PLAYWRITING: A RESEARCH PROJECT

 

ABSTRACT

This project seeks to investigate playwriting and the impact it can have on Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State when integrated into strategic communication in the two states. Thus, it is aimed at determining how very potent the infallible tool of playwriting can be when solely committed to the very noble cause of seeing to strategic communication and public image building in these two states. For the basics, Akwa Ibom was split from Cross River State in 1987 with Uyo as the capital city and it comprises of thirty-one local government areas. Cross River State, on the other hand, was created out of south-south region of Nigeria. Since the creation of the two states, the tool of playwriting and the role of a playwright as a mirror of the society are yet to be deployed to engender strategic communication and public image building in these states. It is the objective of this study to determine how playwriting can be instrumental in engendering strategic communication and public image building in these two states.

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Determining how very potent the tool of playwriting can be when committed to the cause of seeing to public image building and strategic communication in society will require an in-depth exposition of what playwriting is, primarily for those who, prior to perusing this research project, may not have been familiar with the craft and its essentialities. In simple and clear terms, playwriting has to do with the writing of plays. Plays are dramatic works intended for theatrical performance by actors on a stage. A Playwright (one who writes plays) comes up with ideas that can be transformed into actionable events involving characters working out their lives within an environment of conflict. Playwriting also has to do with turning stories which can only be narrated by storytellers and envisioned by listeners into plays wherein ordinary events that constitute stories are systematically organized into situations loaded with properties that generate attention and engage emotions.

That technical transformation of ordinary events into sequences of proceedings communicates intended messages of significance to audiences or publics as the case may be. Conventionally, plays can be emphatically said to emanate from stories, the playwright merely lending his creative prowess to the systematic conditioning of those stories into plays, hence what has come to be known as playwriting. For that reason, it can, as posited by Dr. Ofonime Inyang in a lecture on playwriting, be factually put forward that “playwriting starts and revolves around stories, thrives on a stories, is engendered by stories, is advanced through stories, develops in stories, is generated through stories, is refined by stories, etc. In essence, when it comes to the endeavor or writing plays, there has to be a story before there can be a play, which in itself tells a story. Idealistically, therefore, playwriting becomes a systematic reconditioning of a story to produce another story that takes a dramatic form.” But there is another side to it.

Besides plays emanating from stories, they are products of ideas: the playwright’s ideas. Just as the playwright applies his skills, craft, and creative knowhow in the process of reconditioning stories into plays, he does same to see to a reconditioning of his ideas into plays, turning those ideas into content that can be watched or seen. This is where the stage becomes of the essence, as it is a platform upon which actors and performers enact theatrical performances for audiences to watch or see. On face value, the endeavor of integrating playwriting into public image building and strategic communication is one that would be expected to revolve around a stage: playwrights collaborating with theatre directors and actors to dramatize the ideas of the playwright that have been reconditioned to take a dramatic form. This readily presupposes the fact that the effort of the playwright to integrate his art into public image building and strategic communication in service to society would only be witnessed by theatre lovers who go out of their way to patronize theatrical events, who might perhaps disseminate the ideas propagated via the plays they watch in the theatre to the outside world. But how far can that go in advancing the playwright’s cause of fostering public image building via strategic communication in society?

Being that the first and original preoccupation of the playwright is to think in terms of producing something people can see, watch, and relate with from the visual context, the playwright sees to an explorative transformation of narratives into skill and dialogue that does not just provide a template for characters to act out as if it is ensuing in real life but to likewise afford the society a sort of blueprint for real-time implementation of ideas propagated in his plays. Thus, a playwright, in integrating playwriting into public image building and strategic communication in a state, does not just strategically communicate to statesmen the lines of events that make for bad state image but likewise proposes detailed workable and perceivable fashions of engendering positive state image as is amply elaborated in this project, bothering on two prominent Nigerian states: Akwa Ibom and Cross River States.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

When it comes to building public image and communicating strategically, the conventional approach is one that has seen patriotic nationals detailing out reports about menaces that have plagued and engendered negative state image in a bid to call attention to those menaces while asking for them to be looked into and remediated. But hardly are possible remedies proposed in those reports to aid the remediation that is called for. It is usually about calling attention to those menaces and requiring instituted appropriate bodies to look into them and see what to do about them. While it may not be out of place to do so, being that those bodies were instituted to expertly tackle such menaces when occasions for that arise, playwrights, in integrating playwriting into strategic communication aimed at fostering positive public image building, ease the burden for those bodies by not just calling attention to loathly menaces in their plays but equally suggest practical means by which those menaces can be tackled squarely.

Unlike reports and many other forms of strategic communication and public image building which mostly only give accounts or representations of given situations via words, pictures, and possibly video clips, with the goal of bringing people up to speed with matters arising in society, howbeit, leaving much to people’s discretion and imagination, playwriting captures all possible imaginations and ably constructs them dramatically to make for cheap comprehension of addressed concerns as well as graspable resolves thereof. While this study is in no way aimed at bastardizing the many other existing avenues which have proven potent to public image building and strategic communication from time immemorial, it seeks to project how more easily attainable strategic communication and public image building can be when the instrumentality of playwriting is leveraged to achieve that goal. In this study, the focus will be on two Nigerian states: Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The way of the human species, by divine ordination, is to interact. Without proper interaction, there are hardly any praiseworthy endeavors that the human race can attain. Since the creation of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, well-meaning citizens beyond the political sphere have taken to many crafts to attempt a positive influence on nationals, leveraging their content to strategically communicate their intention towards the states to the “who is who” in the states which would make for good public image if implemented where necessary. Crafts by which they achieve this goal vary: there is music, movies, radio programs, and whatnot. The objective of this study is to ascertain that playwriting, as distinguished from only attempting such goals on limited stages, can likewise do so on the airspace like those other crafts and possibly excel them by way of the following:

1. Clarifying details.

2. Guidance it proffers.

3. Blueprint it proffers.

4. Remediation it proffers.

5. Light it sheds on prevailing issues.

1.4 Research Questions

Integrating playwriting into public image building and strategic communication in Akwa Ibom and Cross River State will not just highlight perils in these states and communicate practical resolves of those perils, it will further provide templates for state leaders and well-meaning nationals to adopt in bringing about proposed resolves of state perils. Rather than merely read or watch plays to become privy to state perils and the resolves thereof, the well-structured plot of the play, meaningfully and systematically organized in dramatic form for both watching and reading audiences, serves as a blueprint for state leaders and well-meaning nationals who may deem instructive the resolutions propagated in the play. In that case, what was read or enacted onstage by performers and actors would have to be lifted off the pages or stage and applied in real-time to attain desired results. In essence:

1. How is this to be achieved via playwriting?

2. How far can playwriting really go in impacting these two states positively?

3. How trustworthy is the playwright’s blueprint?

4. How is interest in the playwriting form to be stirred in these states to engender remediation?

5. What methodology is applied in order to achieve this desired result?

1.5 Methodology of the Study

As earlier mentioned, since the creation of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, well-meaning citizens beyond the political sphere have taken to many crafts to attempt a positive influence on nationals, leveraging their content to strategically communicate their intention towards the states to the “who is who” in the states which would make for public image building if implemented where necessary. Crafts by which they achieve this goal is said to vary, one of which, as it has to do with visual displays, is movies. Thus, transforming plays from stage enactments in theatres to visual displays on the media space hikes its unconventionality. But when it comes to visual displays, that unconventionality becomes a welcomed one.

Making an example out of Donald Duke’s Calabar Carnival, a play to showcase what would be the outcome of such idea upon its conception would afford nationals an absolute view of what the outcome of the implementation is very likely to be, as opposed to only getting to witness that outcome upon implementation. That way, if the outcome comes off as unsatisfactory, improvements would be called for, and the playwright, going to his drawing board, would see how to follow through on those improvements to make for satisfaction of nationals before an implementation process kicks off. That way, nationals get to know for sure what is bound to be the outcome of those undertakings, thus following through with initiatives they had witnessed in plays to get the same outcome. The methodology applied to bring about this outcome is exhaustively detailed out in chapter three of this research project.

