BusinessDay 23 Mar 2018

Friday 23 March 2018
26 BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
‘You need at least a budget of about
N30m to stage a musical in Nigeria’
From being a beneficiary of the MTN Foundation MUSON scholarship a few years ago to directing some of the best musical-theater performances
across the country today, AYO AJAYI, executive director of Declassical Arts & Entertainment, has proven himself. At the recently held Love
Colours Valentine Concert organised by MUSON School of Music Alumni and MTN Foundation, OBINNA EMELIKE caught up with him.
Can you tell us bit about yourself?
am Ayodeji Mayowa Oluwatosin
Ajayi widely known as Ayo Ajayi.
I am an MTNF/MUSON scholar,
a theater/music producer and
director. I am the executive director
of Declassical Arts & Entertainment,
the producer of Ununcha the Musical
for the Face of Okija 2017, GULA and
Fela: Arrest the Music. As well, I am the
president of MUSON School Alumni
Association, musical director of Voices
& Chords and the assistant organist at
Christ Apostolic Church, Yaba, Lagos.
How did you get to know about MTN
Foundation/MUSON Scholarship
opportunity?
I have attended some institutions before
the MUSON Diploma programme
started but I did not find fulfillment. I
was offering music classes to people
in my church and people invited me to
teach them theory of music or train their
choir. I met late Stephen Olarinde, a
choirmaster of a Catholic church then. I
was training him and his members and
also preparing them for MUSON certificate
examinations. He heard about
the MTNF scholarship first and notified
me and I applied. Agatha Ibeazor,
our famous PHD holder in view, was a
member of that choir I was training and
she also came in for the programme but
a year after us.
What has been your most memorable
Valentine concert?
There are two notable events that happened
last year. I was listening to Perpie;
our celebrity soulful Saxophonist, play
‘I’ll always love you’ during her rehearsals.
But the sound did not come across
the way I am used to hear her sound, so
I knew something was wrong. I called
her to replace the tenor saxophone with
the more sonorous soprano saxophone
that I know she had gotten used to. She
objected at first. She reluctantly had to
drive all the way home to get her soprano
sax and her performance became
the highlight of the event as her sound
transported people to realms beyond
where love is inherent. The second
is at MUSON where we are more at
home with our conservative concerts,
but last year we did a total revamp of
the concert, from aesthetic value to the
nature of content which now includes
performances like the spoken word and
dance. We thought we were being radi-
cal but the MUSON Board commended
us for the initiative. Thanks to my team,
which include Raphael Francis, Perpetual
Atife and Joshua David.
What are some of the activities you
engage in as alumni?
We started a programme for schools
called Concert for Stars. The programme
brings students from all the
schools in a certain locality to converge
at one venue and perform together with
members of the alumni. We believe in
the future of these children and the
right exposure from a young age. This
informed generation will help correct
the anomalies in the music industry.
We have done three editions at Pinefield
School, Kings College and Halifield College.
But like every other good innovation,
the project requires sponsorship.
How did you become the music director
at Wakaa and Saro The Musical?
SARO the Musical is a big project. A
big thank you goes to Bolanle Austen-
Peters for having me on this project.
While trying to create this fan favourite
musical, we had no Nigerian template
to replicate. I remember we were watching
Les Miserables, Phantom of the
Opera and some other musicals just
to get a much needed structure. As the
musical director, I had to research and
find or write songs that are suitable for
each of the scenes, arrange the scores to
blend seamlessly into the scenes which
are not easy tasks to perform. The work
The Eve goes to cinema on March 29th
Cut24 Productions is set
to release a new Nollywood
blockbuster titled
“The Eve”. The new romantic
comedy, which chronicles
the days leading up to a supposed
“happy couple’s” wedding day
features a stellar cast and is directed
by Tosin Igho, a rapper turned
director.
Ayo Ajayi
Currently slated to hit cinemas
nationwide on March 29, 2018,
“The Eve” comes hot on the heels
of other successful productions
from Cut24 including the critically
acclaimed Gidi Blues & 4th Estate.
The Eve follows a young couple,
Funsho and Yewande who
have shockingly varying personalities,
and are set to get married
of a musical director in Nigeria is broad.
Most producers do not understand that
they need song writers, orchestrators
and so on. The Nigerian musical director
is responsible for all these complex
duties. Same it was with SARO. I am glad
I did all that because the experience
from it has really helped in my personal
productions.
How challenging is the job of a musical
director?
