KOCHI: An innovative teaching-learning practice that combines theatre and the classroom has succeeded in attracting the attention of Gen-Z students in the state campuses.
Synergy: The Classroom Theatre, launched in 2007 by the Department of English, Sree Sankara College, Kalady, has been able to wean students from the visual excesses of the electronic media to the endless vista of imagination and histrionics.
The project is the brainchild of Sujeesh C K, associate professor, Department of English, Sree Sankara College, who says that Synergy is an experimental classroom theatre. “When a person is asked to define drama, the image they paint is very colourful. One can’t imagine a drama being staged without props,
costumes and even mikes!” he said. However, Synergy is different in every way.
Sujeesh said, “Since no prop or costume is required, no extra cost is incurred.” Everything happens right in the classroom, he added. As of now, Synergy has been conducted in seven institutions. “But the point which merits mention is that students from around 10 to 13 colleges from all over the state take part in every session,” he said.
It is surprising to see the Gen-Z coming in large numbers to attend the sessions which start at 9:30 am and stretches on till 4:30 pm. “We usually expect the participation of around 70 students. However, in the recent sessions, more than 100 students have attended the drama meet,” said Sujeesh. According to him, the drama meet doesn’t involve only acting.
“The meet begins with an introduction. The entire session has dialogues, discussion and acting interspersed,” he said. Shakesperean plays feature the most, he added.“Hamlet is the most favoured Shakesperean play. In the case of Indian playwrights, we have featured Girish Karnad. His Hayavadana is the most popular,” said Sujeesh.
The synergy experiment has been successfully tried on Eugene O’ Neil’s Emperor Jones; Albert Camus’s Caligula; William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar; Girish Karnad’s The Fire and the Rain, Nagamandala and Hayavadana.
The drama meet that was organised jointly by Renaissance, