| Sumario: | The Talking Drum Acting System (TDAS) is a decolonized African actor training framework grounded in indigenous performance logics such as rhythm, tonal language, call-and-response, and ancestral invocation. Developed through practice-as-research at Rivers State University, TDAS draws on the communicative capacities of the African talking drum and the directorial legacies of Ola Rotimi, Sam Ukala, Segun Adefila, Effiong Johnson, and Joseph Murungu. Structured in five stages – Invocation, Embodiment, Synchronisation, Transformation, and Projection – the method integrates Afrocentric and diasporic training influences within a culturally embedded, adaptable pedagogy. A comparative workshop involving 16 actors assessed TDAS against conventional methods using director feedback, actor self-reports, and audience ratings. Results show TDAS enhances cultural authenticity, projection, movement, and ensemble cohesion, though challenges include moderating over-performance and sustaining stamina. TDAS contributes to global theatre discourse as a rigorous, codifiable, and evolving methodology rooted in African epistemologies.
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