A playwrighting festival, some hip productions and an industry veteran's expertise – just a few of the plans hoping to breathe new life into Bermuda's theatre scene.

Nigerian-born Niyi Coker has partnered with the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts in hopes of encouraging growth here and getting talented Bermudians to work on the international scene.

He will also play a leading role in the development of the Bermuda Youth Playwrighting Festival, which will debut this autumn, said the centre's manager Emilygail Dill.

"We have been formulating what the future of the art centre would look like, as we have been looking at programmes that would certainly advance the arts in the community and sort of be available to the community as a whole as well as co-curricular in the educational process," said Dr. Dill.

The Playwrighting Festival aims to involve nearly a dozen ten-minute plays. Dr. Coker said winning entries would be taken to New York, so that the writers and actors can gain international exposure.

"I think that is essentially one of the ways to allow people to get experience through writing, because you'd be amazed at what comes out," he said.

"That's always really powerful, so I am looking forward to seeing some of those scripts, because I think that once there is a culture for writing and performing, it very quickly leads to people wanting to pick up a camera and that is how documentaries are born.

"It teaches people a lot, especially the older people – there is something to be said about the honesty, as it always comes out in their [young people's] work."

Dr. Coker is the E. Desmond Lee professor in the Department of Theatre, Dance and Media Studies at the University of Missouri, St. Louis.

He was on the Island recently for the Bermuda International Film Festival.

There are also plans to launch a youth empowerment series, he said.

"We are bringing in young artists from overseas that could be from the same socio-economic backgrounds as some of our more challenged students, but who have honed their crafts."

Added Dr. Dill: "It is so that our kids can see these kids [perform]. Sometimes in Bermuda you can get a false sense of accomplishment, because it is easy to become a big fish in a little pond."

She said the aim is to also use the arts as a way of conveying a constructive message. "You can teach, you can talk, but there is something that happens in that dark room when you are imparting a message through film or theatre.

"It can speak to people in ways that just can't happen in other forms of communication and we're hoping to see that happen."

Dr. Coker will present his own play, 'Preemptive', at Ruth Seaton this autumn as part of a tour that includes Barbados, Nigeria, Ghana and England. He stressed the importance of honing technical skills as well as acting and singing talents.

"There are some members of our faculty that are leaders in industry and costume design," he said.

"They design for several Broadway outfits; senior lighting designers, who use the current production as their workshop tool."

He recalled an earlier conversation in which Ruth Seaton James subcommittee chairman Rotimi Martins lamented the lack of interest in providing technical assistance for productions at the Devonshire facility.

Dr. Dill added: "We really have to focus more on theatre tech. I look at the resurgence of tourism and there are slots for entertainment. If we don't cultivate, we'll have to end up importing all of our workers.

"I think the problem in Bermuda is that most of our artists have to have another job and are not able to fully hone their talents.

"The one thing I tell students [is], as a technician if you are good at what you do, you are always working, but as an actor or actress you have to wait for that part."

Bermuda has a great opportunity to build a viable arts base, Dr. Dill said.

"If you look at New York, there was nothing there, but someone decided to do something. We have the potential to create that here."

For further information telephone 296-5278 or send an e-mail, emdill@cedarbridge.doe.bm