TUNDE ALADESE (HEAD WRITER OF HOTEL MAJESTIC) COVERS MANIA MAGAZINE - AMVCA 2015 EDITION

Tunde Aladese is a writer, actor, model and singer who has worked in the Nigerian entertainment industry for over a decade, writing for magazines, television, film and stage, as well as performing on film and stage...

Writing since childhood, Tunde is comfortable with both prose and screenplay forms of writing, She has worked professionally as a writer since 2003 when, after a stint with fledgling radio production company Wiring Africa, she was invited to participate in a workshop to develop the BBC/DFID radio drama series ‘Story Story’.

She was invited back to work on Season 2 of the series and then got the opportunity to cut her teeth on TV drama ‘The Station’, an NGO funded series set in a television news station and aired on the NTA network service, writing 3 of the 13 episodes of the season. In the second season of the series, she worked as Assistant Head Writer on the project, while also getting the opportunity to work on 2 seasons of MNet Nigeria local production ‘Edge of Paradise’, a family drama that aired across the sub-Saharan continent of Africa.

During this time, Tunde also wrote articles for Farafina Magazine, as well as publishing critically acclaimed short story ‘Three Women in the Sky’. She also joined True Love, women’s lifestyle magazine as a freelance writer, conducting both celebrity interviews and human interest articles on a variety of subjects.

Over the next few years, Tunde worked on a number of different film and television projects in varying capacities- consulting, developing, or just writing- including the third Amstel Malta Box Office film – The Child, a period piece with fantasy elements set in the old Benin kingdom. She also found time to write Oluronbi, a musical for the stage based on a Yoruba folk tale, and join the writing team for the Nigerian Vagina Monologues, notably writing the popular monologues ‘Family Meeting’, ‘Re-Vulva’ and ‘Maintenance Culture’ amongst others.

In 2007, Tunde began work both as an associate producer on talk show Moments with Mo, working on the first 2 seasons, and as a writer on Tinsel, Nigeria’s first daily soap. In 2010, she became Script Editor on Tinsel and three months later had to take over as Head Writer when the position was vacated, while still juggling script editing duties. She served as Head Writer on the series for four years, vacating the position in September 2014.

In 2013, Tunde wrote for the MTV Staying Alive series Shuga, writing episodes 2 and 7 of an 8 episode story season.

Tunde’s work writing for the Nigerian Vagina Monologues led to an invitation to join the cast of the first run of performance in 2008, in both Lagos and Abuja. She was invited back for the 2010 performance. Her performances in these brought about an offer to play the part of Isabella in Kenneth Gyang’s film, Confusion Na Wa. The role led to a Best Supporting Actress win at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards in New York in 2013 and an AMVCA 2015 Best Supporting Actress nomination.

 She has been offered a role in Kenneth Gyang’s follow up film ‘This is Lagos’.

Over the years, Tunde has given talks on Creative Writing as part of a Future Awards initiative, having been nominated for a Writer of the Year award in the inaugural edition of the awards.

In December 2013, Tunde was invited to Aso Rock for the Future Awards Africa’s Best 100, a celebration of 100 previous nominees and award winners who have since gone on to fulfill their expected potential and are seen as Guardians of the Future.

Tunde is the head writer for the new TV series Hotel Majestic.