PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Tekena Gasper Mark is a Poet, Novelist, Director, and Dramatist with research interests in African Theatre, Film, and Performance Studies. He teaches in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, Rivers State University, Nigeria, with over seven years of research and teaching experience. His book 'Ideas on Directing Experimental Theatre' (Nigeria, 2016) provides insights into how directors can realize experimental performances with perspectives from Western and Nigerian directors. He holds a Ph.D. in Play Directing and teaches directing, playwriting, dramatic theory and criticism, and music theatre. He has written plays, directed shows, and published articles in scholarly journals. His current research interests include digital performances, audience research, ecocriticism, theatre and migration studies. While his play, 'The Women's War', was shortlisted for the 2022 African Writers Awards, Mark is in the process of publishing a collection of his plays on historical and contemporary African issues, as well as a course textbook on playwriting.
Dr. Mark's 'Directing the Play' offers both historical and practical insight into the subject of directing. The author traces the history of directing and presents canonized voices on directing within Western and non-Western literary traditions from theoretical exploration to practical application. The book gives a broad base and a holistic understanding of directing across different theatre stages. I appreciate the author's diversity of generations, geographies, and genders in the case study and the book's relevance in professional theatre, community-based or socially engaged theatre, and other performing arts where directing is considered important. This robust approach shows a well-researched work. The book offers students, directors, artists, theoreticians and teachers tools, techniques and discourses in the art and craft of directing. Dr. Taiwo Afolabi University of Regina, Canada With a robust live theatre practice as well as a film industry that holds a pride of place in the world, one wonders why the art of directing continues to be relatively under-researched. This is why this effort by Tekena Gasper Mark deserves serious commendation. 'Directing the Play', is highly recommended for using very simple and discursive language in presenting positions. Directing, often considered an elitist art, has been demystified through the style of presentation of this book. From discussing what constitutes the director's roles and tools to the qualities of a good director, Mark dissects issues with a touch of class and erudition. This book, well-researched and written, is a fitting addition to the corpus of literature on directing, not only on the Nigerian stage but in the world generally. Prof. Alex C. Asigbo Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