1.6 Delimitation of the Study

Cross-River State, originally known as the South-Eastern State before being renamed in 1976, formerly included the area that is now Akwa Ibom state, which became a distinct state in 1987. The parting of Akwa Ibom State from Cross-River State saw each state taking to varying devices to foster good state image. As one administration gave way to the other, innovations sprung up that account for the beauties of these states. For instance, Donald Duke, the Governor of Cross River State from 29th  May 1999 to 29th  May 2007 and the 2019 Nigeria Presidential candidate for Social Democratic Party, SDP, came up with the ingenious idea of creating a festival that would make Cross-River a home of tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa.

The festival, known as the “Calabar Carnival,” is an annual carnival held in the state capital every December and was declared by the then governor of Cross-River State as an activity to mark Christmas celebration yearly. True to his intentions, the festival rendered Cross-River State a home of tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa indeed, as, each Christmas season, persons from across Nigeria, Africa, and the world at large, flock to the capital city of the state to take part in the month-long event which went beyond promoting the public image of the state to promoting that of the entire African continent, hence the carnival coming to be also known by the world as “Africa's Biggest Street Party.”

Akwa Ibom State, on the other hand, has its economy based on the production of crude oil and natural gas, as it produces more oil than the other states in Nigeria. By reason of its vast oil revenues, the state image has enjoyed high esteem within and outside the shores of Nigeria, even spanning across the world’s continents like Donald Duke’s Calabar Carnival does to the image of Cross-River State: thanks to statesmen who resourcefully utilize that resource to engender enterprises that adorn state image and call global attention to it. As it is said, the worth of money is not in its use but in its possession.

Prior to the lines of events that made for the above-referenced on the states, buried in them were the potentials to become what they became upon a few states people rubbing minds to strategically determine what could be done with those potentials to make for good state image. The consequence thereof are the many endeavors that today stand these states out amongst others nationally and globally, one of which, in the case of Calabar, is the Calabar Carnival, and in Akwa Ibom, its vast oil revenues.

The scope of this study is one that seeks to take an uncovering of state potentialities beyond the tactical rubbing of minds to establishing playwriting as an unfailing device in strategically projecting such innovativeness such that, if adopted and implemented by these states, will further build good and positive image for them. More so, this project seeks to take strategic communication and public image building in these states even further by not dealing with them as separate ecologies but as a single ecology, being that both were so before one was carved out of the other.

1.7 Significance of the Study

Like books, plays are written and published in hard copies. With the advent of technology came soft-copies that allows for both books and plays to be published on the internet as e-books, thus becoming more accessible and affordable. It is this ease of accessibility and affordability that this project seeks to capitalize upon to project plays as a more practical avenue for public image building and strategic communication. But the disinclination of a broad array of nationals to the literary form poses a sort of limitation to that goal. So it becomes of the essence to take the art of playwriting beyond “a unique style of writing and creatively using words to make target audiences feel certain emotions that communicate concerns.”

Gratefully, as distinguished from being an unconventional form with little appeal to persons with little/no/weak inclination towards literary arts (which uses written language to create imaginary worlds, characters, and narratives), playwriting is also a technical manipulation of creating sources to tell a story from the context and positioning of something that is going to be watched or seen, mainly onstage. But it was earlier accounted that if the playwright’s cause of integrating his art into public image building and strategic communication were to be limited to a stage, it wouldn’t do much to achieve that aim. So it becomes instructive to lift those ideas off the stage and pages to the media space to amply propagate intended messages.

On the media space, the playwright’s message can be relayed both to reading audiences as e-books or as downright social media posts; and to watching audiences as recorded and edited video clips of stage performances, affording the playwright multiple avenues to integrate playwriting into public image building and strategic communication. For instance, ideas of enterprises like Donald Duke’s Calabar Carnival are conventionally detailed out in proposals, leaving the outcome of the implementation of such ideas to the imagination. Upon proper deliberations and planning, the idea gets implemented and what was imagined gets to be witnessed for the first time upon that implementation. But playwriting takes it beyond strategically detailing out such ideas in plays for reading audiences to read and envision possible outcomes of the implementation thereof, to having those ideas enacted onstage, recorded, and edited for a watching audience. This way, the challenge of disinclination of a broad array of nationals to the literary form ceases to pose limitation to the playwright’s goal of integrating his art into public image building and strategic communication, as the broad array of nationals with a disinclination to the literary form will very, very likely be open to visual displays.

Not only does transforming plays from stage enactments in theatres to visual displays for media spaces make more nationals become privy to what is bound to be the outcome of concerns raised in those plays (thus following up on initiatives witnessed in plays to engender same outcomes), it makes the enforcers of such initiatives obligated to meet due expectations, as what is required of them is already put out in black-and-white for all to visualize, thus knowing for certain what outcomes to expect. This curbs corruption, as foul players will keep from making themselves objects of public scrutiny by opting to handle such projects—only to fall short in meeting foreseen expectations and doltishly baring their ill-motives and self-interests. On the other hand, well-meaning subjects who have the wellbeing of society at heart will without fear come to the fore by merit and become laden with the glorious purpose of building positive public image as strategically communicated in blueprints presented in plays.

The thing, however, with playwriting is that it is a literary style that mostly only appeals to those within the domain of literary arts, as it is chiefly appropriate to literature rather than everyday speech or writing. Therefore, its unconventionality is very likely to not appeal to persons who are either sparsely knowledgeable about literature or not knowledgeable about literature at all. It is of a fact that persons who are literary-savvy constitute a small elite group. Even in institutions of higher learning where there is all-round exposure to the literary form, playwriting narrows down its literariness to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and even further down to the Department of Theatre Arts. Hence, despite its potency in public image building and strategic communication in society, the disinclination of a broad array of nationals to the literary form poses a sort of limitation to the goal this research project aims to achieve.

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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Theoretical Framework

This research project adopts the deductive approach in forming the structure that supports and describes the theories brought into consideration. In order words, the methodology used in creating the theoretical framework of this research project is one that people typically associate with scientific investigation. The researcher studies what others have done, reads existing theories of whatever phenomenon he or she is studying, and then tests hypotheses that emerge from those theories. So, social theories proposed in this research as having one bearing or the other on the endeavor of “Integrating Playwriting into Strategic Communication and Public Image Building” shall be considered using a deductive approach.

Compelling social theories that support the analysis of the research problems which explain the phenomenon being investigated in this research include, firstly, the submission by John W. Gassner that “A PLAY lives by its logic and reality.” To successfully communicate strategically to a populace via playwriting, thus engendering good public image in a state, the manner of plays to turn to in serving that purpose ought to be plays that are richly laden with the logic and reality that forms the experiences of the people of the state. John W. Gassner further alludes that “conceptual confusion is the disease that halts its pace, dulls its edge, and disturbs its balance.” When this conceptual confusion seeps into society, its harm goes beyond halting its own pace, dulling its own edge, and disturbing its own balance to halting the building of good state image and strategic communication in the state, dulling the state’s edge and disturbing the state’s balance.

To undo the menace, another theory, “Social Commentary,” which is the act of exploring, commenting and seeking available means of projecting and tackling social issues with the aim of ensuring and actuating positive change in attitude and behavior of society members—comes into consideration, as it informs, enlightens and educates society members about happenings in their environment. This is done to appeal to society’s sense of reasoning and judgment as well as crave society’s indulgence to awaken to how the “other of things” can so beautiful become when education and enlightenment on happenings in their environment, as captured in plays, are carefully examined. This is because a successful examination should result in society members bringing themselves to be guided by blueprints proposed in such plays.

It then becomes the pivotal role of contemporary dramatists, in applying the theory of social commentary, to observe critically and objectively many contemporary issues and artistically present happenings around them in their texts. Marx’s analysis of society provides theatre theory and practice an understanding of its relationship with social happenings as it is now insisted that theatre must always be the mirror of all times held up to nature. Marx’ theory of surplus and used value clearly defines two classes of people in the society: laborers and employers of labor. He observes that the energy of the laborer is usually exploited upon for meager wages. This always leaves the employer with surplus value derived from used value of laborers which are unpaid for. Lines of events like this gives society a bad image.