The first hurdle I had to cross being
a musical director was organising a
team of musicians who will give life
to the theater performance. I set to
do this by inviting friends who would
share in the vision of the producer
and who have enough expertise to
transport their musical knowledge
into the theatre sphere. At first,
many of them struggled to adapt
to the rigours of theatre being men
who got paid by the hour. Another
challenge was trying to interpret and
express what you play in relation to a
scene playing out in front of you. This
requires great mental coordination
and a high level proficiency on the
instrument. Unfortunately, these are
just the two major things that most
Nigerian musicians lack but I was
able to gather a team of professionals
who adapted in very little time.
So, we put together the best crop of
musicians well suited to theatre in
the country and they have been irreplaceable
till date.
What major productions have you
been involved with?
Aside directing music for theater, I
have three productions to my credit.
They are Fela: Arrest the Music, this
showed at the MUSON festival 2016
and African International Film Festival
(AFRIFF) same year, GULA that I jointly
produced with Tunde Oduwole in 2017
and Ununcha the Musical, which I produced
for the Obijackson Foundation
at the Face of Okija 2017 in Anambra
State. Ununcha the Musical and GULA
will be coming back on stage later in
the year. At the preview of SARO the
musical, I remember one of the invited
celebrities was just so thrilled about the
theme music. I was home one morning
when I received Mrs. Austen-Peters’
call telling me how everyone including
her husband and daughter seem to be
exhilarated at the sensational SARO
theme song. I think aside that, I have
directed music in many productions.
My greatest joy is that I have been able
to leave an indelible mark in this space.
I hear many lovely theme songs in the
style of film scores today and I look back
at when we started, there was practically
nothing like it.
You studied Computer Science, has
it in any way enhanced your interest
in music?
When we started working on SARO
the Musical, we had to think about
new possibilities of getting clean,
crisp sound for the production unlike
the regular theater speech amplifications.
It was really challenging as
many of the things we were taught in
school were more of theoretical than
practical. However, this was a new
job and a vacuum needed to be filled,
not just by anybody but someone
who had in-depth knowledge. The
responsibility automatically fell on
me and my understanding helped
a lot because I was able to communicate
effectively the desires and
expectations of the production crew
in the right language to the technical
crew. This kick-started the era of good
sound for theater productions at
Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions
and other production companies
who embraced the new order. So, for
me, choosing the science was not a
mistake. I still apply the knowledge
to date in my recording studio and
productions.
in a few days. Just before the wedding,
Funsho and his three childhood
friends set out to treat the
groom to one blissful getaway and
a Bachelor’s eve. Things quickly go
south and the events and revelations
that unfold ultimately raise
more questions than answers for
the couple.
The movie will explore various
themes and genres through
its under two hours runtime and
the audience is set to be treated
to various musical numbers as the
movie has been compared to Nollywood’s
response to modern Disney
classics.
The movie will also become the
first Nollywood movie to tackle
homophobia as part of its subplot.
How can youths be encouraged to
make career out of music and theatre?
You need at least a budget of about
N30,000,000 (thirty million naira) to
stage a musical in Nigeria. Where would
that come from? There are many beautiful
productions rotting in the minds of
the carriers for lack of funds. The politicians
have failed to put the necessary infrastructures
in place for the promotion
of arts and theatre. I went to the Theater
of her Royal Majesty at the Westend to
see the Phantom of the Opera and some
other musical shows. I was not only sad
but I was angry in my spirit at the same
time. We do not have proper theaters in
the country, we lack infrastructure and
these things cannot be put together by
an individual because they are really
expensive. I think the government and
private investors need to invest in infrastructure
in order to make theatre more
appealing and believable. Beside the
government, I also think many corporate
organisations can also contribute
a great deal. Musical theatre is the real
deal. Invest in it and help both big and
evolving production companies grow.
Nigerians are talented and theater is
a space that will employ many youths.
How was your experience while undergoing
the diploma programme
at MUSON?
After my entrance examination at
MUSON Diploma School as a pioneer
student, I had passed excellently
in my theory, failed woefully in my
history like all others anyways, and
soared through my practical auditions
like an eagle. There was then a
moment of silence, no communication.
I assumed even the school was
scared of telling us how much we
were to pay as tuition, so 25 of us
were back to square one thinking
that the Diploma course was just a
mirage. Later on that same month,
news started spreading that the
course would go on because MTN
Foundation has decided to pay for
the programme. It seemed too good
to be true at first because I thought
who would just wake up in our society
and pay other people’s children
school fees? To cut the long story
short, it happened and we got the
best tutelage ever without travelling
aboard, we also got study materials
for free. Isn’t that just a miracle?
The cast features some of Nollywood’s
leading women including;
Beverly Naya, Meg Otanwa, Ronke
Oshodi and Hauwa Allahbura.
According to Femi Odugbemi,
the executive producer, “Passion,
longing and heartbreak are familiar
themes to viewers all around
the world, but “The Eve” comes
with fresh perspective.”