Economic consciousness in Nigerian Universities as a survival strategy in a recession and post-pandemic era: A study of Uniport and Unizik theatres

Abstract

The economic viability of the Theatre ought to have redeemed Educational Theatres in Nigeria from their economic plight and limitations. But surprisingly, the economic potentials of Educational Theatres in most government owned Universities within Nigeria have not been fully harnessed for the generation of funds for their growth and survival. This is conditioned by the focus on theory, instruction and  training of artistes within these Educational Theatres with little or no attention paid to the business aspects of the Theatre. The present economic crisis and recession faced in the post pandemic era which has seen poor funding of education by the government and lack of sponsorship of Educational Theatres by the host institutions, should engender the needed attention to the commercial aspects of the Educational Theatre. The huge creative human and artistic resources available to Educational Theatres in Nigeria if harnessed, will not only help Educational Theatres scale through this economic crisis by creating internally generated revenues for the smooth running of their affairs, without solely depending on whatever sponsorship that comes from the host institutions or the government as the case maybe; but will also raise the economic consciousness of the students within the various Departments of Theatre and Performing Arts to the wide range of opportunities available to them as Performing Artistes, Theatre Managers and Administrators. The content analysis and personal  observation approaches of the  qualitative research method were adopted for the realization of the objectives of this study. The study seeks to engender needed attention and actions to the economic plight of educational theatres in government owned universities in Nigeria and suggests a blend of theory, practice and commerce in the development and review of the curriculum of educational theatres.