Dramatists in the Nigerian and by extension African theatre space through their works have shown and are showing little or no sign of servitude to the western theatrical modes. This is an attestation to the creative efforts of these individuals especially the academics, who propound and experiment with theatrical styles that can resonate with the African people. To start with, Efua Sutherland adapted a folklore of the Ga people of Ghana, 'Ananse' to theorize 'Anansegoro' which she experimented in writing and staging her play Marriage of Anansewa in 1971 which Rotimi (2001, p.4) says is an action borne out of her “search for a form of drama that is at once modern and intrinsically African”. Equally, Sam Ukala modeled his play e Placenta of Death aer his theory 'Folkism', which he called an indigenous dramatic aesthetic principle that is typical African in content and form (Ukala, 2007, p.33). Deducing from the theatrical exploits of Sutherland and Ukala, we can note that African dramatists and theatre practitioners are exploring the world of avant-gardism. To further buttress this, Adeoye (2012, p.28) enumerates various experimental modes of theatrical presentation by some Nigerian dramatists such as Ola Rotimi's Festival theatre, J.P Clark's Neo-classical theatre and ritual aesthetics, Ojo Rasaki's Total theatre Performativity, S.E Ododo's Facekuerade theatre, Segun Oyekunle and Tunde Fatunde's theatre on the wheel of Pidgin etc. These African theatre avant-gardes focus on creating new theatre ideology with a direct connection to their cultural milieu and social happenings. is can be said to be in tandem with the position of Sell (2008, p.206) that “avant-garde focused on performance not simply as a theoretical principle, but also as an activist lever, a kind of selfcontained…recipe for social action”. Nonetheless, a larger percentage of these dramatists prioritise the content of the 
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drama while only few experiment with both form and content. Another dimension is that not all of them have a well formulated and written document guiding their works because some of the aforementioned styles are just deductions or coinage of critics who frequently experience the theatrical practices of these scholar-artists/practitioners. is paper therefore explores the performance structure and aesthetics of 'Neo-alienation theatre' as propounded and experimented by AbdulRasheed Adeoye through e Smart Game: A Neo-alienation script. It also examines the responsibilities and relationships between performers and the audience in this theatre.
What is Neo-Alienation?  Apparently, 'Alienation' is not a new word neither is 'Neo'. But for the purpose of scholarship, the two words will be dened. e Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English denes “Neo” “a recent or later kind of a former system style”. e same dictionary however denes “Alienation” as “the feeling of not being part of a society or a group; separation from a person who you used to be friendly with” . e above denitions are somewhat pointers to what Neo-Alienation tends to represent. Meanwhile, Adeoye (2009, p.vi) discloses that Neo-Alienation “is a new theatre style that necessarily revisits, remolds and reworks Brecht's alienation effect”. He further explains that “it seeks to create the African festival theatre and the epic theatre of the western world into one unique performance motif where the artistic director is in total control of the theatre” . Before we dwell much into the style, let us comment on the meaning of 'Neo' and 'Alienation' as posited by the Longman Dictionary of the Contemporary English, in consonance with the muse that informed  the exponent of the style. Alienation is not a new word in theatre parlance because it was propounded by Bertolt Brecht, a German playwright, director and theatre experimentalist in his Epic theatre as Verfremdungs Effekt –a German term, which means distancing, defarmliarisation, estrangement and disassociation of the theatre audience in the course of watching the play. He submits that the theatre audience should watch a theatre performance dispassionately; without any emotion involved or attached to it (performance). He maintained that they should apply reasoning while the story and actions unfold onstage with the aim of making personal judgment about the experience. Given that Neo is the recent of a later kind of a style, Adeoye moves away from the