Seismology of Theatre Publicity: Mapping the Shockwaves of Audience Engagement in Nigerian Theatre Performances

Abstract

This paper explores Nigerian theater publicity from the angle of seismology by viewing every performance as an epicenter of cultural vibration and each publicity act as a tremor that travels through social space. Using Chris Nwamuo's theory of seismology of theater publicity which submits that publicity doesn't simply happen outside of a show; the study argues that publicity is an active force that shapes expectation, emotion, and communal engagement. The paper examines archival materials, digital campaigns, festival programs, and narratives from audiences and prominent Nigerian performance platforms such as NAFEST, AKSUFEST, and the Lagos International Theatre Festival -LITF. The paper adopts qualitative and interpretive research methodologies based on the hermeneutical approach. Through an in-depth examination it identifies three main dimensions of theatrical vibration which include dissemination of artistic intention by use of publicity; passing of messages through traditional and digital media as well as the consequent aftershocks that come in form of memory, discourse and continuity of the culture. The findings suggest that publicity is somewhat of a cultural ecosystem that the people, group and the media collaborate in establishing the pace of engagement. It also showed that, even though big waves of symbolic identities are produced by the National festivals, University performances make smaller yet powerful waves, and the smaller waves are caused also by the community theatres, creating micro-quakes of cultural expression every now and again. These vibrations continue even when performances are over creating an afterlife of digital echoes and communal memory. Paper concludes that publicity in Nigerian theatre should be viewed as a living and self-sustaining system, the effectiveness of which is conditional upon the continuity of ethics and its preservation as well as the integration of the aesthetics of indigenous communication with modern media technology.