The contemporary playwright is supposed to respond to such menace by setting the records straight in play form, laden with good entertainment, while unfailingly drawing attention to the issue or issues being addressed in the play. In a case like that of the laborer and employer of labor mentioned above, a playwright could write a play on the struggles of men and women (laborers) to free themselves from certain forms of exploitation and oppression by employers of labor. According to Terry Eagleton,

“Marxism is a scientific theory of human societies and the practice of transforming them; and what that means, rather more concretely, is that the narrative Marxism has to deliver is the story of the struggles of men and women to free themselves from certain forms of exploitation and oppression.” Based on Eagleton’s definition, it can be deduced that contemporary dramatists are meant to reflect in such creative work the struggles between these two classes of people that exist in the society. Hence, the need to have that basic knowledge of the Communist Manifesto written by Marx and Engels which is the first most important document of orthodox Marxism in it, made it to be theorized that the history of all hither—to existing societies—is the history of class struggle.

In touching such issue, a playwright can write plays that educate on the origin of the struggle. For instance, the class struggle arises as a result of the contradiction between the means of production and its distribution. A playwright digs into that contradiction between the means of production and its distribution and reflects it comprehensibly in plays to afford the populace practical experience of the crux of that class struggle, not just a sort of theoretical knowledge. That is because, only knowing it makes it no different from untested theories. To make it practical, a playwright captures how the source of the continuous class struggle is the wealth of the upper class which is obtained on the basis of oppression and repression of the mass of people.

Spark Note puts forward that “the upper class, in an attempt to sustain their status, must continue to amass more of the wealth as well as control the apparatus of state which is an instrument of power” (Spark Note. com NP). Playwrights depict clearly in plays how the class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat is a byproduct of exploitation by the bourgeoisie and how it will come to its heights and become unbearable for the proletariats, thus, a pending but inevitable revolution. There are many ways to go about a revolution. Most of those ways turn out destructive, losing the essence of that estimable endeavor. This destruction, as evidenced in the October 2020 EndSars protest and the recently concluded “End Bad Governance Protest” in Nigeria, is often caused by critical unawareness of what is expedient of a protest. Ignorance not being an excuse, the tragedies that are bound to ensue from such ignorance befall the ignorant and life goes on.

Playwrights, wanting to curb such menace which makes for bad public image, portray what such protest ought to be like. Society members become enlightened and educated by reading plays of those playwrights. In so doing, they become privy to what is obtainable from such endeavor and become better informed on how to go about it appropriately. Gbilekaa observes that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ concept of literature is class conscious, as “it de-emphasized the metaphysical but lays emphasis on men and their ability to make history.” It would be historical to hold a protest in a country like Nigeria that fulfils its ultimate purpose. Narrowing it down to Akwa Ibom and Cross-River State (the focus of this research), it would be historical to hold an exemplary protest in this part of the country that fulfils its ultimate purpose and inspires the rest of the country to follow suit.

In consequence, playwrights in Akwa-Cross region, wanting to be instrumental to that history, communicate strategically by leveraging playwriting to produce a blueprint (a play) that sets the pace for consequent goal-achieving protests in the country. That is a means by which strategic communication can be achieved using playwriting in the Akwa-Cross region to build and maintain good and positive public image.

2.2 Authorities in the Field

The essence of any work of art is its relevance to humanity and society at large. In other words, every work of art is supposed to chronicle what goes on in the society. Art is never created in a vacuum and an artist does not create outside of the society since art itself is a reflection of the society. The artist conceives the idea he wants to create through his experiences and happenings in the society. Consequently, the society provides the raw materials that the artiste uses to convey his message. The artist is seen as a ‘god’ while his works are seen as his creations, and such works are meant to be representations of what the society is or was at the time of creating them. This is succinctly stated by Babatunde Lawal:

“Art, be it sculpture, dance, drama poetry, architecture, painting, textiles, graphics, and music is much more than its material representation. It is an embodiment of a special intelligence with which man refines his immediate environment, transforming common place materials into something of higher value” (Babatunde Lawal, 1982).

Playwrights can be likened to ‘town criers’ who lampoon social idiosyncrasy in order to make human society and living worthwhile. The theatre has the persuasive power to evoke, to rejuvenate, reconstruct and redirect the mind for positive thinking. The playwright is meant to highlight problems inherent in society which reflects society as it is, calling for adjustment where necessary, the main reason playwrights are said to mirror society as it is. In plays, audiences watch or read their foibles and strengths enacted onstage or depicted in the pages like what happens when one looks into a mirror. Their true reflection becomes obvious to them and adjustments are made where necessary. Nwabueze elucidates thus:

“Dramatist like other serious artists, are involved in tackling the problems inherent in their society. The committed artist must engage in using his art to make his audience conscious of the shortcomings of his society. He is like a referee who tries to correct those that violate the rules of the game, the game of life.”

One of the tenets of realism states that ‘arts must depict truthfully the real, physical world’ (Brockett 1995). The contemporary playwright is meant to observe critically and objectively contemporary issues and artistically represent happenings around him in his text, transcending from being just passive observers of reality to becoming actively engaged in not merely entertaining but also challenging the status quo and leading a crusade against prevalent social, political, religious and economic maladies ravaging the society while seeking means to emancipate the society from the hands of the oppressor by raising the consciousness of the masses to their condition just as this research project lays emphasis.

Lenin’s advice to artist on literature as captured by Gbilekaa in his book, Radical Theatre in Nigeria upholds that “literature should not be an undertaking that would bring material benefits to groups or individuals. Rather, artists should join other progressives in fighting the cause of the proletariat. In other words, the politically conscious artist should chart the course of revolutionary struggle.”

Another authority in the field to be considered in this study is the dramatist, George Bernard Shaw. Shaw is both the most eminent critic and the most important English-speaking dramatist of the period following Ibsen. A number of his finest plays (including Candida, The Devil's Disciple and Mrs. Warren’s Profession) were written in the last decade of the nineteenth century. His most serious critical work also belongs to this period. It is often said that Shaw uses the drama merely as a means to an end. The end to which Shaw dedicates the drama is the end to which Ibsen proclaimed his allegiance, and to which all great drama has invariably been dedicated—to see reality “free and awake.” Shaw understood the greatness of Ibsen's plays: he saw that dramatic conflict is necessarily social conflict; he realized that if the theatre of his time were to live and grow, it must deal uncompromisingly with the struggle between man's conscious will and his environment just as this research emphasizes.

This was contrary to the popular and critical opinion of the nineties which associated art with esthetic moods and emotions. Writing in 1902, Shaw explained that he was aiming at deeper and more fundamental emotional values. In his words:

"The reintroduction of problem, with its remorseless logic and iron framework of fact, inevitably produces at first an overwhelming impression of coldness and inhuman rationalism. But this will soon pass away...it will be seen that only in the problem play is there any real drama, because drama is no mere setting up of the camera to nature: it is the presentation in parable of the conflict between Man's will and his environment. It follows that it is the resistance of fact and law to human feeling which creates drama. It is the deux ex machina who, by suspending that resistance, makes the fall of the curtain an immediate necessity, since drama ends exactly where resistance ends” (George Bernard Shaw, 1902)

Another authority in the field is Eugene O'neill. While Shaw's social thought bases primarily on the liberalism of the days prior to 1914, O'Neill's philosophy reflects the period which followed the world war. This has caused him to ignore, to a remarkable extent, the role of conscious will in dramatic conflict. This is of great interest from a technical point of view. O'Neill has made a consistent and impassioned attempt to dramatize subconscious emotions. He frequently uses the terminology of psychoanalysis, and this terminology is often employed in discussions of his work. But psychoanalysis as a method of psychological investigation has no bearing on O'Neill's plays. His interest in character is metaphysical rather than psychological. He attempts a complete escape from reality; he tries to sever contact with the world by setting up an inner kingdom which is emotionally and spiritually independent.

