DIVERSITY INFLECTION IN ORAL INTERPRETATION OF ROLES IN ACADEMIC THEATRE PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Emile Zola's assertion several decades ago foretold that in the distant future, oral performance would have attained near naturalisation. Oral interpretation till date is, however, yet to reach the desired level of naturalism as postulated by Zola. Actors rely on their convenient vocal registers for their oral delivery rather than strive to attain the necessary voicing requirements that befit the character being played. Arguably, the standard of stage theatre performances needs to be justifiably upheld in academic theatre productions as it remains the major harbour of live theatre. However, focus is gradually drifting from the aspect of speech in students' stage productions to largely visual aesthetics, thereby devaluing the oral aspect of stage theatre performances. Contextual interpretation of dramatic text is de-emphasised in theatre speech, which is now regarded as all-encompassing in correct pronunciation of words.

Juxtaposing students' stage theatre performances of the University of Ghana, Legon and University of Ibadan in Nigeria, the paper takes a dialectical exposition into diversity in oral interpretation of texts, adopting the speech act theory formulated by J.L. Austin. The attention of academic stage theatre practitioners is hereby drawn to the emphasis of the process of voice and speech in stage theatre performances. The comparative analysis between the two major tertiary institutions has yielded significantly different results.