Post Graduate Diploma students of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) Training School, Abuja Study Centre, on Friday, May 25, 2018, staged Professor Emeka Nwabueze’s play “Spokesman of the Oracle”, with commendations from both management staff as well as the course lecturer who is from the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK).

Speaking to NICO News after the presentation of the play which was in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the couese, “Nigerian Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts (TCA 710), performed at the institute’s Head Office in Abuja, the course lecturer, Dr. Philip Umaru commended the students saying they have performed satisfactorily.

“In fact, for an ordinary person, the play is quite excellent. Just that as a professional that I am, I could spot few errors but I must confess that this play has come out beautifully and am so delighted about it. We worked on different plays out of which we chose this one. The aim is for us to introduce the students to the art of acting and majorly to be able to enhance their skills. Usually we choose plays that are central to culture but this year, we decided to deviate a little bit even though the diffusion does not run away from the cultural element. We went for this play so that even in the course of time in life, the students will have a past to reflect on”.

He added, “We also decided to make this presentation as part of their assessment for the course because the course is about performing arts and demands that it must have practicals. If fact, left for me alone as the course lecturer, I would have said let the drama performance be graded over 100% but somehow, we must also test their ability to reproduce what they have dramatized here today. So the emphasis of this course is on production”.

While encouraging the students who are mostly non-theatre graduates to use their qualification of the Post Graduate Diploma in Cultural Administration to further their education in the theatre, Dr. Umaru commended the efforts of the NICO Management in ensuring every member of staff has a cultural background as it avails them the opportunity to have a better understanding of culture and the theatre.

Similarly speaking, Deputy Director/SA-Acting Executive Secretary of NICO, Mr. Law Ezeh, had this to say “I must confess that they were good. Some of them should go for postgraduate courses in theatre arts because even when we know they are amateurs, they have performed better than most professionals. This drama is not just for entertainment but a class work in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the course. Therefore what you have come to do is to examine them. I therefore congratulate you all for the beautiful performance”.

Deputy Director, Administration, Mrs. Jane Anigala also commended the students saying the performance was wonderful. To her, it showcases the essence of NICO Training School, saying the drama did not only expose students to the secret of acting, but has given them a platform to discover their talents. “There are some people that sometimes do not know their talents but something just brings it out and this has brought out so many talents here today and I know you are going places.

For Assistant Director, Research, Mrs. Chioma Duru, the performance was so good that it looked as if one was watching nollywood stars. She reading a play may not really make one understand it enough to make meaning out of it but dramatizing gives a deeper understanding of the play.

Caleb Nor

Media Assistant to Ag. ES

NICO HQ

Abuja-FCT