Train Where Nigeria's Best Were Trained.
The Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts has prepared working professionals for Nigeria's screen and stage industries since 2009. NBTE-accredited. Internationally benchmarked.
The Academy
The benchmark for professional creative training in Nigeria.
LAPA has trained over a decade of Nigeria's working theatre and screen talent. Our NBTE-accredited Diploma in Performing and Media Arts is the benchmark for professional creative training in Nigeria.
LAPA was founded in 2009 by Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva as the capacity building arm of Lufodo Group. It is licensed by the National Board for Technical Education to award the National Innovative Diploma in Performing and Media Arts — a nationally recognised, internationally benchmarked credential.
The curriculum is practice-based and rigorous, built for secondary-school leavers entering the profession and for working practitioners raising their standard. Students train alongside a working production company with a heritage venue and a four-decade talent network behind it.
Programmes
What we train
Three programme areas, taught to the standard a working production demands.
Programme
Film Production
- Artistic
- Managerial
- Technical
Programme
Live Production and Technical Services
Programme
Fashion Design and Tailoring
Award
National Innovative Diploma
Awarded on completion, in Performing and Media Arts, under NBTE licence.
Programme structure is reviewed each intake. For the current module list, contact hours and intake dates, request the prospectus below.
Inside the Academy
This is what the training looks like.
Seminar, studio, screen craft and showcase — photographed at the Academy and on the Glover Memorial Hall stage.
Track record
Delivering to international standard
LAPA's capacity building work is commissioned by institutional partners who need training delivered to an international benchmark.
Completed · 2023–24
Netflix Grow Africa
A capacity building programme funded through the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, training screen actors and experienced screenwriters to deepen the local talent pool and support Nigerian stories on a global stage.
Training commenced July 2023. Participants worked with industry professionals throughout, culminating in a local production. The audition panel comprised Joke Silva, Femi Odugbemi, Ronya Man and Omonor Somolu; Ronya Man Performing Arts and Accelerate TV joined as technical and creative sponsors.
This programme is closed. It is presented here as evidence of delivery capability, not as an active partnership.
Ongoing
Institutional capacity building
LAPA designs and delivers bespoke training programmes for foundations, development agencies, broadcasters and corporate partners — from short intensives to multi-month cohorts with production outcomes.
Alumni
Where graduates work
LAPA graduates work across Nigerian film, television and theatre — on stage at Glover Memorial Hall, on Lufodo productions, and across the wider industry.
A named alumni directory is in preparation for publication.
Admissions
Apply to LAPA
We train students with and without prior acting experience. Acceptance is not determined solely by performance at audition.
The process
- Submit an admissions enquiry using the form
- We send the current prospectus, intake dates and fee schedule
- Complete and return the application form with supporting documents
- Select an audition date and time slot
- Attend audition and interview
At audition
Applicants prepare and present one dramatic monologue, one poem, and one prose piece by an established writer.
Commission a capacity building programme.
LAPA designs and delivers training to international standard for foundations, development agencies, broadcasters and corporate partners.