Delhi: Introducing little ones to the stage

Delhi: Samyak Singh, an 11-year-old boy aspiring to be an actor like Tiger Shroff, recently underwent theatre training in a conference hall at Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat.

“I follow Tiger Shroff for acting and want to become like him and work in films,” Singh told Patriot on the sidelines of his acting workshop.

He is among 150 students, aged eight to 16, attending the workshop.

Named ‘Rang Amlan — a children theatre festival and workshop’, the event was organised by National School of Drama (NSD) in collaboration with Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC) Ltd. The workshop started on June 22 and concluded on July 2.

Five groups, each comprising 30 students from different schools, were set up for the workshop.  

“We are here for the last few days and have learnt a lot from our mentors. We have learnt to speak, be confident and narrate dialogues,” said Singh.

Saara Zehra, a 7th class student mentioned that initially children were scared of coming on stage. 

“But the confidence we have received at the workshop is overwhelming. I am thankful to NSD for giving me this opportunity to groom my talent,” she said.

“Theatre is teaching us basics of life. We get to interact with different genre of artists and learn from them in such workshops,” said Alang Krita, a 13-year-old student who was preparing for her character in one of the conference rooms.

Simar Chawla, a 15-year-old artist who is playing the role of Lord Chitragupta in her play Girder Ka Sapna expressed happiness over being given a challenging role. 

“Since theatre is my passion, such powerful roles would help make us confident enough to face the audience,” she said.

“We get to learn new things,” said Abinav Malhotra, a 16-year-old artist playing the role of Girder. 

The children attended the acting workshop and prepared for the plays that were performed by students at NSD on July 2.

Additionally, NSD organised a theatre festival for the students allowing them to watch different plays for learning.

The plays include Tichi Tita To To Turu by TIE NSD Delhi, Par Hume Khelna Hai by Khel Tamasha Theatre, Delhi, Malyang ki Kuchi by Upstage Art Group, Delhi, Go Green by Chalo Theatre Studio, Gurugram, Jungle Mein Bagh Nacha by Tadkeshwar Lok Kala Manch and Kahan Kho Gaya Bachpan by Unopcharik Basti.

Manish Saini, a theatre practitioner said that theatre helps students cope with the pressure of studies. 

“Every age group of students has a different type of education pressure and we have talked about it in our play,” he said.

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“We have people from all the backgrounds here who are taught theatre. These children have an enormous potential to excel in this field but they need right guidance and polishing,” said Avinash Deshpande, another theatre practitioner who was preparing another group of students.

Chittaranjan Tripathy, Director of NSD, stated that the workshop aims at growth of body and mind of the children through the method of theatre.

“It will not only help them grow physically and emotionally but also integrate them with neighbourhood and society in a more meaningful manner,” he said.  

“Around 150 children were selected out of 250 applications based on interaction,” he added.