Consultant - Theatrical Group for Popular Theatre Production and Performance at Christian Aid

Type of Contract: Short-term Consultancy

Background and Contextual Understanding

• Collective Action for Adolescent Girls Initiative (CAAGI) is a Christian Aid funded programme that aims to improve significantly the choices and opportunities available for adolescent girls in Northern Nigeria to live productive and meaningful lives.
• Implemented in Kaduna state in partnership with Gender Awareness Trust (GAT) and Development and Peace Initiative (DPI), it seeks to change individual and societal behaviours, attitudes and perceptions that hamper the opportunities of girls, by using the strong influence of religion through religious leaders as enablers to facilitate this change.
• CAAGI is focused on addressing practices around early marriage, lack of access to education and economic empowerment for adolescent girls.
• Key stakeholders involved in this initiative are religious leaders of the two majorly practiced religions in Nigeria – Islam and Christianity –, parents of adolescent girls, traditional leaders and adolescent girls themselves. It seeks to achieve its aim by supporting faith actors and faith based institutions at community, state and national levels as appropriate to take action around those issues.
• Equally important are policy makers at community, state and national levels who can facilitate change through key policies such as the passing of the Child Rights Act in Kaduna state that will strengthen the drive to improve the choices of girls.
• The project’s outcome is seen in behavioural changes as well as a shift in cultural practices that re-enforce gender discrimination/inequality.

Purpose of the Consultancy

• The purpose of the consultancy is to use theatre to depict, directly address and stimulate action around the key issues of access to education, economic empowerment and early marriage as they affect the development of adolescent girls in Kaduna state. This will be used to commemorate the 2017 International Day of the Girl Child.
• Specific objectives of the consultancy
• Increase the understanding of the religious and cultural contexts or underlying dynamics that influence societal and individual behaviour and attitudes around the three key issues of education, early marriage and economic empowerment of adolescent girls.
• Increase the understanding of how the issues of early marriage, lack of access to education and economic empowerment adversely affect adolescent girls’ development and the larger society as a result.
• Support advocacy for the passing of the Child Rights Act in Kaduna state
• Suggest actions for key stakeholders to take to cause an individual and societal shift in attitude and practices, including how Muslim and Christian leaders/actors can collectively cause a change.

Methodology

• The production should be research/evidence-based. The development of the production should mimic participatory theatre to the extent to which is realistic in this context; working with the real stories of individuals within CAAGI’s target areas.
• A rapid desk review using project documents in essential as the solutions being depicted should come from a total understanding of the project’s objectives and proposed methods.

Consultancy Responsibilities

• Concept development and script-writing
• Auditioning and identification of actors and all relevant personnel
• Provision of all required props
• Coordination of rehearsals and preparation for performance
• Management and coordination of group on performance day to ensure it is hitch free and delivered professionally and to high standard.

Deliverables

• A concept and comprehensive script submitted to and approved by Christian Aid before use.
• A pre-performance presentation of the drama to Christian Aid staff two weeks ahead to demonstrate readiness.
• A high-quality and professionally presented theatre production to a wider audience in Kaduna state.

Consultant Competencies

• Christian Aid is seeking a professional, experienced and already established theatrical group with expertise in popular theatre.
• The theatrical group must have an already existing pool of artists and personnel including costumier, make up, stage manager, script-writer and director.
• The group must have within their pool personnel with experience in script and concept development, stage performance and directing.
• In addition, knowledge of the context of Kaduna and these issues is desirable.

Budget and Terms of Engagement

• Christian Aid will pay the cost for venue for the performance.
• All production costs incurred will be covered from the consultancy fee.
• 10% withholding tax will be deducted at source from the total cost of the consultancy fee for a firm.
• 60% of the consultancy fee will be paid when the contract is signed, and the balance paid on final satisfactory performance.

Interested and qualified groups should submit a proposal to: ngprocurement@christian-aid.org with "Popular Theatre Production and Performance" as the subject of the mail.

The proposal should include the following:

• A not more than 2-page overview of applicant’s relevant experience and expertise, showing evidence of being an already established theatrical group with key personnel who have relevant experience.
• Proposed methodology, work plan and budget
• If available, include links to previous work or reviews of previous work as relevant