undervalued and sometimes subjectively interpreted by the collaborators, yet,

In order to set the right tone for a performance, the directorial vision depends largely on the

appropriation of the right motifs that strengthens the directorial interpretation of themes,

which should be made to align with generalised perceptions.

Metaphors are commonplace in the world we live in today. They are influenced daily

by trends and occurrences, beliefs and practices as well as opinions expressed by prominent

voices in every society. For instance, the electoral rigmarole of the Ekiti Gubernatorial

exercise of 2022, was metaphorically clichéd as ‘Dibo ki o sébè’. To reinforce this as a widely

perceived expression, “visual and audiovisual” arts were published by several independent

authors. This shows the strength of views and the parallelization of perceptions.

Similarly, setting things right through the art is a function that behoves any conscious

artist. The director’s function includes standing as the bridge between the society and public

desires alongside the use of art as a precursor to reaching that desired goals. We see this

translated by diverse scholars into phrases such as art doesn’t exist in a vacuum but stands

to reflect the society from which it is derived and that the artist in order to be ‘relevant’

must use art to preach to the society.

Dynamism Comes from the word dynamos which means to be malleable, to be able

to change in structure and style in order to accommodate improvements. In the arts, just as
in real life, there is no end to improvements. This is evidenced by changes that have

occurred to artistic style, directorial approaches, research methodologies and theories

postulated.

The degree or extent to which an idea is emphasized depends on the importance

placed on it as well as the directorial craft utilized in reinforcing them. A director can decide

to use abstract attributes in his composition or pictorial representation. S/he may also

deploy living personages to achieve this. Nevertheless, in so doing, he must make no

unpopular choices as they may lead to clash of meanings.

Directing depends largely on the central interpretation of a director. Various scholars

have emphasized this, but few have been able to demonstrate this in practical terms. In the

selected play productions, the director utilised elements of performance such as Costume

props, lighting and visual effects, characterization, music and sound effects to reinforce the

central metaphors 9f the production. For example, in the performance of the Gods and

scavengers, the players comprised of undergraduate students in their final year. When

maling a remark on this choice of class for such a performance, a director in the

department, Mr. Oluwatayo Is Isijola noted that this class was selected based in their

experience in performance/production workshops and the fact that they are in their final

year. They are expected to demonstrate their knowledge especially on such bretchian style

of performance.

Going further, the costumes and props deployed into the performance also

established the Dynamism of directing especially when the nature of Audience for which the

production is prepared, is taken into cognisance. The use of realistic props, make ups and
costumes that reflect the geopolitical divides 9f Nigeria, was alone a communicative tool to

the audience, further helping to strengthen the thematic preoccupation of the performance.

The use of lighting to convey the mood inherent in a scene cannot be overstated

here. The director while overseeing the dress and tech rehearsal was observed to be

enraged by flaws from technical crew when the lighting instruments malfunctioned during a

scene change. This goes to show that lighting as an element of performance is needed to

reinforce the central metaphors and the themes that the director finds to be salient in his

production.

The set design and scenography used in a production plays a huge role because if the

wrong motif is displayed, the background alone can give the audience a wrong and flawed

interpretation of the performance they are going to see. This was observed during the viva

voce of a postgraduate production by the researcher, where the technical crew were unable

to translate the directorial motif into a scenery, hence a window design was interpreted to

be an envelope as such, the reviewers graded the scenery as poor. This shows that the use

of scenery to reinforce a director’s interpretation is highly important to a production. In the

production of the Gods and scavengers, the image of fisted hands cuffed with broken chain

in the middle, gave the audience the notion of the production as one that advocates strive

for freedom. This was confirmed by the response garnered through the instrument of

questionnaire.

Dynamism of characters old versus young.

Dynamism of costume realistic versus created

Dynamism of props improvised versus real.

 Dynamism of staging technique presentational versus representational

Dynamism of role interpretation by the actors etc al.

There is need for a research that reflects on the ways we can approach and discuss

dramaturgical, directorial and performance processes in contemporary theatres.

Since theatre is a collective effort, the study focuses on the significance of including

a wide range of practitioners, their experience, and perspectives, as well as making

space to support emerging theatre and performance styles which they advocate.

This research deployed the observation by participation in the production process

while working directly and indirectly with the production group to share in creative

processes and document how the director showcases his work in order to portray to

the target audience, the cultural realities, relationships, and teachings that reflects

the Dynamism of directing as an artistic practice.