Jumoke Olatubosun may have trained as a business administrator at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), but her passion is in acting. Of Ekiti State origin, she grew up in Ilorin, Kwara State, and is living in Jos, Plateau State where she is part of the Jos Repertory Theatre (JRT). In this interview with Assistant Life Editor, TERH AGBEDEH, she talks about how she started her career and the other things she does in Jos.
You guys in the JRT do your props, make-up, basically everything yourself; why?
We have been trained to multi-task, and somehow you just discover that you are not only an actor; that you can also try your hands on some other things. So, why not?
You have a poultry and act, which one came first?
Acting.
How did it come about?
I started acting when I was in primary school some years back at the University of Ilorin Primary School. We had little kids coming together, going to the university where they have the degree programme in theatre arts to help them with their project plays as kids. Gradually, the passion just came up and I discovered it was something quite interesting.
Was that at the University of Ilorin?
Yes. That was where I did my first degree. The passion was still there. I used to do the church stuff; I was in my drama group in Rhema Chapel back then in Ilorin. I bagged a degree in business administration, but the acting thing was still there and opportunities kept coming.
I got married in 2001 and came to Jos.
As a stage person, are you planning on diversifying to directing television and film?
I have had the opportunity to direct two plays with the JRT. I did one, Midnight Hotel, in 2013, and one other short play that my director also commissioned me to direct. For now, I am still trying to. I am always very particular about people doing their work properly. I just don’t like to delve into it because everybody is directing, people are making money from producing. Like I said, my first love is acting. Maybe eventually, of course, I have a good eye for good productions, good plays and all that. So maybe in the long run, I will have the opportunity to be a director for television. But on stage, yes.
Given your level of talent, don’t you have eyes on Nollywood?
I do screen as well. I have acted in Nigerian movies and was nominated for the ZAFAA Awards in the United Kingdom. I do a lot of screen as well. But because I am based in Jos, I believe the crises somehow set Jos back some years, at least 10 years. When I got married and came to Jos in 2001, a lot was happening and a lot of movie stars were coming in, and one crisis erupted. But gradually, we are trying to pick up. Then in 2004 and the crises became more or less like a recurring decimal. Most producers don’t want to invest so much money in a system that is not stable, since anything can just happen. So they are just treading cautiously.
As someone who has been on stage in drama that talks about ills in Nigeria, like Last Stand by Sefi Atta, do you see a future in Nigeria the way you see a future in Jos?
Change is about the people. We are talking about corruption, a lot of issues in Nigeria, Boko Haram, whatever it is. It is all about the people. If we have a change in the people, our ideology, our desire; when we have a leader or leadership that is interested in serving the people, things will change. But as long as we have people that are concerned about themselves.
How long have you been with JRT?
Eight years.
Midnight Hotel, which you have directed, is complex given the fact that it involves music, dance and drama; what were the challenges directing Midnight Hotel?
One beautiful thing about directing Midnight Hotel is the people I worked with. They were such an amazing cast and were so wonderful. The only challenge I can say I faced was the timing because I had a lot of students in the cast and I had to put them into consideration. They had to go for lectures; some had exams, so sometimes we had to meet as early as 7am, sometimes in my house, to have a rehearsal. But to be quite candid, I have a very wonderful boss in the person of Patrick-Jude Oteh; anytime I had any issue I would go to him.
Of course, it is not the regular day-to-day where you walk in, walk out and then deliver your lines. I had fun directing it.
Passion brought you this far, but how good is the pay?
Theatre is not well funded in Nigeria, unlike what obtains in Nollywood because Nigeria has not fully embraced theatre like what we have in the western world where theatre is part of their lives. A play comes and you see people rushing to buy tickets and all that. But what do we have here? By the time you put a price tag to what we are doing, you will be shocked at the number of people you will see. But in Nigeria, we have not really valued the theatre; so we don’t see many people part with so much cash.
So you guys are just doing it for the passion?
Yes, for the passion. But we would really appreciate it if the funding could get better because I have got three kids, two in the secondary school and a baby. They have to go to school. I can’t go home and tell them that I have a passion, let’s feed on the passion. Of course, I have a husband, but I have to support him. That is one person I really love and admire so much. I respect him; he is with the baby now. If not for his support, things would have been very difficult.
What would you tell a young person who wants to walk the same path you have chosen?
Always be ready to work, as acting is not a profession for lazy people. It takes a lot of hard work. You have to be ready to work. There are times that I don’t even sleep for days and nights because I have to get what I am doing right. Whatever one is doing, (they should bear in mind that) what is worth doing is worth doing right. Every time I have an opportunity to do anything, I try to put in my best. It is so amazing that the generation that is coming up today always looks at the glamour; ‘oh I want to be a star, I want to be on the red carpet’. Don’t look at the glamour. Another thing is, enjoy what you do. Find pleasure and delight in what you do. At the end of the day, the money will come. In the long run, people will look for you if you are good.
Have you explored radio drama?
We do radio drama, too. We did our last recording last week. JRT also works with Search for Common Ground, and presently we are doing a series on the election, election violence and so on.
Do you write?
No, I don’t. But I just help colleagues who come asking for my input.
Have you had course to reject scripts?
No, one thing I have noticed is that my scripts select me. I see the script and I just fall in love with the character.
You are doing three stage plays in one week; how do you differentiate the lines; how do you even internalise them?
There is one major person that inspires me and that is the Holy Spirit. I didn’t study theatre arts. Someone was trying to tell me the difference between the character I played on Monday and the one I played on Tuesday, analysing it and I was like, really, I didn’t know all that. I do a lot of research as well and try to understand the character in question, the context, who the person is, the social and psychological makeup. I try to do a character analysis of whoever the person in question is; who is this person? What does he do? What does he stand for? What is the person’s relationship with other actors? What is the importance of this role within the context of the play? I try to go into the playwright’s mind. Of course, you can’t do that 100 per cent. Then you try and take your lines. You try and discipline yourself. Taking in of lines takes a lot. There are some lines that can be a lot. For Last Stand, Sefi Atta wanted her lines verbatim; no improvisation. And that was tough. I remember during our rehearsals that our director would sit and check. If you had to say ‘wouldn’t’, you could not say ‘would not’. That brought out the best in us anyway; it helped us and till today I am still checking out the script. And that is one thing I like: excellence. Someone has gone out of her way to write a script. As much as possible, she wants it to be well delivered, so it is my assignment to make sure I get her lines. I have to do whatever it takes.
