The three day Enina Theatre Festival, with the theme “Performing Diversity, Staging Inclusiveness” is set to become premiere platform for emerging and established talents in theatre space to showcase creativity, diversity and cultural exchange.
The festival set to hold from Friday, 25 to Sunday August 27, 2023 at the Victor Uwaifo Creative hub, Benin City, Edo State promises to transform Benin City into a vibrant hub of theatrical brilliance, celebrating creativity, diversity, and cultural exchange with a remarkable lineup of performances, workshops, and cultural experiences.
This maiden theatre festival, #ENINAFEST is organized by the Edo State Skills Development Agency- EDOJOBS with the support of the German Government and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)-SKYE programme.
The event will be hosted by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State with EDSOGPADEC, Azura-Edo, Olivia table waters, SuperFm 88.1FM Benin and Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Benin as partners.
Violet Obiokoro, the Managing Director of Edo State Skills Development Agency- Edojobs, noted that the festival is being organized to promote creative skills development, especially in the area of theatre and would create over 1,000 short term job opportunities for youths in the state.
Obiokoro further emphasized the need to host this maiden Enina Theatre Festival, which would showcase the rich cultural heritage of Edo State through the lens of culture, arts, tourism and talents to the creative economy and open more opportunities to create jobs for youths in the state.
The MD stated that the festival, which will take place at the state’s Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub, aims to draw theatre groups, companies, and organizations from the state and throughout Nigeria to showcase outstanding performances.
Part of the activities preceding the Enina Theatre Festival was a 21-day fully residential Boot Camp tagged “Heartbeat theatre bootcamp” which had 100 youths in the state benefit from an intensive theoretical and practical training in various areas of theatre, exploring the intricate realms of Costume Design, Lighting Techniques, Stage Design, Construction, Directing Secrets, and much more.
The boot camp served as a launching pad, equipping the beneficiaries with the necessary skills and knowledge to showcase incredible performances at the upcoming Enina Theatre Festival.
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The festival will feature, not only performances from various groups and troupes, but also a series of workshops, networking opportunities and engaging panel discussions and rewarding conversations led by renowned theater practitioners and industry experts like Norbert young, Ossa Earliece, Don Pedro Agbonifo-Obaseki, Fadekemi Olumide-Aluko, Esther Onwuka, Israel Eboh, Ngozi Obigwe Kunuji, .
These sessions will delve into various aspects of theater production, offering valuable insights into playwriting, directing, acting, and technical design.
Participants will be able to learn from experienced professionals, expand their knowledge, and hone their skills in the theatrical arts.
Enina Festival will also host captivating performances such as Azagidi, Mama Bendel, Yet another raft, Joromi, The struggle, Waterside amongst others with cash prizes up to 2million naira to be won by participants across various categories sponsored by Governor Obaseki for best monologue, best dance, best costume design and viewers choice prize.
Currently registrations to attend the festival is ongoing on the official website.
With the creative industry being a significant player in Nigerian economy and a huge contributor to the nation’s GDP next to oil and agriculture, Governor Obaseki, through Edojobs, sought to provide a world class platform, learning facility and job centre that supports the growth of creativity in Edo state, where individuals from all sectors of the creative industry can connect, learn, practice and produce content while developing themselves and building valuable connections, which led to the creation of the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub.
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