alienation effect postulated by Brecht to invent his own style. Adeoye (2009, p. vi) avers that Neo-Alienation “resists alienating yourself'. rough his words, it is understandably clear that Neo-Alienation is an offshoot of the alienation effect. Having provided background information on the intention of the propounder on the style, it can then be simply deduced 25 Exploring eatre of Performance and Responsibility in AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye's Neo-Alienation Style that the style is a “theatre of performance rather than the theatre of literature”. On this, Adeoye buttresses that Neo-Alienation style seeks for a decline in the use of long dialogue in performance and then introduces “a theatre in which every spoken word is capable of numerous meanings”. He notes that: As conceptualised, the Neo-alienation theatre is a theatre of contrast and that which must create an alternative vision in the stage iconography. This theatre, to all intents and purposes, relies heavily on the theatre of performance rather than theatre of literature. Neo-alienation is a realistic reworking of the robust African festival theatre which aesthetically celebrates the total theatre idiom while benetting at the same time from the Aristotelian empathy as creatively adopted by …Stanislavski. Corroboratively, Ugwu and Orjinta (2013, p.79) assert that a relevant African theatre is the type that is skillfully hybridized and synthesises Nigerian indigenous theatre forms and the Western oriented dramatic conventions, in such a way that the Nigerian elements constitute the dominant and basic structural frame of the artistic combination.  It is however imperative to examine the script used to experiment with the theatrical style, e Smart Game. erein, Adeoye submits 'Twelve Aesthetics' that constitute the structure of Neo-Alienation theatre and they are: 1. The Aesthetics of theme Song of Audience/players' systemic fraternization. 2. Multiple Role-Playing Aesthetics 3. e Aesthetics of Artistic Deconstruction 4. e Aesthetics of Human Props and Demystication 5. The Multiple Narrator Aesthetics 6. Thee Aesthetics of De-technicalisation 7. On Stage Make-up and Costuming Aesthetics 8. The Aesthetics of Complete Instrumentation on Stage. 9. Photoramic/Captions' Aesthetics 10. e Modern Operatic Aesthetics 11. Trado-Modern Dance Aesthetics 12. The Critical Recalling Curtain Call Aesthetics. e Smart Game is a play that exposes social evils, specically prostitution and adultery as they relate to poverty. It also explores other germane social issues such as bribery and corruption etc which are regarded as the bane of social and economic development in Nigeria. It revolves around a family headed by Oloriebi whose wife Ebun, goes into 26 African Culture and Performance Dynamics in the Dramaturgy of AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye prostitution as a way of alleviating herself and family from poverty. Her waywardness makes her to meet chief Olowolayemo who at the same time is a capitalist. He uses his power to oppress the less privileged, as he extends it to occupy a land belonging to Oloriebi Ebun's husband. Afterwards, he realizes that Ebun is married to Oloriebi, he then gives her a charm to use on him which therefore leads to Oloriebi's demise. Thus, Olowolayemo is ready to marry Ebun who contrarily is furious about the death of her husband as a result of the charm she collects from Olowolayemo. Ebun kills Olowolayemo in the same way as that of her husband Oloriebi and is arrested by the police for murder.
Exploring Neo-Alienation through e Smart Game The Aesthetic of eme Song of audience/Player Systemic Fraternisation Adeoye (2009, p.viii) explains that this “calls for a systemic theme song and other catchy phrases at the beginning of the play, the shaking of audience hand and the distribution of hand bills. e aesthetic of theme song of the audience and player systemic fraternization is achieved or incorporated in the rst action of the play titled “Rumbling Tongue”. e theme song, titled 'First Song of the Play' emphasises thus: eatre is the house of truth. And what you are about to see and to watch is nothing but the truth and the essence of our being bury your head in deep thought LEARN greatly still Do not alienate yourself (2ce) From this artistic experience, theme song portends that audience should learn from the story and see all the actions on stage as exact picture of the original. 
