NSD hosting first student theatre festival in Bengaluru

Students part of the one-year course at National School of Drama (NSD), Bengaluru, will be performing in all three plays in the NSD Students Theatre Festival. 
NSD hosting first student theatre festival in Bengaluru

BENGALURU : Students part of the one-year course at National School of Drama (NSD), Bengaluru, will be performing in all three plays in the NSD Students Theatre Festival.  It’s been four years since the course opened up to aspiring theatre artists in south India, and this is the first time a student festival is taking place here.  C Basavalingaiah, chapter director at NSD says, “This is the fourth batch we have taught, and this festival is a culmination of what they have learnt in their one year course. Experts from different states will be here to see the performance.”

The first regional centre was set up in 1994, and the need for a Bengaluru chapter arose after it was noticed that the NSD in Delhi catered specifically to Hindi speaking theatre aspirants. Due to this, many south Indian students felt marginalised and were not be able to perform most roles. 

Twenty-two-year-old Akhil Bhanneswar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, says that at the end of the one-year course, all the students end up learning Kannada. “The non-Kannadigas wrote dialgoues in their own language, and then performed in Kannada after learning it. But now, at the end of the course, even they have learnt Kannada.”

“We are covering both practical and academic aspects of theatre,” adds the director. 
Twenty students of the 2017-2018 batch will be taking part in all three plays. Out of the twenty, ten students are from other southern states and the plays have been directed, keeping in mind the language barrier. The three plays that will be staged are Gullakayaji (Kannada), directed by Malathesh; Resisted (English), directed by MK Shankar Osage; and Kurchi...aa Nanthara...(multilingual), directed by Devendra Raj Ankur. 

The Kannada play is about the Bahubali sculpture. The story revolves around the sculptor who built it, the struggle behind its construction and the politics that ensue the statue. The narration of the play is contemporary and can be connected to the present day. The final play on the last day is multi-lingual, casting non-local students who will perform in their mother tongue. This is the first time this play will be performed on stage.The event will take place at NSD Studio Theatre at Samuchaya Bhavan Kalagrama from June 11 to June 15, and the entry to the festival is free.

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