Bunch of Idiots stage four plays at Nakuru players' theatre, only one year in the game
Tony Aswani, the founder of a bunch of Idiots Production during the interview on December 4, 2023.
If there is one lesson to be learnt from the journey of a Bunch of Idiots Productions, it's that, being young and broke should not stop you from chasing your dream.
This has been the motivation behind this young group of people who staged their fourth play at the Nakuru Players’ Theatre last month.
Having started staging plays this year, the group led by their founder and producer Tony Aswani is still adamant that they are going to change the theatre landscape in Nakuru by having Nakuru artists staging world-class plays.
Aswani, with the help of his fellow actors Willy Wanjama and Edwin Mayaka came together to actualize the production group in January this year. They later staged their first show in March.
“Our first show had a budget of Sh15,000 to cater for everything. This turned out to be a challenge as most of the members are young people and most don’t have jobs. So we had to get some of the services on credit,” Aswani says.
He says they were hopeful that they would be able to break even after the show which was not the case, as the group remained in debt.
Aswani reveals that the artists took home Sh 500 after the show which is not enough to appreciate them for the work done to bring the show to a success.
The 25-year-old notes that over time they have been changing their marketing strategies, since they were previously using artists to market the shows which proved ineffective.
Tony Aswani (in black suit) during the showcase of Casanova 2 play at the players' theatre on November 18, 2023.
Having managed to stage four plays this year, Aswani says that they have seen consistent growth over time where Nakuru residents have started to embrace a theatre-going culture.
This has been a great learning lesson for the actors in the group, especially in allowing them to appreciate art as a source of income.
Aswani adds that despite the achievements within the theatre scene in Nakuru, there's a need for more investments to support the industry.
"Improvement of the Nakuru players’ theatre will be necessary in ensuring the artists have a state of the art facility for showcasing their talents and be able to compete with other artists nationally," he notes.
The group began selling tickets for their show at Sh. 200, with the fee increasing overtime to ticketing between Sh. 400 and Sh 500 now.
They have also adapted merchandise selling during their shows to increase their income where the event proceeds go to the group and artists’ pockets.
Asked what the future looks like, Aswani says he looks forward to Nakuru becoming an arts and theatre performances one-stop shop.
“I look forward to the day Nakuru artists can continue to earn a living and grow their art professionally and not just as a hobby.”