BENGALURU: Over the years, theatre has come out of confines of traditional auditoriums and has landed in cafes, drawing rooms, office cubicles and streets. Now, WeMove Theatre’s initiative hopes to take it a step further-- to schools and masses.
“Theatre has a charm of its own. And we want everyone to experience that,” says Abhishek Iyengar, co-founder of WeMove Theatre group, adding, “Many assume that it is reserved for intellectuals, but we are trying to break that notion by bring the art closer home. Our initiatives are designed keeping these aspects in mind. It runs on the primary initiative – Theatre For All,” Abhiskek explains.
Galli theatre
As the name suggests, Galli theatre is held on streets, terraces, or at any place where a community can come together. Here, Galli theatre is further bifurcated. While ticketed shows will be held in residential areas, the funds generated will be used to put up shows in slums. “These children are mostly less privileged and have no idea what theatre is like. We organise workshops for a day or two and take them through the process of the art. We brief them about how they can be a part of it. We use minimal props. Basically, for Galli theatre, an empty space is all we need. Props are minimal,” says Abhishek.
Dub-Gub
Schoolchildren in rural areas and government schools in the city have little idea about theatre because they rarely experience it. Which is why the team is identifying schools to conduct free awareness programmes. We, through theatre, touch upon subjects like dealing with good touch, bad touch, family problems, harassment, importance of cleanliness and more. This, we make sure, is put in a subtle way so that young minds can grasp it. Sometimes we even take experts with us and interact with the students, especially girls, about harassment, safety, menstruation and more, Abhishek explains.
Theatre for education
CBSE, ICSE have made theatre mandatory in their curriculum. Schoolchildren can opt for it. But unfortunately, schools teach theatre like any other subject. We have personally trained a few teachers who will be taught about the seriousness of children’s theatre. They in turn involve the schoolchildren and put up a show during assembly sessions and annual day celebrations. As of now, five schools has been a part of this. We sometimes script a show based on their chemistry and mathematics lessons and children seem to enjoy it more, Abhishek says.