A NOTE FROM TEAM THESPO Hello there, Theatre peeps! The storm is calm for the moment and we have a few days before we begin to stir another one. The unanimous favorite from Thespo 18, Bhanvar has already made a comeback at January's Thespo At Prithvi. In a few days, on Feb 7 and 8, we have Thespo 17’s stunners Hero and Chitthi respectively. In the meantime, we have been packing up and writing a hundred thank-you notes; the latter is especially important because there's so many of you who've helped this festival be a raging success Friends of Thespo, cross-country volunteers, participants, workshop facilitators and so many more. If you missed the festival, don't fret. We have a collection of memories right in this issue to take you for a walk down memory lane and make sure you save the date for the coming December! 2017 started on a high note for Thespo with the return of Dramabaazi. To find out what Dramabaazi is, read an account by insider Keith Sequeira. In Quick 8, we interview the Internet's latest crush Srishti Shrivastava and Trina Haldar recommends plays to read (from a Director’s mind)! That's it for this month. But we have no chill and by the time we return in March, planning, plotting, and recruitment for Thespo 19 will already have started! So stay tuned!
BUDDING ARTISTS: The Wall of Colours by Keith Sequeira QUICK
8:
Srishti Shrivastava
FRIENDS OF THESPO: Supporting Youth Theatre
WHAT’S ON: Thespo@Prithvi & Natyakala THESPO 18 : A look into the youth theatre festival 2016 THESPO RECOMMENDS : By Trina Haldar
BUDDING ARTISTS
THE WALL OF COLOURS Keith Sequeira shares his views on children’s plays through his experience of recently being a part of one. It came for a brief period before it faded away again. The memory of it, all but forgotten; its name only whispered now, amongst the braver parents upon whom it left an imprint before it vanished. But, in time, their whispering grew persistent, more urgent, and eventually the long arm of their determination stretched three years into the past and plucked It – from memory, towards destiny. It is Dramabaazi.
Dramabaazi began with the idea to snatch children’s roles away from the adults and return them to children. But for this idea to become reality, the children would be required to perform at a professional level. And so the idea grew and developed into a workshop where children and young adolescents would be taught the finer points of performance, character, and presence on stage; all culminating into a full length theatrical performance starring the kids themselves. The play from this edition of Dramabaazi was performed on the 5th of January, 2017 at the Experimental Theatre in the NCPA. And this time the students were all alumni of the previous Dramabaazi workshop. Being older, and having gained considerable life experience over the years, they were already ahead of the game. Older children also meant that the play didn’t have to be a happy one; their maturity could translate into taking on darker roles or setting the play in more sinister times.
And so it came to transpire that The Wall of Colours was written with a dystopian theme. The workshop for the play began just 14 days before show-day. In this time several things had to be done: the actors needed to learn their lines and play their respective characters convincingly, the props had to be sourced and readied, the set, lights and sound had to be designed, and a multitude of other logistical gymnastics too mind boggling to be expressed using the English language with anything but expletives. Show day was quite astonishing for the cast as well as the audience. Something about the presence of spectators seemed to give the actors wings and they played their parts better than at rehearsal – much to their own disbelief. Meanwhile, the audience was much taken aback by the fact that a play with such a bright name as ‘The Wall of Colours’ could be so dark. So, by the time Dramabaazi came to an end everyone was surprised: and pleasantly so (fortunately!).
ABOUT THE PLAY : ‘The Wall of Colours’ is set in a country where its citizens are constantly polarized about the policies of the government; some blindly follow the path, some make do with the changes while others simply oppose them. Within this setting is the National Academy of Arts, a prestigious state funded art institution. As art is often seen as a mirror to society, the government regulations attempt to mold the minds of the young artists to present the country as a beacon of unity and freedom. And amidst this chaos we have 4 students, full of ideas and aspirations, constantly trying to resist the change, which is being forced upon them.
QUICK 8
Srishti Shrivastava is a graduate from The Drama School Mumbai, who has been making waves in the theatre world and the web space. She manages to stand out in Faezeh Jalali’s ‘07/07/07’ and Manav Kaul’s ‘Chuhal’. She is also a popular face in TVF’s Girliyapa.