Multiple Role-Playing Aesthetics is aesthetics shows a direct connection to the performance construction of storytelling in Africa in which participants are assigned multiple roles to foster the plot of the story. In this aesthetics, performers are not expected to xate themselves to a single character, rather they should be ready to assume additional roles within a single performance. e Smart Game provides us with an apt example, characters like Surveyor Wale, Akin, Chief Olowolayemo, Lead Drummer, Nike, Babalawo, Hassan among others played more than a single role (Adeoye, 2009, p.xi). For instance, Surveyor Wale starts as Player One and then assumes the role of First Police. is succinctly means that he assumes three vital roles. Just like in the African storytelling performance, performers voluntarily assume and play additional roles in order to advance the plot. To validate this, players unanimously agree to perform e Smart Game aer series of disagreement on the choice of story, thus they begin to assume their second roles. 27 Exploring eatre of Performance and Responsibility in AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye's Neo-Alienation Style  Akin: I am the husband of the Ajuba woman but call me Mr. Oloriebi. All: Mr. Oloriebi, carry on with your role. Kike and Gbenga: (Walking out of the stage) We are your children and we are going to  the school… Oloriebi: I am your father and don't come home late from school. The rest of you should (Pointing to stage-le) watch the play and comment on it. The Aesthetics of Artistic Deconstruction e structural formation of Neo-alienation indicates a remake and merger of related and unrelated theatre concepts or theories into an integrated whole for a performance centered theatre. Neo-alienation style reworks Brechtian alienation and Stanislavskian emotional involvement (empathy) and truth within the paradigm of African festival theatre.  e essence of this can be said to be an artistic search for a unique way of synchronizing the vital elements of these three concepts in creating a new theatrical experience. Let us examine how Adeoye unies African festival theatre, Alienation and emotional truth. As the drum rolls affectionately from the open space in the orchestra pit, a creatively dramatic, lively and visible…orchestra populated by eager and enthusiastic Thespians contest for space in the auditorium. They are singing and distributing handbills of the First Song of the Play to the audience to ring the bell of audience/players systemic fraternisation. Simultaneously, Two Masked Players, donning white cardboards with the major inscriptions of the song clearly written on the front and back of the cardboards move slowly to the rhythm of the song and beat to the stage…  (Adeoye, 2009,p.1) A careful digestion of the above stage direction will give a clear understanding that the play opens with dance and music engagement of all the players relating with the audience which is typical of African performance attributes. A typical African festival performance incorporates dance, music and audience participation to sustain the performance mood. Furthermore, the adoption of Brechtian alienation which is however reworked becomes apparent when Two Masked Players wearing cardboards inscribed with the First song dance rhythmically to the stage. e fraternisation between the audience and the players is an element of truth which according to Stanislavsky is an important factor to creating an appearance of reality or truth on stage (Sawoski, n.d, p.7). Another perception to artistic deconstruction in Neo-alienation is a break away from the conventional mode of opening a curtain for performance. Deducing from the above excerpt, one will discover that the play begins from the audience space before moving to the 28 African Culture and Performance Dynamics in the Dramaturgy of AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye stage. This therefore, suggests that neo-alienation adopts procession,which has been acknowledged as one of the identities of Africa festival theatre, as a performance technique. The Aesthetics of Human Props and Demystication The use of performers as props onstage further accentuates that Neo alienation demysties and nullies the adoption of stage hands for a theatrical production. It announces a non-reliant approach on materials for stage properties and objecties performers for props. This is believed to be a way to further accommodate more players in the performance and ensure smooth transition of scenes. This is exemplied in the script and production of e Smart Game as thus: A Bar Inside Hotel De Love Miming session for the arrangement of human beings as chairs and tables at stage le… Chief Olowolayemo is conspicuously placed in the bar. Costumers are busy drinking drinking and dancing …a bubling scenario for chidren of the night (p.28) With this, one could imagine the herculean task expected from the players designated for the role. It is obvious that they are meant to freeze from the beginning of the action to the end in order to achieve the spine of the scene. Equally, this aesthetic poses a challenge to the theatre director in creating a pleasing stage pictures with the human props.Te Multiple Narrator Aesthetics Conventionally, narrator is someone who tells a story but the usage in Neoalienation is for commentary.  In essence, different characters/players are provided with the opportunity of making comments in this theatre. For example, characters like Player One, Player Two, Player ree, Gbenga, Tunji, and others played the role of narrators.  The dialogue of play kicks off with Player One, Player Two and Player ree who dwell on concepts of feminism. This aesthetics is further engraved in the lines of some characters that emphasise this: Gbenga: Now that we have nished with the children's theatre with its natural fangs, shall we then start the story of the superwoman? Nike: (Angry) Stop that today. There is no single storyteller or narrator today. Everybody is everything for everybody here is a narrator, a commentator, a linker of story…(p.4) As enunciated above, the major function of the narrators is to make vital comments in creating the story and building the plot. 29 Exploring eatre of Performance and Responsibility in AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye's Neo-Alienation Style
