24th April, 2015
Funsho Arogundade
Veteran actress, Joke Silva has reiterated that proper and regular training is the only factor that can guarantee longevity in the business of acting.
She disclosed this during a session at this year’s Nigerian Entertainment Conference held at the Marquee of Eko Hotels & Suites.
The Nollywood icon reiterated the need for budding and professional actors to get proper training in order to improve their craft.
“It is very important for actors to get the right education and not only once but throughout their career. If we don’t do this, what we will get is nothing but mediocrity,” she said.
Silva, who kicked off the ‘Teaching And Training Tomorrow’s Talent’ session with a very practical speech, affirmed that training is as important as performance itself.
According to her, the training can take the informal form as in the case of Yoruba Travelling Theatre or a formal, like university courses or at institutes such as Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, which she co-founded with her husband, Olu Jacobs.
To further elaborate her point, she cited an example of when she had a problem understanding a character she played in the stage play For Coloured Girls and had to resort to help from popular director, Ifeoma Fafunwa for some direction.
“I have spent about 34 years as an actor. I have trained several people but I realised that for me to properly understand the character, I needed some extra training. So, I went to someone I was sure understood exactly what that character needed,” she said.
Silva was one of the key industry players who shared her knowledge of the craft at the third annual edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference.