DEPARTMENT OF THEATREARTS

This study investigates the stylistic rendition of hymns in selected Pentecostal churches in Benin City, Nigeria.
While African Christian music has received considerable scholarly attention, limited studies have provided detailed stylistic and ethnographic analyses of hymn performance within Edo State’s unique socio-cultural context, as most focus on broader or Yorùbá settings. This research fills that gap by examining how hymns are musically, linguistically, and theologically reconfigured across five major Pentecostal denominations in Benin City. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study integrates stylistic analysis covering phonology, lexis, syntax, and semantics—with ethnographic methods. Data were obtained through non-participant observation, audio recordings, and semi-structured interviews with pastors, music leaders, and congregants. Findings are expected to reveal that hymn renditions in these churches feature increased tempo and rhythmic intensity, code-switching into Nigerian Pidgin and Edo languages, and semantic expansion through new themes emphasizing prosperity, healing, and spiritual
warfare. These stylistic adaptations reflect intentional strategies by church leaders to foster cultural relevance, encourage congregational engagement, and root theological messages in the local lived realities of worshippers. Ultimately, the study contributes to African religious and music scholarship by offering a contextualized framework for understanding the dynamic interplay between musical performance, linguistic adaptation, and theological interpretation in Pentecostal worship in Benin City

Management is essential for organized life and necessary to run all types of management. Good management is the backbone of successful organizations. In order to make a business viable it has to be built upon a certain set of values which will promote the business, assure customers that it’s the right choice and attract new customers while retaining the existing ones. Quality is one of the most important aspects of a business or a product as it could be associated with many factors such as reliability, delivery, usability, and an acceptable price. Total quality management TQMis a set of management practices throughout the organization geared to ensure the organization consistently meets or exceed customer requirements. Based on Deming's and Duran's ideas described in "Total Quality Management text with cases" for how organizations could achieve success we can conclude that key to successful quality management passes through constantly striving for improvement, changing the classic mind-set of applying out of date quality check measures everybody else does, modernizing the methods, and providing effective training for the staff. This paper provided a general understanding of Total Quality Management, a concept that is aimed at ensuring quality with continuous improvement. It will show the important aspects of TQM, challenges in applying TQM and important
factors that affect success. It would include general knowledge, assumptions and researchers' own interpretations. It should give the reader a general overview of total quality management and its main points which will provide a base for deeper learning.

Costumes are symbols of cultural representation and it serves as an element of culture. Aman's culture can be ascertained from the way he is dressed. That is to say, that costume is one of the significant visual aspect of culture. A man learns about his culture from birth, thus culture is the bedrock of every growing or developing society. Culture as it concerns costume is losing it symbolic and cultural significance due to ignorance and other societal factors. It is therefore imperative that this study aims at documenting costume as a symbol of cultural representation using the Emu people of Esan Land as a focal point
through pictorial representation of key persons in a traditional marriage ceremony of the people. The study aims at identifying the costume in marriage ceremonies as a form of cultural identification and to determine measures to be taken to enlighten people on the significance of these costumes to the tradition of the people. In actualizing the aim of this study, interviews were carried out on indigenes of the stated people, visual representation in respect to the pictures of the costumes were used and various related literatures relevant to the study were also used. The study was able to show that there are various types of Esan materials but there a specific fabric used for marriage ceremonies. These costumes are able to display the cultural aesthetics of the people and the social status of the wearer. To preserve the culture, it is recommended that awareness seminars should be held, cultural preservative organisations should be established and the media can play a great role in preserving our cultural heritage

The actor’s profession necessitates rigorous emotional labour, defined as the management of feeling to create a convincing public display (Hochschild 17). While this task requires advanced Emotional Intelligence (EI), specifically in self-awareness and emotional regulation, theatrical pedagogy, particularly within African university systems like the University of Benin (UNIBEN), often lacks formal, structured psychological training. The traditional assumption that emotional competence is a residual outcome of technical training critically overlooks the documented psychological hazards, such as emotional spillage and boundary erosion, inherent in techniques like emotional memory (Hetzler 15). Thisacademic void poses a serious ethical and professional challenge, risking the long-term psychological integrity of student performers. This qualitative, phenomenological study sought to critically analyse the subjective, livedemotional experiences of UNIBEN student performers in relation to the four branches of theSalovey and Mayer EI ability model (189). Employing purposive sampling, the researchconducted in depth, semi structured interviews with five student actors actively engagedindepartmental productions. The data collection focused on eliciting narratives concerningemotional preparation, self control tactics, and critical evaluations of the existing curriculum. The thematic analysis prioritised the identification of communal coping strategies andsystemic pedagogical deficiencies. The study was strictly delimited to the UNIBENTheatreArts Department to ensure contextual rigour and transferability of findings to similar Africaninstitutions. The empirical data confirmed a significant imbalance in EI skill acquisition. The studentsdemonstrated highly developed interpersonal EI (social perception and empathy), relyingheavily on observation and somatic markers to achieve collaborative harmony. Performeraccounts consistently affirmed that empathy and observation were the most effective toolsforcrafting believable characters. Conversely, the findings exposed a critical deficiencyinintrapersonal EI (emotional regulation). All high level performers reported relyingonthepsychologically taxing method of deep acting, resulting in pervasive evidence of boundaryfailure. Instances of carrying character attitudes home and feeling emotionally weigheddownpost rehearsal were common, demonstrating that the aesthetic pursuit of 'truthfulness' activelycompromises psychological sustainability. Students' self reported protective measures—such as prayer, music, and simple self reminders—were deemed individualistic and criticallyinadequate, confirming the absence of institutional de roling protocols. Furthermore, thedatashowed that a high emotional facilitation skill often outpaced regulatory capacity, heightening the risk of affective overwhelm. This research concludes that the UNIBEN theatre training model is systemically incomplete, inadvertently graduating performers who are emotionally vulnerable. The curriculumsuccessfully teaches emotional access but fails entirely to teach emotional containment. Thispedagogical oversight transfers the burden of psychological safety fromthe institutiontotheindividual student, creating an unethical professional hazard. The study strongly recommendsa paradigmatic shift in UNIBEN’s training philosophy. Future pedagogy must formallyintegrate mandatory performance psychology modules, structured de roling rituals, andemotional containment exercises into the curriculum to ensure that the psychological
11resilience of the actor is defined, taught, and assessed as a core professional competency, alongside traditional voice and movement training. Keywords: Emotional Intelligence (EI), Actor’s Craft, Emotional Regulation, DeepActing, UNIBEN, Boundary Failure, Theatre Pedagogy