Quick 8
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Thespo has given birth to many young exciting performers, but we struggle to find corporate support. In a bold and democratic move we look at individuals to support the Movement by creating a membership drive and a community of Thespo-lovers.
While the 18th edition of Thespo’s annual youth theatre festival created a storm this December (2016), we remain grateful to all our Friends who have unfailingly had our back and helped us Storm the Stage with some outstanding youth theatre work!
If you wish to contribute and be a Friend of Thespo, contact us on fot@thespo.org. Let’s make theatre happen ď Š
WHAT’S ON
Thespo’s quest to promote youth theatre has been greatly aided since Thespo began it’s collaboration with Prithvi Theatre in 2007. Thanks to this development, Thespo now curates performances by young theatre practitioners and workshops, which Prithvi lends us space for. ‘Thespo at Prithvi’ or TAP thus also gives us a chance to be a part of the theatre lover’s life, all year round!
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FULL LENGTH PRODUCTIONS FRINGE PERFORMANCES
CHENDA
MU
PLATFORM PERFORM BAINDER TE SAMAJ VIA TENDULKAR
KHO
LIVE MUSIC PERFOR
CURLS & BEARDS
UJER
BHOOL
MMB@THESPO
PA..BHA..KA
MANCES
UF
WONDERING
PAANCHAVALI
RMANCES
QISSA
FICTIONAL REALITY
ABHANGA REPOST
WORKSHOPS
HARMONY ON STAGE Rhythm of shakespeare Expressing with movement by Wilf petherbridge by paul goodwin by noah jimmy
Creating compelling stage pictures by sarah punshon
The therapy in theatre by timira gupta
The suzuki method by josephine joy
Meeting the audience by daniel bye
Clowning around by trina haldar
Celebrating M.S.Sathyu
In conversation with m.s.sathyu
45 dedicated and enthusiastic crew members, 15 of whom came down from different parts of the country and abroad, put the festival together right from the month of april 2016! Connect with us if you want to be a part of the madness next year!
Lifetime achievement Award
THESPO RECOMMENDS Plays to read by TRINA HALDAR Trina is the Creative Director of Mashi Theatre, a company born from her passion to address the lack of diverse work in the UK, particularly for young people. Her directing credits include productions at Nottingham Playhouse, Curve Theatre, Soho Theatre (London), Tara Arts (London). Trina has also connected with Affro Reggae (Rio, Brazil) and Te RÄ kau Theatre (Wellington, New Zealand) looking specifically at community integrated theatre.
More for the subject matter - NGOs (not the best written script)
One woman show, brilliantly performed by Aoife Duffin at the Young Vic, London. Go visit if you get the chance. A woman's journey into adult life, with many characters and a rawness that Irish writing can bring to stage.
Well written journey through a couples life. Interesting on how one might stage this.
This American play is a verbatim piece about the murder of a young gay boy Matthew Shepard. It's been performed around the world and is an interesting concept looking at hate crime from all sides.
(Started in 1999) is a platform for any and every young person under 25 who is interested in any and all aspects of theatre. Except for the age limit, Thespo firmly believes in including youth from all parts of the world, all fields, all language groups and all art forms who share a love for theatre. Over the last seventeen years it has grown from a one-evening event to a year round movement comprising of an annual Festival, monthly shows at Prithvi Theatre, theatre training programmes, workshops, site-specific performances and much more for young theatre enthusiasts.
(Established in 1944) is one of India’s oldest English language theatre groups whose members (Alyque Padamsee, Sabira Merchant, Gerson Da Cunha, among others) have gone on to become legends in theatre, radio and television.
(Established in 1999) is a dynamic young theatre group dedicated to promoting and facilitating theatre in the public consciousness through socially relevant plays, workshops, readings, newsletters and much more.
CONNECT WITH US
ThespoIndia Write to us: ink@thespo.org www.thespo.org
A YOUTH THEATRE MOVEMENT