The Aesthetics of De-technicalisation Neo-alienation shows deance to set construction for dramatic performance. The importance of scenery in a theatrical performance is jettisoned because human beings are designed to perform the role. Players are expected to use their body to demarcate stage areas as an indication of creating locale. The essence is just to create a special attention from the audience about an important scene and also give them an idea of the setting of the action. This is enshrined in the script that: Part of the stage-le, Olowolayemo's office, players demarcate the office from other acting areas with their bodies (p.44) The application of this shows that Adeoye also borrowed from Vsevelod Meyerhold's Biomechanics, looking at the way he objecties players for scenery and props. The On stage Make-up and Costuming Aesthetics This can be called an aesthetic of making the audience to be aware of when player is playing a role or a character in the play. It also makes the beautiful. In “The Smart Game” on stage make up and costuming is presently and aesthetically used. The excerpt in page 10 below will buttress the point raised above: Bola: I will play the Ajuba woman but call me Madam Ebun All:  Madam Ebun get into your costume (p.10) Player one: (calling) Tunji….. Tunji: Yes Player Three: It is your turn to play your part as Chief Olowolayemo. Player One: Change quickly into your roles…(p.23) The excerpt above gives a clear understanding that the players wear their costumes and make-ups onstage. This is born out of the fact that they are all players onstage before playing the assigned role. Aesthetics of Complete Instrumentation Onstage This aesthetics in the Neo-Alienation style has its origin in the African festival theatre. e complete instruments such as drum ensemble, gong, rattle etc are brought to the performance arena as this is to motivate both the actors and the audience during the performance. It is believed that Wole Soyinka is the rst Nigeria to bring onstage a drum ensemble, for the productions of his plays e. g Death and the king's Horseman which has its  30 African Culture and Performance Dynamics in the Dramaturgy of AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye aesthetics in ritual festival. Furthermore, aesthetics of complete instrumentation on stage is equally not a push over among others. Using the stage instruction in page 3 as a reference point: (…Second song of the play which brings the Entire Orchestra- now as Dancers and Drummers to the stage… e drummer as part of Neo-Alienation Aesthetics must lay varieties of sounds… throughout the performance and using the talking drum or its alternative to make proverbs, punctuate the play, advance its plot and comment on important action in the play). It can be deduced from the except above that the aesthetics of complete instrumentation onstage does not only produce sound but also punctuates advance plot and comments on important action in the play. The reason is that, the drummers in the play are also players especially the “Lead Drummer”. It therefore becomes easy for role switching and role playing. The Lead Drummer submits that: Lead Drummer:  (Distorting the lyric of the Second Song of the Play) Don't mind me for expressing my dissatisfaction about roar slow song and the unethical movement of your dance steps. Like birds you should have sung well… Dancers: (Pushing the lead drummer) whose built if we should ask? Drummer: Yours of course (p.3) Photoramic/Captions Aesthetics is aesthetics is synonymous with that of Bertolt Brecht 'Epic theatre' aesthetics. Probably, because Neo-Alienation style is a style that re-invents and recreates the Brechtian alienation effect, the photoramic and caption aesthetics are used to give information about events in a play. In the case of Bertolt Brecht, the photoramic effect is depicted through the use of projector to emphasise scene changing and scenes in his plays. However, the photoramic/caption aesthetics is used in e Smart Game to introduce the play,  and the players to the audience.  It also gives the audience information about the happening in the play. e excerpt below will be used to buttress this position: Rumbling Tongue …Simultaneously, two masked players, singing while cardboards with the major inscriptions of the song clearly written on the point are back of the cardboard…(p.1) is explains that audience is carried along in the Neo-Alienation theatre. They will be able to sing along or read the inscriptions or captions which will at the same time enhance their understanding of the play. 31 Exploring theatre of Performance and Responsibility in AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye's Neo-Alienation Style
