The National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN) has effectively kicked off its annual Children Creative Station Workshop (CCSW) designed to discover and enhance children’s talent and creativity in the area of performing arts; just as the troupe also won top prizes at the recently-concluded Congo Cultural Festival.
The workshop, which is also designed to engage the children during the long vacation, opened August 1 at the Cinema Hall II of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, and has ran annually since its introduction in 2010.
The programme has since its inception, been targeted at children whose imaginations and talents are re-awakened, developed, and appreciated. The CCSW, which will this year be supported by Golden Penny and Book City according to the Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NTN, Mr. Martins Adaji is also aimed at ‘’developing children’s interest in Nigeria not just as citizens of Nigeria but also as future leaders’’.
The month long workshop has the theme: Arise Nigeria and participating children are expected to work on a play around this theme. Already, the participating children have begun work on a play that is based on the compilation of the synopsis of plays presented by selected schools that participated in the National Troupe’s 2013 dramatised storytelling competition that was held early this year in Abuja and Lagos.
The compilation was handled by Patrick Guyit a staff of the NTN, while the Head of Drama of NTN, Ms. Josephine Igberaese will direct the CCSW production.
Ms. Igberaese stated that the CCSW would as usual involve ‘’acting, improvisation, mime, dancing; creative writing, voice training, singing’’. She also disclosed that games like chess, monopoly and scrabble have been introduced. Also she announced that the outcome of the creative station workshop would be presented at a command performance slated for September 1 2013 at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
In a related development, the National Troupe has emerged second place out of over 20 countries that participated in the 13th edition of the International Cultural Festival, that held in Lumbumbashi, in the province of Katanba in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The festival which held between July 25 and 28, featured the National Troupe performing four dances including; Fishermen Dance, Drum Invocation, Ekombi and Egwu Odum dance at the festival.
Adaji received the second prize trophy and a diploma of participation on behalf of Nigeria. The Troupe boss who led the delegation expressed joy at the feat the troupe recorded saying ‘’it confirms our rating in the continent and it affirms our place as the true cultural ambassadors’’. He also stated that the trophy would be presented to the Minister of Culture at a later date.
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