Vicissitudes of Edo State Council for Arts and Culture Performing Troupe (1996-2016)

Abstract

The ding-dong charade of Edo State Council for Arts and Culture Performing Troupe (ESCFAACPT) cannot be divorced from the vacillating condition the establishment had been experiencing since its establishment. This condition is fore-grounded, first, on the cacophony of nomenclature that the council had been associated with, and second, on the mindset of the various governors that have ruled the state since its inception. Another aspect of this discourse would be the achievements of the troupe, and the calibre of artists it had bred and accommodated over the years. Deploying historical-analytic and interview methods, this study is anchored on performance studies and historicity as proposed by Richard Schechner (2013). It advocates that successive governments since the middle of the nineteen nineties had suppressed performance and creativity in the ESCFAACPT through neglect and disinterestedness. This has made the troupe to become ineffective, ineffectual, and incapable of adapting to modern techniques in arts and cultural administration, management and performance, which are vital for its survival and success in contemporary performance.

Keywords: ESCFAACPT, Cultural administration, ACFN, FESTAC, ESAC, Edo State, Nigeria