Then again, though Eugene O'Neill is an authority in the field whose career is of special significance due to the abundant vigor and poetic richness of his earlier dramas and the confusion which devitalizes his later Vi^ork (a feat that contemporary playwrights deem worth coveting), this research’s focus bothers on a manner of playwriting that captures realities of matters arising in every sense of the word, in no way attempting any escape from reality nor sever contact with the world whatsoever.

If we enter O'Neill's inner world and examine it critically, we find ourselves on very familiar ground, as O'Neill's philosophy is a repetition of past ideas, sometimes making it difficult to trace the origin of his philosophies and establish their general trend. But if the inner world of this research project is examined, one likely gets plunged into unfamiliar ground, howbeit making it easy to quite trace the origin of the philosophies that engender the sort of playwriting analyzed in this research.

2.3 Effective Communication via Playwriting

In integrating playwriting into strategic communication, the lines of events intended to be strategically communicated to the audience must be effectively conversed. This section shows how that effective communication can be achieved via playwriting. A playwright, wanting to communicate strategically via playwriting ought to ask himself thus: “what are the best communication techniques for ensuring that a play is understood by the audience?” With relevance to this research, the techniques embraced to ensure that a play is understood by the audience include:

1. Knowing the audience.

2. Having a goal.

3. Seeking feedback and improvement from the audience.

In this research project, the audience constitutes those of the Akwa-Cross citizenry. The first step to achieving effective communication is to know who is to be communicated to. Citizens of Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state being the target audience in this research, the data collection method used for this research project is “Focus Groups.” Collecting data using focus groups require grouping persons to discuss the common areas of the research problem. The main research problem of this project is the question of opening the eyes of Akwa-Cross people to obscure aspects of the reality of the society wherein they find themselves by strategically communicating those aspects to them via plays. Akwa-Cross people, being privy to the propagations of such plays, are expected to do something about the ugly aspects of that reality that does not sit well with recognized principles, for example: “corruption.”

To solve that problem, the playwright ought to find out what the expectations, interests, and preferences of the Akwa-Cross people are (both healthy and unhealthy). If those principles are in alignment with recognized principles, the playwright strategically communicates to the people how to maintain the standard and not bow to the pressure of settling for less on account of one thing or the other. However, not all are expected to be in alignment with recognized principles, thus the essence of this research project. If the playwright finds out that the expectations, interests, and preferences of certain Akwa-Cross people fall short in aligning with recognized principles, it becomes his duty to strategically communicate lines of events that will change the dynamics.

The playwright, observing those of Akwa-Cross region who fall short in aligning with recognized principles, is to take to plays to strategically communicate narratives that embody those principles. In so doing, the playwright tailors his endeavor of communicating strategically via playwriting to suit the needs of Akwa-Cross people. Knowing the audience helps the playwright to avoid potential misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and offense, thus setting him up to communicate effectively via plays. The playwright can learn about the expectations, interests, and preferences of Akwa-Cross people by taking to a data collection method known as “focus groups” to gather that information which he imbibes into his plays to appeal to the Akwa-Cross people.

In the realm of strategic communication, much like in playwriting, the ability to communicate effectively is not just a skill but an art form that can pivot the direction of any scene, be it in a boardroom or on stage. The interplay between characters is defined by the dialogue they exchange and the dynamics that unfold as a result. The dynamics expected to unfold as a result of communicating strategically to Akwa-Cross people using plays is an alignment of Akwa-Cross people with recognized principles. Using playwriting to achieve that feat will require the playwright to construct the play to breed uncommon clarity. It is that clarity that is supposed to inform the approach of Akwa-Cross people towards endeavors that border on their immediate society.

For instance, in a society where conflict thrives and tampers with the wellbeing of well-meaning citizens, strategically communicating lines of events that make for conflict resolution with clarity becomes a task of the Akwa-Cross playwright who means to communicate strategically via playwriting to better the society and give it a good public image.

Having taken to focus groups to gather information, the playwright becomes adequately informed on communication strategies that are bound to relay intended narratives to those of Akwa-Cross citizenry. In a script, every word counts: the same applies to communication. Clear, concise messaging prevents misunderstandings. Such clear, concise messaging does not just prevent misunderstandings, it resolves conflicts as well as remedies several inequities. Effective communication strategies involve acknowledging different viewpoints and finding common grounds. This, the playwright achieves from focus groups and strategically communicates in his plays to engender good public image building and strategic communication.

Having known his audience and communicated effectively to them, the playwright achieves part of his goal. To achieve that goal in completion, the playwright engages and interacts with his audience to further communicate effectively. This sees the playwright capturing and maintaining the audience's attention, interest, and curiosity throughout a play, even as he invites and encourages the audience to participate and respond to his narratives. Various techniques can be used to engage and interact with audiences. One of them is breaking the fourth wall, asking questions, soliciting feedback, using humor, creating suspense, and addressing current issues.

2.4 Achieving Breakthrough Moments via Playwriting

The whole essence of communicating effectively and strategically via plays, with relevance to this research project, is achieving breakthrough moments in Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state. There comes pivotal moments where the culmination of preceding events, decisions, and character developments converge to create transformative experiences. This zenith not only alters the trajectory of the narrative but also crystallizes the thematic essence, leaving an indelible impact on the audience, which, in this case, are citizens and inhabitants of Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state. Such breakthrough moments are moments of intense emotion, revelation, and, often, catharsis, where the accumulated tension is released and the path forward becomes clear. Akwa-Cross playwrights, in strategically communicating via plays to foster a release of accumulated tension of Akwa-Cross people, thus making the path forward to become clear, fulfil the essence of integrating their art into strategic communication and public image building in the following ways:

1. The Moments of Truth: This is evident in scenes where the protagonist faces his greatest challenge or makes a significant realization. For example, a tech startup may unveil an innovative app that revolutionizes user interaction, akin to the protagonist's soliloquy that lays bare their inner turmoil and resolve. The play, constructed to equally serve as a blueprint for Akwa-Cross people to adopt in their dealings to engender good public image of Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state in real time, is laden with several moments of truths about Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state. What becomes obtainable from those moments of truth becomes an eye-opener to the audience, hence informing their modus operandi thereafter.

2. The Shift in Dynamics: Relationships between characters or team members evolve, revealing new facets and altering the group dynamic. A play's climax can turn allies into adversaries or vice versa, reshaping the narrative landscape, which is a goal the playwright seeks to attain in integrating his art into strategic communication to engender good and positive image building.

3. The Resolution Prelude: This moment sets the stage for the resolution, providing a glimpse into the future. A play that foreshadows a bright future as the protagonist's fate and how to unfailingly step into that future can bring the audience (Akwa-Cross people) to a place of willing alignment to ideas and principles propagated in the play as means by which that future can be stepped into unfailingly.

There are many of them. But this research project limits the number to the three facets discussed above. By examining these facets, a comprehensive understanding is gained on how critical moments of change are navigated and leveraged for maximum impact via playwriting. These breakthroughs are not just plot points: they are the heartbeats of transformation that propel the narrative and the venturing into uncharted territories.

2.5 Playwriting and Flow: The Interconnection between Creativity and Skill Development

Creativity pedagogy has been impacted by longstanding assumptions that creativity, as a concept and a process, is generally unknowable and perhaps even mysterious. There is a pervasive fallacy that ‘creators are seen to have the extraordinary ability to bring into being an idea or an object out of what appears to be nothing’ (McIntyre, 2012, p. 4). Idealist views suggest that creativity is innate and the ‘most we can do to encourage creativity is to identify the people with this special talent and give them room to work’ (Boden, 2004, p. 15). This approach encourages the belief that creativity cannot be analyzed, developed or taught. As Sternberg and Lubart (1999) argues, this pervasive and persistent belief in the mythical aspects has hindered the academic study of creativity.

