Israel Meriomame Wekpe

This project explores gender bending in the theatre as both a creative expression and a way to question social ideas about gender and identity. It examines how actors take on roles of the opposite gender to expand the boundaries of performance. With the Use of interviews with student actors who gender bent roles in plays such as ‘The Lion King’, ‘Things Fall Apart’, and ‘What’s Wrong with Janet Peterson’, the study looks at their experiences, preparation, and audience responses. This link shows that gender bending is not entirely new but continues a long history of flexibility and not entirely recognized as gender bending in African performance culture. Guided by Judith Butler’s idea of gender bending being a continues performance, the study concludes that gender bending in theatre encourages creativity, challenges stereotypes, and helps audiences see gender as something fluid and expressive rather than fixed.

The role of the theatre director has undergone a significant transformation, evolving from an authoritarian figure to a creative collaborator who guides, inspires, and unifies the artistic team. This study, titled ‘The Director as a Collaborator: A Case Study of Two Nigerian Directors’, explored how directors function as collaborators within the creative process, using Dr. Patrick-Jude Oteh and Dr. Ovunda C. Ihunwo as case studies. The research was inspired by the growing realization that although theatre is inherently collaborative, much of the scholarly focus in Nigerian theatre studies has centered on the director and the actors often neglecting the equally vital contributions of other collaborators particularly the stage manager.
This study therefore examined how Nigerian directors establish and sustain collaboration with other theatre practitioners such as actors, designers, and stage managers. It aimed to understand how communication, teamwork, and role definition contribute to the success of a production, while also identifying the challenges and tensions that arise in the collaborative process.
Using a qualitative research method,the study employed interviews and textual analysis to explore the director's collaborative approaches . Information was obtained from both directors through structured interview sessions, supported by relevant theoretical and scholarly literature on collaboration, directing, and theatre practice.
Findings from the study revealed that both directors recognized collaboration as the heartbeat of theatre. However, they differ in approach. Dr. Patrick-Jude Oteh combines administrative discipline with creative flexibility, defining collaboration as a partnership that thrives on structure, trust, and professional communication. Dr. Ovunda C. Ihunwo, on the other hand, roots his collaborative process in textual understanding, performance authenticity, and cultural expression. The study further noted that while Oteh treats the stage manager as a core collaborator essential to production success, Ihunwo perceives the role more as an assistant director, reflecting a difference in operational philosophy. The study concluded that successful directing depends not on authority but on the ability to create a participatory environment where each collaborator feels valued and heard.

This project looks at folklore, film and the performance of both. Understanding folklore and film for the sake of merging them together in a coherent work that would be both entertaining and educative. This work looks into folklore and helps its reader understand and apply it to film using Jay Franklyn Jituboh's Origin of Madam Koi Koi as a major case study.