Moses Opobo
15 November 2008
Kampala — THEATRE Factory comedian Hannington Bugingo never thought he would make a living out of drama and acting and almost opted out of the Drama course at university.
HANNINGTON Bugingo still vividly remembers his first call at Makerere University's Music, Dance and Drama department in 2002. He had just been admitted to drama school on government sponsorship, although he had no clue what prospects lay ahead.
"I saw guys under the mango trees, drumming, singing and acting. I knew immediately that I didn't want to do this kind of thing. That day, I went to the Faculty of Social Sciences, picked forms and applied for Social Sciences." As fate would have it, he did not return the forms right away. Had he done that, the hilarious comedian that Bugingo is today would most likely be chasing a different career path.
"I talked to the head of department, Mr Justinian Tamusuza, a Music professor, who took me through the course units of MDD. He told me that I could do a lot after studying it. I could work on radio, on TV, in theater, or as a cultural officer.
He told me that, unlike Social Sciences which I had applied for, MDD was a professional course. Tamusuza helped me to stick to the course and I have never regretted it."
Anybody that has heard the words "Theater Factory" or "Comedy Night" or "Barbed Wire" has definitely heard of Bugingo. He is that short, thick-haired, raspy-voiced character that loves playing the naïve village lad. When on stage, one thing is eminent about Bugi, as Comedy Night-goers fondly call him; his brand of humour is not only for your listening pleasure, but also visual.
At Theatre Factory's comedy nights at the National Theater on Thursday evenings, most of his skits begin with him making a silent but visible presence on stage. A great deal of the laughter from the audience usually begins even before he has opened his mouth to say a single word.
Whether it is standing akimbo, folding his arms across his chest, stroking an assumed beard, faking a yawn, rolling his large eyes, or even if it is just the mere choice of attire he chooses to don, looking at him evokes giggles. All that for a man who, just a few years ago, thought so lowly of acting as a profession.
"At campus I had friends who were doing everybody's dream courses like Law and Mass Communication. Every time we went out for a drink, they would ask me what I was planning to do with my degree after campus. They thought of theatre as something for the uneducated and wondered whether it was even of use to study it."
After his degree, Bugingo's eyes were fixed on anything but mainstream theater. "I was looking at becoming a radio broadcaster because that was the time there was a radio boom." It was the time Philip Luswata, his colleague in Theater Factory and a lecturer at the MDD faculty, consulted him about the idea of starting up a comedy ensemble. "I think he saw the potential in me since he was teaching the acting class. He was looking at something different from the conventional stuff that was being offered in theater."
With only the passion and zeal to make the dream come true, the two teamed up with a few other friends, and off they set.
"We started work from TLC Club in Nakasero. We were fresh from campus and did not have any money. We were still surviving on pocket money from our parents. We would 'foot' to town for the daily rehearsals. Our first audience was actually just four people, and those happened to be the club's owner, Dr. David Torr, and his family."
That was five years ago. The Theater Factory has since moved places, and that is in every sense of the word. From that initial volunteer audience of four, Comedy Night has moved on to become one of the top items on Kampala's night entertainment circuit.
Every Thursday evening, a huge crowd of young Kampalans descend upon the National Theater gardens for 90 minutes of Bugingo and company's hilarious and comedy skits and stand-up.
At first, the show used to take place in the National Theater's Green Room, until an increasingly expanding fan base prompted a relocation to the quadrangle behind the auditorium. Soon, that again proved insufficient, resulting in the move to the more spacious gardens.
"We put up 13 skits every week. Most of them are things we pick up from the news events of the week, and we present them in a humorous way. Otherwise we also get anything that is humorous because we know what would make a person to laugh."
Apart from theater, Bugingo also has his eyes on the large screen. He has acted in a series of movies, the most prominent being The Last King of Scotland, and Kiwani: The Movie early this year. "I am a career dramatist because it is where I get my livelihood. I do radio ads, dramas, scripting and voice-overs. I'm using my stage skills to launch into the movie industry because people are moving towards movies."
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