Romantic assumptions perpetuate the focus on the individual innate nature of creativity and that creative people are special. This position is challenged by approaches that consider creativity to be a social process occurring in a system (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). In the systems approach, creativity is ‘an act, ideal, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one’ (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996, p. 28). Creativity is defined as the ability to produce work that is both novel and appropriate (Sternberg, Kaufman, & Pretz, 2002). It is the ability to produce ‘ideas and artefacts that are new, surprising and valuable’ (Boden, 2004, p. 1). For Csikszentmihalyi, creativity occurs in ‘a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognize and validate the innovation’ (1996, p.6). Haseman (2012) suggests that creative ability is a potential present in everyone, and, with the right training and knowledge, can be developed. From this position, creative ideas are the result of everyday thinking, enriched by skills, motivation and knowledge (Weisberg, 1993).

For the playwright to remain in flow, there needs to be an optimal match between skill and challenge. This dynamic process pushes people (the audience) to higher levels of performance in their dealings. As posited by Csikszentmihalyi et al. (1993), “flow leads to complexity because, to keep enjoying an activity, a person needs to find ever new challenges in order to avoid boredom and to perfect new skills that help avoid anxiety. The balance of challenges and skills is never static.” The endeavor of integrating playwriting into strategic communication and public image building in Akwa Ibom and Corss-River state ought to be born out of Akwa-Cross playwrights’ need to find new challenges to address in plays in order to avoid boredom and to perfect new skills that help avoid anxiety.

It then becomes observable how this enjoyable activity of the playwright, beyond finding and addressing new challenges in order to avoid boredom and perfect new skills, fosters good and positive image building of Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state: a very commendable byproduct of integrating playwriting into strategic communication and public image building.

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CHAPTER THREE: METHOD OF STUDY

3.1 Research Design

The research design adopted in this research project is the qualitative research design. This is because this research aims to gather and analyze non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals’ social reality in society, including an understanding of their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. Being that a qualitative research typically involves in-depth interviews, focus groups, or observations in order to collect data that is rich in detail, a complex phenomenon was explored to gain other playwrights’ insight into society's experiences and perspectives on particular topics and concerns they address in their plays. That way, meanings that people attach to their experiences (which explains their behavior) came to be understood.

Firstly, the audience is the ultimate necessity which gives the playwright's work its purpose and meaning. The laws by which the dramatist creates his product are determined by the use to which the product is to be put. The purpose of drama is communication (strategic communication). Since the audience plays an active part in the life of a play, dramatic techniques as this (integrating playwriting into strategic communication) are designed to achieve maximum audience response because a playwright that is not seeking to communicate strategically with his fellow men through his plays is not bound by the unity or logic or any other principle, in which case such a playwright would only be talking to himself while being limited by his reaction to his own performance.

It was found that, to achieve the purpose of this research (integrating playwriting into strategic communication and public image building), laws of volitional thinking ought to be incorporated in it because they are binding upon the audience as well as the dramatist. The audience thinks and feels about the imaginary events in terms of its own experience just as the dramatist creates the events in terms of his experience. But the audience approach the events from a different angle: the play is the concentrated essence of the playwright's consciousness and will. He tries to persuade the audience to share his intense feeling in regard to the significance of the action. A dramatic work, whatever it may be, is designed to be listened to by a number of persons united and forming an audience, as this is its very essence: a necessary condition of its existence. With drama being a microcosm of society, it became essential to utilize a qualitative research design in order to get informed by several strands of philosophical thoughts that examine aspects of human life, including culture, expression, beliefs, morality, life stress, and imagination. H. Granville-Barker’s book, The Exemplary Theatre is one of the few modern works which sees drama as a microcosm of society. It holds that:

“Dramatic art, fully developed in the form of the acted play, is the working out—in terms of make-believe, no doubt, and patchily, biasedly, with much over-emphasis and suppression, but still in the veritable human medium—not of the self-realization of the individual but of society itself.” (H. Granville-Barker, 1922).

For a study that aims to prove how playwriting can be a useful tool in strategic communication and public image building, the overall strategy utilized to gather data and information as well as produce answers to research questions raised in this research from the gathered data is the contemporary qualitative research which has been influenced by a number of branches of philosophy, for example, positivism, post-positivism, critical theory, and constructivism. Gathering of data and producing answers from gathered data to communicate strategically though plays to make for public image building is the essence of this research. To qualitatively determine what data ought to be gathered and what answers ought to be produced from that data, research questions raised in chapter 1.4 above will now be attended to.

How strategic communication is to be achieved via playwriting: to strategically communicate to audiences using plays, there has to be a full understanding of how the audience functions. The audience is a variable factor; and since it plays a part in the play, its composition must be considered. The playwright is not only concerned with the opinions of the audience; he is also concerned with its unity and arrangement. Being so clear about the audience, Granville-Barker is also led to a realization of its class character. Since he is himself a representative of the middle class, he sees the theatre as part of the machinery of capitalist democracy, doing work which is similar to that of “press, pulpit, politics—there are powers these lack that the theatre can well wield.” In using playwriting as a machinery of capitalist democracy, thus doing a work that is similar to that of the press, the pulpit, politics, etc., the question of achieving strategic communication via playwriting is answered.

How interest in playwriting is intended to be stirred: stirring the interest of audiences (especially those not familiar with the art of reading plays) cannot be well thought-out without considering the social composition of audiences. It is this social composition that determines the response of audiences and the degree to which that response is unified. The playwright's interest in his audience is not only commercial but creative, as the unity which he seeks can only be achieved through the collaboration of an audience which is itself unified and creative. An understanding of an audience’ social conditioning along with his creative interest in that audience aids the playwright in stirring audiences’ interest in plays that are born out of the endeavor of integrating playwriting into strategic communication and public image building.

The above answers to two research questions raised in this research. The other three are answered in chapter 3.3 where the method of data collection (the Qualitative Data Collection Methods) comes into investigation. Meanwhile, the type of qualitative research design used in this research project is “Ethnographic Research” which involves studying and understanding the culture, beliefs, practices, and social interactions of a specific group or community. In this case, that specific group or community are those of Akwa-Cross citizenry. Ethnographic Research is a type of qualitative research where researchers immerse themselves in participants’ natural environment for an extended period, often conducting participant observation, interviews, as well as document analysis to gain an in-depth understanding of the culture. Therefore, in opting for Ethnographic Research as the research design of this project, integrating playwriting into strategic communication and public image building becomes an endeavor that sees playwrights immersing themselves in the Akwa-Cross region for extended periods to conduct participant observation and document analysis to gain in-depth understanding of the culture which they then capture in plays aesthetically.

The play then advances from being a mere play to serving as a trustworthy blueprint of the playwright on how to come about an effectuation and remediation of raised concerns. The aesthetic value of the play as reflected in a rich understanding and capturing of the culture, beliefs, practices, and social interactions of Akwa-Cross people becomes the factor that stirs the interests of the states’ people in exploring, investigating, and relishing the playwriting form both as user and consumer. In so doing, they get exposed to the unconventional manner of light that plays can shed on prevailing issues when utilized as a tool of strategic communication and public image building.

3.2 Population and Sampling

Of the 36 states in Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State is the 30th largest in area and the 15th most populous state in Nigeria with an estimated population of nearly 5.5 million as of 2016. Cross-River State, on the other hand, is the 19th largest in area and 27th most populous with an estimated population of over 3.8 million as of 2016. Since the creation of these states, various strategies have been deployed to engender strategic communication and public image building in the states. But the tool of playwriting and the role of the playwright as a mirror of the society is yet to be leveraged by these states to serve that purpose. However, the type of qualitative research design adopted in this research project (Ethnographic Research) is applied to these two states to further determine how playwriting can foster strategic communication and public image building within each state.

