A small break between exams for most children means visiting relatives or going out of town for a vacation, but for some it’s about learning something new. For Loga Elakya, a class 8 student of P S Senior Secondary School, it’s about learning theatre skills.
To make things easy for her, the Book Lovers Program for Schools conducted a three-day theatre workshop on the school premises recently. “We teach the basics of theatre here since it’s just a three-day workshop,” said Naresh R, CEO of Book Lovers Program for Schools.
The workshop concentrates on four key aspects — observation, movement, emotion and improvisation. “We have various games for each aspect, my team teaches them what to do and they do it,” said Naresh.
Theatre is an art form that takes years for people to master but Naresh says they are just looking to give the kids a feel of what the art form is.
The workshop had kids from class 6 to class 8 participate. “I am the only one from my class but we had some games in the beginning and now all the others are also my friends,” said Elakya. While the students enjoyed the workshop, R Chandini said she wished all her friends had joined in. “We learnt so much and I had no idea how time went by. It was a great experience,” she said.
Naresh and his team also talked about how enthusiastic the kids were and how eager to learn. “The school also has a dramatic club so the kids are interested in learning from us and taking it back to their club,” said Naresh.
At the end of the three-day workshop, the students were divided into three groups and every group put up a small skit.