the Modern Operatic Aesthetics The reason for this aesthetics is not farfetched, due to the fact that the NeoAlienation has its source from a medley of western theatre tradition and the African festival theatre. The Neo-Alienation theatre is a total theatre in the sense that there is dance, music and drama embedded in it. As a result, the modern operatic aesthetics is prominent in the songs created in the play. For example, the 'First Song of the Play', 'Song of Affluence', 'Song of the Elephant', 'Song of It is Different' etc are well adopted songs incorporated in the course of dramatic actions in the play.Trado-Modern Dance Aesthetics The trado-modern dance is the meddling of the dance tradition of the Africans and the western dance tradition. e Smart Game paves way for the two dance tradition. e traditional dance is depicted by the dancers in page 3. It is obvious that it is a traditional dance with well-choreographed dance steps because the African drum ensemble is at work. The lead drum is prominent here: Dancers: (Pushing the lead Drummer) whose fault if we should ask? Lead Drummer: Yours of course! Dancers: No! You set the pace and dictate the tune, you drum for us and we dance… (p.3) In the same vein, the Trado-Modern dance tradition is unveiled at the Hotel De Love (p.28). Reading through the stage instruction: (… This is over taken by Ebenezer Obey's popular lyric of Alowo Ma Jaye… costumers are busy drinking and dancing…) It is not new that popular dance tradition is the fusion of African and western dance. The performers dance to the popular music which in turn brings about a Trado-Modern dance.The Critical Recalling Curtain Call Aesthetics Curtain Call in the theatre parlance is the dramatic action scene that announces the end of a performance. e critical curtain call aesthetics as the name implies is the calling back of the key players in the play to their normal characters. Going by the position of the playwright in page 69, tagged as the 'Critical Recalling Curtain Call Aesthetic', “Celebration time. Players are running on a spot” Also through each character, this aesthetics will be understood. Nike: (Jumping and coordinating) To end this play, I think we have to return to the 
32 African Culture and Performance Dynamics in the Dramaturgy of AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye basis. All: we are here with you totally, tell us what to do! Nike: where is Chief Olowolayemo? Olowolayemo: (Ghost-like. He enters from backstage) I am here and I thought that I have played my own part. Why are you calling me again? Do you still want us to continue our illicit affairs? e aesthetic of critical recalling curtain call in e Smart Game brings back the characters onstage aer ending  the real story. ey are recalled to give a rethink on their former self. Oloriebi: (Enters from the backstage with a whip) Headren was good place to be but where is Ebun? Ebun: (Pleading) the only thing in my life, the father of my children, forgive me! Renew me! Refresh me! Remarry me! Oloriebi: (moving round) no one Nike's house for she is a prostitute. It can be deduced here that the curtain call aesthetics recalls the actions of the characters and also reconciles the family. This aesthetics advocates for human reasoning and thinking of their misdeeds and inactions.

Conclusion Through this paper, we discover that Neo-Alienation is a theatre of performance, given that its spine of creating stage pictures is foregrounded. This can be further attested to as a result of the pictorial construction of the play as well as the use of dialogues that automatically drive actions. Also, Neo-alienation gives responsibilities to both performers and audience. Apart from the fact that they fraternize, it demands that the audience should believe every action and see it as the exact picture of the original. It also encourages them not to totally drench themselves into the unfolding actions rather reason with the happenings. It however demands that the performers should internalize their roles without relegating their senses in the process.  Essentially, the players in the Neo-Alienation theatre are three; the 'primary audience' (those that came to watch the performance), the 'stage audience' (those players that are placed permanently onstage for activation and reactivation of the production) and the 'player audience' who perform as audience members and comeback to the stage. The NeoAlienation style is a true eclectic and total theatre style. Owing to its structural formation and pictorial possibilities, Neo-alienation is a theatrical concept that directors can adopt. We therefore nalize that it is a skillfully woven theatre of dramatic action, performance, 33 Exploring eatre of Performance and Responsibility in AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye's Neo-Alienation Style
reasoning, responsibility, music, dance, and above all medley of African festival theatre and western theatre. References Adeoye, A.A. (2009). e killers (A Social Drama). Ilorin, Nigeria: Department of the Performing Arts. Adeoye, A. A. (2009). e smart game (A neo-alienation script). Ilorin, Nigeria: Department of the Performing Arts. Adeoye, A.A. (2012). Aesthetics, dramaturgy and directorial poetics of Ayo Akinwale's theatre. In: (ed.) Adeoye, A.A. e dramaturgy of a theatre sociologist. Festschri in honour of Ayo Akinwale, pp. 26-60. Ilorin: Department of the Performing Arts. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. (2008). Oxford: Longman Rotimi, O. (2001) (ed.). The attainment of discovery: Efua Sutherland and the evolution of modern African drama.Issues African eatre. pp. 1-8. Ife: Department of Dramatic Arts. Sawoski, P. (n.d). (2017). e Stanislavki system: Growth and methodology.Second Edition. thRet rieved from e system.  16 November, 2017. https://kupdf.com/stanistlavski Sell, M. (2008).Avant-garde performance and the limits of criticism: Approaching the living theatre, happenings/uxus, and the black arts movement. USA: University of Michigan. Ugwu, I. and Orjinta, I. (2013). Folkism and the search for a relevant Nigerian literary theatre: Sam Ukala's e Placenta of Death and Akpakaland as Paradigms'. Research on humanities and social sciences 3(13): 79-85. Ukala, S. (2007).African theatre: Beast of no gender. Abraka: Delta State University.