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.