Overcoming the challenges of creating proper scenographic environments for theatre productions in the face of poor funding

Abstract

Theatre as a performance can be looked at from both utilitarian and aesthetic perspectives. In the same vein, the scenographic component of theatre  performance can also be viewed against its utilitarian and aesthetic considerations. With regards to how effective theatre is in passing across its message  to the audience, the utilitarian aspect of it invariably stands uppermost. But even as the utility of a theatrical performance predominates, we  cannot do away with the aesthetic. Indeed, the aesthetic feel of a performance and the elements that go into its making go a long way in conditioning  how the audience receive the performance. The aesthetic quality of a performance particularly, but also the utilitarian aspect of it, depends on how much  funding it receives. This is the focus of this essay. How does funding, or lack of it, affect the scenographic input to a theatre production? Beyond  that, in a period of recession as we are currently faced with in Nigeria, how does the scenic designer execute his/her art and craft to ensure that the  proper scenographic environment that adequately reflects the utilitarian and aesthetic dimensions is created for a theatre performance given that  funding is invariably a challenge in the world of theatre practice that we find ourselves today? These are the issues investigated in this essay using the  analytical research method and the findings indicate that with clear focus on the task at hand, the scenographer can overcome the challenge of poor  funding that besets theatre production.