Designing a Theatre Curriculum for Vocational Arts Training Centres in Kano State

Vocational arts training in Kano State needs a structured theatre curriculum that equips young practitioners with marketable skills for the entertainment industry, cultural institutions, and community development organisations. This study designed a theatre curriculum for Vocational Arts Training Centres in Kano State, North West Nigeria. A professional curriculum design methodology was employed, drawing on a skills demand assessment of 40 entertainment and cultural employers in Kano, structured consultations with 12 senior theatre practitioners and 8 vocational curriculum specialists, and benchmarking against comparable West African vocational theatre programmes from Ghana and Senegal. Employer assessment confirmed that stage management, lighting design, costume construction, and scriptwriting were the four most in-demand technical theatre competencies in the Kano entertainment sector. The curriculum designed covers 18 months of full-time study organised in three progressive stages: foundational performance skills, technical theatre specialisation, and professional practice. Each module includes practical project-based assessments linked to local industry partners. Expert review by nine theatre education and vocational training specialists confirmed the curriculum's industry alignment. The study recommends implementation by Kano State Artisans and Vocational Training Board with SMEDAN support for workshop equipment, annual curriculum review incorporating employer feedback, and establishing a graduate employment tracking system to measure vocational training outcomes.

Keywords: theatre curriculum, vocational training, Kano State, arts education, theatre skills