Explication and Implications of Approaches to Music Incorporation in Nigerian Plays

Playwright’s concepts of music in drama are typically incorporated in the play text. Music directors and other drama personnel study play texts to acquaint themselves with playwright’s musical vistas and lines for artistic realisation. This study notes and dilates on the approaches by which Nigerian playwrights incorporate music in their plays, by reviewing copious Nigerian plays. This study also outlines the 
implications of the different approaches in terms of merits and limitations in stage drama, based on the researcher’s experience as a trained music composer/arranger and drama music director. The study observes that many Nigerian playwrights have displayed less-professionalism in their approaches to the incorporation of music in plays. The services of trained music composers/arrangers in the process of incorporating music in plays therefore, is considered an important step in the stairway of musical professionalism in modern stage drama presentation. The paper recommends that Nigerian playwrights should make informed choices as to the approaches of incorporating music in plays, considering the implications of the approaches in modern stage drama.