Theatrical experiments

“NSD started this programme titled extension programme a year ago. Under this,they expect NSD pass outs to go to their own towns and villages and train theatre enthusiasts what they have learnt at NSD. The infrastructure is provided by local theatre groups. On similar lines,we are providing the infrastructure and the assistance needed for NSD to conduct their workshops in Pune,” says Shubhangi Damle,coordinator,Maharashtra Cultural Centre.

As a part of the workshop,Ashwini Giri,an NSD pass out will be training the students on various aspects of drama such as voice modulation,theatre games,communication,speech,body language and so on. “Besides,in order to expose them to all the important aspects of drama,we have invited specialists from various fields such as Shyam Bhutkar for set design,Pradeep Vaidya for lights,Prabhakar Bhave for make up and so on. Besides,we encourage the participants to come up with their own creative ideas. Though script writing is an individual forte,on-the-spot improvisations and directing the thought process are some of the ways that can bring out the creative writing skills in an individual,” adds Damle.

While most of them complain about the lost glory of Marathi theatre pointing out the reduced audience for Sangeet Natak and other forms of play,Damle,perceives this activity as something beyond just theatre. “There are various aspects related to theatre. A play does not necessarily need to be scripted and written afresh. There are so many stories,scripts,short stories written in Marathi and Hindi and those interested can just pick up any story and present it on the stage for themselves. Theatre is theatre and differentiating between commercial and experimental theatre is an injustice to this performing art. We are here to provide a laboratory and all sorts of experiments related to theatre happen at Sudarshan Rangmanch. And these experiments need not be limited to the script or presentation aspects of a play. From light effects to sets and from make up to interpretation,we experiment with them all,” concludes she.