Firstly, research population, also known as the target population, refers to the entire group or set of individuals, objects, or events that possess specific characteristics and are of interest to the researcher. Ultimately, the group of individuals, objects, and events that possess specific characteristics and are of interest in this research is the Akwa-Cross people (audience) and their endeavors, as they constitute the ones to derive dividends from an integration of playwriting into strategic communication and public image building in the Akwa-Cross region. But then, an attempt to define dramatic theory by an analysis of audience response would be a far more difficult task because it would involve many additional problems, as the attitudes and preoccupations of the audience in observing a play are far more difficult to gauge than those of the playwright in creating the play.

At every moment of the production, the various members of the audience are subject to an infinite variety of contradictory influences, depending on the architecture of the playhouse, the personalities of the players, the persons in the surrounding seats, the reports which have been circulated about the play, and a thousand other factors which vary from one performance to the next. This is where sampling comes in. Sampling is the specific group that data is collected from. To integrate playwriting into strategic communication and public image building in Akwa Ibom and Cross-River States, data that borders on societal image, cultures and people of the Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state is collected from plays by playwrights of the Akwa-Cross Region and strategically communicated to audiences by another playwright (a sort of adaptation) who assembles those collected data in new plays to engender good public image of those regions.

Out of the nearly 5.5 million people that make up Akwa Ibom State (as of 2016) and the 3.8 million people that make up Cross-River State (as of 2016), it is believed that, given the outcome of this research, there is the possibility of reaching over 50% of that population in both states by strategically communicating lines of narratives that are bound to engender good and positive public image in them. That 50% population constitutes the population of this research project.

3.3 Method of Data Collection

As posited in the last paragraph of chapter 3.1 above, this chapter (chapter 3.3) attends to the three remaining research questions of this research project that have thus far remained unanswered. That is to be achieved through an exposition of the methods of data collection adopted in this research project. The methods of data collection adopted in this research are categorized under a primary data collection methods known as “Qualitative Data Collection Methods.” Qualitative methods provide depth and detail through direct conversation or observation. They don't involve numerical data but instead seek to understand concepts, experiences, and interactions. Some qualitative data collection methods include in-depth interviews, observations, case studies, focus groups, surveys and questionnaires, experiments, digsite, etc.

But the particular qualitative data collection method used for this research project is “Focus Groups,” which is one example of qualitative data in education. In a focus group, a small group of people, around 8-10 members, discuss the common areas of the research problem. Each individual provides his or her insights on the issue concerned. Using this method, it was possible to gather from group discussions information on how far playwriting can really go in impacting Akwa Ibom and Cross-River State positively when integrated into strategic communication and public image building. The method forges and fortifies the concerns addressed in the playwright’s plays which come to constitute a trustworthy blueprint for persons to navigate their endeavors by, since these endeavors take their origin from fellow persons, other persons, with similar or near-similar experiences. This research project emphasizes such plays as avenues through which positive public image can be achieved in Akwa Ibom and Cross-River State when key concerns that border on these states are strategically communicated in plays. Thus, to answer the final question of what methodology is applied to achieve the desired result, it is the primary qualitative data collection method known as “Focus Groups” that was adopted to gather data for this research project.

3.4 Data Analysis

Data for this study, beyond what becomes obtainable from adopting the primary qualitative data collection method known as “Focus Groups” to collect data, were further obtained using another primary qualitative data collection method known as “Observations.” Data was obtained via participant observation of comments and reviews on plays by playwrights of the Akwa-Cross region like Dr. Ofonime Inyang, Professor Effiong Johnson, Uwemedimo Atakpo, to list a few. Plays by these Akwa-Cross playwrights richly represent the cultures of the Akwa-Cross region.

From the said comments and reviews, it is evident that strategic communication was achieved via their plays that promote the building of good and positive state image. Seeking to likewise communicate strategically via plays, especially in this contemporary society of social media, narratives observed to be propagated in the plays of those renowned Akwa-Cross playwrights alongside information gathered from “focus groups” are made to constitute the lines of events it takes for an adaptation of those narratives and information into a new play. Adaptation, in this context, spans beyond reproducing lines of events in one play more grandly in another play, to assembling narratives from multiple plays as well as information from focus groups and adapting them into a single play, thus strategically communicating intended messages from those multiple reliable and verifiable sources.

By definition, strategic communication is a specialized approach to distributing and receiving information. It is to communicate the best messages through the correct channels to the right people at the right time using feedback from the process to stay focused on company goals. When it comes to strategic communication, it is not an endeavor that ought to cut across elites exclusively who can finance big-budget enterprises. There are young minds whose creative wit can contribute to public image building when leveraged to communicate strategically via plays. As much as elite groups (Wole Soyinka for instance) do their bid to communicate strategically and foster good public image using plays, nameless young creative playwrights can be good things that come out of Nazareth if afforded the chance to lend their creative wit to strategic communication via this form of plays and playwriting, which, with relevance to this research project, can be branded “Novelized Playwriting.”

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CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

4.1 Strategic Communication in Akwa Ibom and Cross-River State via Playwriting

This research aims to determine how potent playwriting can be when used to engender strategic communication in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states. Playwriting has been a means by which different concerns have found expression and still find expression. Even so, the playwright, in his bid to leverage his art and foster public image building and strategic communication, must take his art beyond the limited stage to the unlimited world of the media. Narrowing it down to achieving strategic communication and public image building in Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state using plays, the approach does not differ. Integrating playwriting into strategic communication and public image building in these states is an endeavor that should treat concerns that are relevant to the states, especially concerns that give the states a bad image. Such concerns could include but are not limited to exploitation, oppression, corruption, deprivation, to mention a few.

As it has to do with Akwa Ibom and Cross-River States, the issues ought to bother on prevailing inequities that make for bad state image. Playwrights in these states ought to look into the nooks and crannies of the states to determine the ills that make for bad public image and strategically communicate those ills in plays, accompanied by soothing remediation as reiterated severally in this research project. This is to say that Playwrights in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States get to pick particular ills and bothersome concerns and do justice to those ills in plays. In so doing, the art of playwriting gets to be purposefully integrated into strategic communication and public image building in the two states, and it becomes only a matter of time before other Nigerian states catch on, especially when the potency of the literary form in serving that purpose becomes common knowledge on the basis of outstanding and undeniable results.

4.2 Playwriting as a Useful Tool in Fostering Strategic Communication

This section examines plays as repertoires of culture and history and identifies the image and ways of life of the Akwa-Cross people, as well as cite plays from playwrights in Akwa-Cross region whose plays have engendered positive public image on the basis of strategic communication achieved in the plays. Many of the means that patriots have embraced for decades to engender strategic communication in Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state are ones that border more on reports for reading, hearing and believing than on devices to be perceived by sight, examples being newspaper publications and radio broadcast. Eventually came TV broadcast which took it beyond reading and listening to actually watching clips of reported accounts. But those clips are limited in scope in the sense that they are featured to only serve as evidence of reported accounts for authenticity and credibility.

Meanwhile, the whole idea of reported accounts are meant to be derived from the reporter or broadcaster as the case may be. Thus, the devices being perceived by sight largely includes the reporter or broadcaster who, with well accented speech, gives detailed representations of matters arising in lofty words. Correspondents are known to journey into the heart of matters arising to dig up actual facts about those matters in order to make for credibility of accounts being relayed to the masses. The masses get to read their discoveries in newspapers or listen to them on radio. But the advent of TV broadcast made it such that those accounts get to be read out to the hearing of the masses with accompanying short clips to authenticate the report, some of which are transmitted live from the scenes. However, several noteworthy basics of addressed concerns hardly make it to the news, probably on the basis of their falling short in newsworthiness. But such concerns, if strategically communicated, go a long way in fostering public image building of the society due to discoveries that constitute the byproducts of such strategic communication. For that reason, diverse programs emerged on print, radio, and TV to treat certain noteworthy essentials of addressed concerns that hardly make it to the news: an attempt to take the masses to deeper levels of matters arising.

