Life as a Theatre Arts Student- An interview with Victor Alausa

- December 04, 2021

What have you come here seeking?

Where are you from?

You have come where no one ever reaches

You have stepped where no one ever treads

Who are you?

Who are your parents?

Since the owner of the world created the world, no one ever did such a thing

You are so bold as to enter the town of cruelty

The heads you brought here

You won't see them any longer

The legs you walked here with

They become the gods’ own

You won't try that again

-Excerpt from The Palmwine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

“The picture you see above is from a play, The Palmwine Drinkard, where I played the role of The Cruel King- Oba Ìkà, the hardest role I’ve ever played. I was so into the character that it started affecting my everyday life. I found myself laughing hysterically as the king would do; method acting almost messed me up.”

- Victor Alausa

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Today, on Limitless, Victor Alausa talks to us about his highly demanding, but exciting experience as a Theatre Arts student at the University of Ibadan.

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Welcome to Limitless, Victor Alausa! I see that there is a lot packed into that opening statement, I’m excited already. First, why is the play called The Palmwine Drinkard, not The Palmwine Drunkard?

- The play was an enactment of a novel written by Amos Tutuola. The main character’s name is Lànké Òmù. Òmù is not the same as òmùtí. Òmù is someone who drinks, while òmùtí is someone who drinks excessively.

Òmù is a drinkard, but òmùtí is a drunkard. Lànké was not a drunkard, he just loved drinking Palmwine so much, to the extent that he lost his Palmwine tapper, and went to look for him in the land of the dead.

Whattt? That’s crazy! What then is The Cruel King’s role all about?

- The excerpt from the book are the words of the cruel king. Let me explain who he was. From the beginning of the play, Lànké lost his Palmwine tapper- Àlàbá, so, he decided to go to the land of the dead to bring him back.

In the course of looking for a way to bring him back, he first went to the forest of the elves where he was given charms.

Next, he went to the house of a man and a woman- those are their names “man and woman”. Those ones tested him, then, tried to trick him.

He left there, and went to the place of Bísí. Bísí was his wife in real life (his trips looking for a way to fortify himself to bring Àlàbá back was all a dream). So, Bísí got captured by some spirits, but he- Lànké freed her.

On their way back, they got into an argument. Unknown to them, they had trespassed into the cruel king’s land. That’s what got The Cruel King angry. So, he decided to sacrifice them to Ògún, the god of iron.

Oba Ika was a short-tempered, cold-blooded, and blood-thirsty king who killed at will.

Unfortunately for him, Lànké and Bísí escaped. That made him so angry, that he used his charm on one of his people.

Man! That’s one scintillating story. But, wait. How did you cram all the lines?

- 😂You learn the lines, not cram. You imbibe them. There's something called method acting. That's the method I employ, I become the character, I create a backstory for the character, and I immerse myself into the character.

Something happened on stage while we were performing. The director gave me some slaves, and during the performance there was one I had as a footstool, I was legit beating the guy with my hands. I had gone so into character that I didn't know.

Ah!😂 Premium tears. What was the first highlight for you as a Theatre arts student?

- THE INITIATION was the first exciting experience for me. Prior to the initiation is an eight-week drilling in preparation for one of the biggest performances in the theatre. We go through rigorous exercises like cardio, jogging back and forth 500 miles or a kilometer.

They also teach us various dances and songs which we are going to perform on the day of the initiation.

On the day of initiation, they invite a male and female thespian acting as the chief priest and priestess who pray for us.

Then, the departmental executives hold calabashes in front of us. Mind you, before we took the oath; at the beginning of the initiation, they told us the calabash would have goat’s blood in it, but they lied. It was just palm oil, fish, salt, and honey that was in it.

So, you take an oath holding it in front of you, vowing to be a good student, and to love the theatre till the day you die. It’s just like a passage rite.

Oh boy! That’s intense! Have you always loved the theatre?

-Yes, since I was a kid. I was always going to see plays with my dad at the National Theatre, Lagos State. Then, I joined the National Theatre’s children creative station. That was the beginning of my spiked interest and journey in the theatre.

Are there different divisions in theatre arts though? Which one of them are you into?

- Yes! We have acting, dance, set, props, lights, sound, makeup, costume, theatre management, children’s theatre, and literature. I’m into acting and dance.

Interesting! That sounds like a lot of rehearsals though. What does a typical rehearsal day look like?

-Ahhh! You can have about 7-9 rehearsals per day, and most rehearsals take about 2 hours or more. They start as early as 5am. Sometimes, we start rehearsals with cardio to be awake and alert. If it’s a dance rehearsal, we start with exercises, then, the choreographers start teaching us steps. If it’s a play rehearsal, the director calls those in a particular scene and start blocking. Blocking involves the director giving the actors a breakdown of a particular scene, including the movements, lines, gestures, mannerisms, and so on.

Oh wow. That sounds exhausting but fun. What do you love about Theatre Arts?

- I love the fact that I can be literally anything I want to be, and everything at the same time. I could be a king today, a servant tomorrow, a president next tomorrow, a lawyer, a doctor, literally anything in the theatre! It gives me freedom. My life is not monotonous.