As back as i can remember i always wanted to be a writer

For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a writer. The novels of Enid Blyton, Roahld Dahl, John D Fitzgerald and Judy Blume fired up my imagination as a kid; in my teens Sidney Sheldon and Jeffery Archer stimulated my solitary life. I would find myself paying attention to the dialogue in the works of David E Kelley and admiring the ingenuity of the characters he created.

My imagination and creativity was one of the Perks of being a wallflower and I began to write my own short stories, unleashing it all, like a genie escaped from a it’s prison. Err , bottle. I dreamed of a career like those writers I admired…I dreamed.

The challenge ? Creativity was often seen as a hobby; something only the select few geniuses are able to do, it is rarely seen or encouraged as a career path, especially in this part of the world. In the 90’s most parents envisioned their wards getting a degree which would enable them work with a big oil company so they could be guaranteed a safe, secure and well-paying job .

Schools divided classes into Science, Arts and in some cases, Commercial (some school collapsed the A&C into one). Most kids were pushed into science courses, where they could prepare to be Engineers or Doctors. Arts was looked down upon, or seen having little prospects that would involve low pay and financial struggle.

But with the growth of Nollywood, actors gaining continent wide fame, multi millions endorsement deals, musicians touring the world and earning some people’s annual salary in one show, it’s the next best thing to having a son that plays for the EPL.

I strongly believe that the secondary school stage, we need a creative class, separate from the arts class.

A class where creative strengths are embraced and harnessed. Where courses like; Music Theory/Practical, Creative Writing, Dance, Performance Arts,Acting etc are part of the curriculum.

What we really need are entire schools dedicated to Creative and Performance Arts.

The school would be only from SS1 — SS3, with an extra optional year to get a diploma or A level. The extra year would be the a Creative Equivalent of The Apprentice, where they are given real world tasks based on their focal interest.

Entry would be on merit, by passing a creative equivalent of Junior WAEC; it may be a practical exam, it may be some form of audition or interview, where they can display their creative leaning/ strength.

Ever seen the movie FAME( 1980 original/2009 remake), that is a great example.

At a Tertiary level we could have the equivalent of Julliard.

Julliard is a performing arts conservatory which currently trains about 800 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded to be one of the world’s finest and most prestigious arts programs.

Juilliard alumni have collectively won more than 105 Grammy Awards, 62 Tony Awards, 47 Emmy Awards, 26 Bessie Awards, 24 Academy Awards, 16 Pulitzer Prizes, and 12 National Medals for the Art

Some of the Alumni are Henry Mancini composer of The Pink Panther Theme. Kevin Spacey(The Usual Suspects,American Beauty), Christopher Reeves(Superman),Jessica Chastain(Zero Dark Thirty),John Williams composer of the Star Wars Themes, and so much more. You can see the calibre of people and what they have achieved. If we can have Private Universities, this is not far fetched.

Imagine what how different the music and film industry would if we had composers and producers with formal training in all aspects music.

Actors that are trained in all the ways and methods that all the acting legends that give those memorable performances, were trained.

Bringing it back home. Fela ,Tunde Kelani,Joke Silva are not where they are today because of “natural talent” alone, they all received years of intense formal training in their specific fields. Need I say more?

Now, are there people without formal training who have been succesful?

YES, but if you check their story, you see discover they toiled, and struggled, taking great personal and financial sacrifices to learn, develop and shape their craft, before it became something to make them stand out, even above those with formal training. It was not something they strolled into after waking up one morning.

Notably, there are brilliant film makers who either never went to film school or dropped out but make amazing films, some being Alfonso Cuaron,Paul Thomas Anderson, Woody Allen and ofcourse Quentin Tarantino.

However, what makes them exceptional is that they are walking encyclopedias of cinema,they have seen, studied,digested and analysed more films from different decades and countries than most people will ever watch, which in it’s self, is an intense informal film school.

With solid infrastructure and legal framework, our creative industry (music/film/tv) has the potential to be the one of the biggest contributors to our GDP. A 2015 Federal Analysis reported that Hollywood adds $700b+ to the US economy,and 2014 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California concluded that the creative industries, including entertainment, visual arts, fashion and publishing, generate $293.8 billion to California’s economy. Imagine what structure in the creative industries could do for our economy.

But first it needs professionals, who have shaped their natural creative talent into a craft and professionalism.

There’s the mistaken assumption that “natural talent” is enough to form a career in the creative industry but that thinking and attitude is why we see so many movies, with bad writing, worse acting, horrendous production values, and why we hear shallow songs,with no content.

People wake up one morning at age 30 with no previous experience in anything creative and decide they want to write, act, sing professionally . They scoff at the idea of getting training,claiming “I have natural talent, why waste money and time to train”

The frightening thing is some of them because of looks, articulation or knowing someone, gain entry and start a career. Watch the gag reels/auditions of any music talent show and you will understand, the film industry also has the equivalent of those we all tune in to laugh at and exclaim “what were they thinking, do they really believe they can sing!!!”

Take a look at any really gifted American actor or singer under the age of 40,from Ryan Gosling to Justin Timberlake, from Michael B Jordan to Chris Brown and you will discover that they had been shaping and harnessing their talent from pre- teen days, into the skill that they are currently use to make a living.

Many had coaches, belonged to talent clubs, some attended performance arts schools, or if they went to regular schools were involved in creative extra-curricular activities. From their formative years they started to pursue, harness and shape their talent into skill. So why do we want to re-invent the wheel?

The creative industry is growing every day resulting in actors and performing artists of Nigerian heritage from the US and UK relocating home to seek a career in films,television and music.

As the next generation prepares to enter the creative world, they need the formal education and training their predecessorss didnt. If we are to take our creative industries to the next level of global relevance, we need to re-think how creativity is nurtured,shaped and harnessed , because no matter how much money is pumped into the industry, no matter the size of the budgets, if we dont get the right mindsets and attitudes, thenext generation will wail and moan about the same issues we have today.