The playwright, like a correspondent, aiming to treat issues that border on society, digs into the heart and soul of the society to make discoveries that, when tactically relayed in plays, go beyond giving detailed representation of matters arising in lofty words with short backup clips, to artfully mirroring the society as it really is, since, on grounds of playwriting being a product of human creativity, the playwright wields the autonomy to leverage his superior skill to see to the creation of beautiful and significant things that he intends to share with audiences. On this basis, the playwright who sets out to integrate his art into strategic communication becomes an infallible resource with regards to painting pictures of what society was, what society is, and what society should be. One could ask at this point: “why border integrating an unconventional enterprise like playwriting into public image building and strategic communication to bring about the above-elucidated when one can simply turn to long-familiar devices like movies to achieve the same goal?” Chapter 4.4 treats that heady enquiry.

4.3 The Concept of Writing

This is the point in this research that explores the relationship between festivals in community theatres and organizational self-awareness. Formal scholarship on festivals in community theatres is virtually nonexistent. But there exist books written about creating and operating festivals in community theatre and there exist books and articles about specific festivals that are portrayed in plays to depict and preserve the cultures of locales wherein those plays are set. Many of these books are authored by playwrights in Akwa-Cross Region who have written extensively on playwriting. While their books on playwriting educates on the art of writing plays, their plays capture the rich cultural heritage of Akwa Ibom and Cross-River States.

The concept of writing in all its ramifications has remained pivotally significant in the process of documentations, from the antediluvian to the contemporary times. This is asserted on power, prowess and flexibility of the playwright in carefully adapting his environment in plays and mirroring it satisfactorily. This project examines the art of playwriting as a medium of adaptation of the society holistically and narrows it down to the impact it has when integrated into strategic communication on social media platforms especially for reading audiences. Plays by authorities like Dr. Ofonime Inyang, Professor Effiong Johnson, Uwemedimo Atakpo, and many other playwrights from the Akwa-Cross region are known to strategically communicate concerns that engender good and positive public image in Akwa Ibom and Cross-River states.

In their plays, the culture, history, way of life of the Akwa-Cross people, etc. are strategically communicated to showcase and preserve those cultures, histories, way of life of the people, etc. It was Francis Bacon who, in his radical thinking, once postulated that “reading maketh a man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man.” Bernard Shaw, in his famous demeanor, thus postulates about the craft of the playwright:

“Life as it occurs is senseless… for it is the business of the playwright to pick out the significant incidents from the chaos of daily happenings, and arrange them so that their relation to one another becomes significant, thus changing us from bewildered spectators of a monstrous confusion of men intelligently conscious of the world and its destinies. This is the highest function that man can perform, the greatest he can set himself to; and this is why (the playwrights) take their majestic and pontifical rank which seems so strangely above all pretensions of mere strolling actors and theatrical authors (directors).” (Qtd in Johnson 9).

Plays by these playwrights and authors express the worldview of Akwa-Cross people, showcasing the rich geography and profile of the region thereof. This research’s crux rides on the back of the above assertion in providing its direction and scrutinizing the morphological features of Akwa Ibom and Cross-River State when turned into a focus for flexible playwriting aimed at engendering good and positive public image. In studying plays by playwrights of Akwa-Cross region (like those named above) and how those plays so amply communicate strategically as well as project the rich cultural heritage of the states that make for good and positive public image, this researcher aims to replicate those manner of plays in more contemporary settings. This is to be achieved by merging information gathered from focus groups with narratives obtained from plays of Akwa-Cross Playwrights to strategically communicate unbecoming concerns in Akwa Ibom and Cross-River state. To create such awareness calls for the building and maintenance of positive public image, especially for social media audiences, thus the essence of the concept of writing: playwriting.

4.4 Playwriting: Cost-Efficiency

Playwriting, again, is the technical transformation of regular events into sequences of situations that convey particular messages of significance to audiences and publics (Inyang, 2023). It is quite different from movies, which is only but a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement, particular emphasis on “the illusion of continuous movement.” Films can well be said to have been mainly intended to serve entertainments purposes. As time passed, it evolved into means by which concrete concerns could be addressed, but with rich measure of entertainment value. However, it takes fortunes to dish out really great movies that depict actual realities of situations of things as they really are, albeit, leaving much to the imagination, given its essential feature to give the illusion of continuous movement. As such, several noteworthy nuts and bolts of addressed concerns that, as with the news, are considered to fall short in terms of newsworthiness, could elude movie productions on grounds of its bid to engender erroneous mental representations: that is to say, something that many people believe but is false: (that is the definition of “illusion”).

These several noteworthy nuts and bolts, a playwright, especially one that belongs to the school of realism, deploys his playwriting prowess to strategically communicate to see how to foster good public image building of the society, very likely taking it beyond points where movies commendably pilot it to. Perhaps it is not out of place to so quickly point out that the thing with plays, as distinguished from movies, is details. Dialogue in movies, for one, is quite slender compared to dialogue in plays, and embedded in the dialogue thereof are subject matters of great significance which, if missed as events unfold in the play (movies too), could breed warped perception of meanings being relayed thereof. Moviemakers, however, expertly leverage minimal dialogue to strategically communicate the essence of a movie in order to not tamper so much with the illusion intended to be created, except for movies like ones that border on true events, in which case attention would be drawn to that information early on—so that expectations of illusive elements tones down as one proceeds to watch. Those movies vastly achieve the intended goal of strategically putting out substantial material that society can leverage to foster good public image building.

But producing such great movies is expensive. And, pertaining to the very expensive accessories that go into the all-round production of movies, thus making for them taking fortunes to dish out, a playwright can, with limited funds, dish out plays that fascinate persons in a near-same measure (if not same measure) that same persons get fascinated by movies: just that plays allow for longer, more detailed dialogues and a considerable touch of realism, given that it is meant to be experienced live. The detailed dialogue, plus that element of reality, especially with all the aesthetics assuming the dimension and timeless criteria of true artistic value (a cost-efficient task for the creative playwright who takes to mind the production aspect of a play when penning it), do well in tactically communicating the essence of a play in a way that enamors fascinated audiences who would attest to not finding certain plays any less interesting than certain movies. And so, one vantage that plays get to have at this point is that, besides flourishing playwrights who pen high-budget plays that can be accommodated by their blooming finances, young career playwrights, perhaps still in varsity or freshly out of it, with only so much cash in hand to pursue big-ticket causes, get a chance at it anyways.

The phrase, “get a chance at it anyways” does not mean that those young career playwrights previously had some sort of restriction posed to their attempting of such endeavors. It is in relevance to the purpose of this research project that the phrase, “get a chance anyways” stands distinguished in the sense that, not only flourishing playwrights who pen high-budget plays that can be accommodated by their blooming finances get to be eligible to integrate their art into strategic communication in society: even young career playwrights, despite shaky or no financial might, get to pass as fitting to take on such causes too. After all, with as limited budget as possible, they lend their artistry to the pursuance of noble causes like strategic communication and public image building.

It is written up there that young career playwrights, despite shaky or no financial might, get to pass as fitting to take on such causes. Shaky financial might is understandable, as creativity can so supplement for backslides that shaky financial might can pose. But no financial might at all? With all the accessories and aesthetics it takes to put up plays? Well, yes, no financial might at all. A filmmaker, to integrate his enterprise into strategic communication and public image building, takes to artistic documentation of the sole objective of the film and does justice to it no matter how pricy the budget. No less can be said of flourishing playwrights who pen high-budget plays that can be accommodated by their blooming finances. Then there are young career playwrights who, despite shaky financial might, can still manage to run such causes with considerable success. Therefore, wouldn’t young career playwrights with no financial might, in strategically penning plays to mostly suit reading audiences (since zero financial might does not allow for more than that), be said to achieve their aim of integrating playwriting into public image building and strategic communication when they take to plays to solely generate and engage the attention of reading audiences, thus impacting them thereof with plays?

4.5 Playwriting as a Mirror of the Society

This question could arise: “if playwrights with no fiscal might, in penning plays mainly for reading audiences, still achieve their goal of integrating playwriting into public image building and strategic communication by taking to a manner of playwriting that mostly appeals to reading audiences, can’t other writers achieve the same goal by integrating their forms into public image building and strategic communication? In attending to that question, the distinctiveness of the playwriting form as amply projected by the stance of Emile Zola (1840 – 1902) on the playwriting form as distinguished from other forms will be brought to par. Emile Zola was the primary spokesman of Naturalism when it first appeared in France in the 1870s. Putting plays side-by-side another writing form (novel) in an article titled, “Naturalism on the Stage” (1881), Emile Zola thus assuredly opines:

“…this something else which arouses indignation and calls forth so much jesting is, however, very simple. We have only to read Balzac, Plaubert, and the Goncourts—in a word; the naturalistic novelists—to find out what it is. I am waiting for someone to put a man of flesh and bones on the stage, taken from reality, scientifically analyzed, and described without one lie. I am waiting for someone to rid us of fictitious characters, of these symbols of virtue and vice which have no worth as human data. I am waiting for environment to determine the characters and the characters to act according to the logic of facts combined with logic of their own disposition. I am waiting for the time when there is no prestidigitation of any kind, no more waving of the magic wind, changing persons and things from one minute to the next. I am waiting for the time when no one will tell us anymore unbelievable stories, when no one will any longer spoil the effects of true observations by imposing romantic incidents, the result of which destroys the good of parts of a play…” (Zola, 1881).

The stance of Emile Zola above does not just point to the infallibility the theatre stage in achieving the goal of this research project but likewise the place of the novel in very excellently fostering strategic communication when it says: “…this something else which arouses indignation and calls forth so much jesting is, however, very simple. We have only to read Balzac, Plaubert, and the Goncourts—in a word; the naturalistic novelists—to find out what it is.” But though pointing to the absoluteness of the novel in achieving the goal of this research, Zola, however, decries the novel for what it is not, that the stage is, when it comes to the unimpeachable morality of truth and frightening lesson of sincere investigation. Zola makes it understandable that, for what it is worth, the novel form, if integrated into public image building and strategic communication, would serve that purpose evenly. But then the stage, if deployed in its fullest potential (as is customary with novel) to achieve that goal, would beat the novel to it in every sense of the word.

4.6 A Playwright’s Masterpiece

Zola, in placing the stage over the novel (in best case scenario for the stage), inadvertently calls attention to the infallible office of the playwright, as, for there to be a play on the stage, there has to be a playwright to author that play. In essence, a play that, when enacted on a stage at its full potential, beats the novel to it in terms of communicating strategically and building good public image when committed to those purposes, is nothing but a playwright’s masterpiece. In another setting, the play may not be a masterpiece: probably averagely or even poorly written: it would then take a good director to deploy his creative wit to pitch the play on stage to meet Zola’s standard that beats the novel to it. But this research is not one that only points to a manner of playwriting that gets to be recognized for beating the novel to it only when enacted on a stage at its full potential: it is one that does to reading audiences what Zola’s model of a naturalistic theatre aims to do to watching audiences: “to curtail unbelievable stories and keep from spoiling the effects of true observation by imposing incidents, the result of which destroys the good of parts of a play.”

4.7 Playwriting: An Unfailing Resource

The best part is that this purposeful and industrious undertaking of the playwright does not just get to be read and envisioned as with articles of the print media (which is actually the ultimate goal of this research but with plays offering too much for too little). Plays that border on Akwa-Cross region get to be represented visually for Akwa-Cross people to watch and behold the reality of their society in every sense of the word. Suitable resolves are proffered where necessary, enactment onstage serving as blueprint for effectuation of propagated resolves that appeal to society. Given the evanescing of theatre in certain societies in the 21st century, a full capturing of stage enactments in visual form for circulation on the media space to make for wide-reaching propagation of the playwright’s endeavor becomes instructive, as depending on a limited theatre stage to steer that cause will fall short in achieving desired results. The closest to this initiative is movies, especially those that have to do with true events and antiquity which aim at passing across real accounts in motion pictures with little thought to entertainment value.

But as mentioned in chapter 4.4 above, it takes fortunes to dish out really great movies that depict actual realities of situations of things as they really are, albeit, leaving much to the imagination, given the essential feature of movies which requires giving the “illusion” of continuous movement. But a play, which only requires gathering information from focus groups as well as observed narratives from other plays to adapt into a new play (in the context of this research), costs the playwright no dime, except for logistics. Meanwhile, plays that stem from such methodology fulfils the essence of the concept of writing by culminating all data, narratives, and elements of plays in a single piece of literary writing that sheds the highest degree of light possible and tailors it for a reading audience on the internet, primarily. Due to this, playwriting proves to be an unfailing resource.

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CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

5.1 Summary of Findings

Quite interestingly, taking playwriting beyond the stage and pages to an unlimited social media world is one that will see the playwright achieving his goal of leveraging his art to engender public image building via strategic communication with perfect economy; as distinguished from the greater energy and expense it customarily takes to mount theatrical performances on a stage. The best part is that the media space eases up strategic communication and makes it such that the playwright’s intent to build positive state image becomes one with a propensity to go beyond relaying his ideas to average internet users who are more likely to come upon them and become privy to his propagations, to appropriate authorities that can see to an implementation of those propagated ideas to engender remediation.

5.2 Conclusion

An example of desired results expected to emanate from the cause of integrating playwriting into public image building and strategic communication in these two states would be the event that ensued on the 60th birthday of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, where former President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned several life-touching projects in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital as part of the activities to mark the 60th birthday of the governor. One of the projects commissioned on that day by the former president of Nigeria was an age-long erosion menace in one of the most major roads in the state. However, the moment word of the erosion menace was circumstantially but strategically communicated to the governor, the governor intervened and the road enjoyed a long-overdue fixing to the delight of many Akwa Ibom people.

Speaking at the commissioning, the former President lauded the State Governor for prioritizing the needs of his people, which, according to him, was demonstrated in his ingenuity of initiating and completing such major life-touching project within his first year in office. If merely reaching out to the appropriate authority with a direct report on a bad condition that made for negative public image of the state (no strategic communication whatsoever) could engender an outcome that saw the bad condition being looked into and remedied timely, consider what remediation can stem from such conditions being strategically captured and communicated in play form by Akwa-Cross playwrights to appropriate authorities who, like the Akwa Ibom Governor, would commendably demonstrate ingenuity in using the common wealth of the people to take on life-touching projects and initiatives that make for good state image.

Playwrights do not just leverage plays to point to prevailing inequities but do well to proffer suitable resolutions to those inequities, easing the task of solution-finding on the part of those whose sole responsibility it is to remediate those inequities, crowning the whole essence of integrating playwriting into strategic communication and public image building. Thus, again, with desired results emanating from the purposeful integration of playwriting into strategic communication and public image building in these two states, it, as earlier posited, will be only a matter of time before other Nigerian states catch on, especially when the potency of the playwriting form becomes common knowledge on the basis of outstanding and undeniable results.

5.3 Recommendations

As it is the scope of this study to take an uncovering of state potentialities beyond tactical rubbing of minds to establishing playwriting as an unfailing device in strategically projecting innovativeness, I recommend an adoption and implementation of playwriting into public image building and strategic communication in the two states on the basis that playwriting, if adopted and integrated into public image building and strategic communication in these states, will further build and maintain good and positive image of the states than they already have.

Like books, plays are written and published in hard copies. With the advent of technology came soft-copies that allows for both books and plays to be published on the internet as e-books, thus becoming more accessible and affordable. It is this ease of accessibility and affordability that this research project capitalizes upon to project plays as a more practical avenue through which good public image building and strategic communication can be achieved. Therefore, I recommend the reading of plays as conventionally as the reading of books, especially plays like those referenced in this research which neither sugarcoat improprieties nor mask truth nor spices truth up with lies in a bid to make it “acceptable.”

Lastly, I recommend an exploration of the internet in search of plays from “not-so-famous” playwrights who, not exactly having a public image to concern themselves with, take to plays to address key concerns and issues that scarcely make it to headlines, journals and publications.

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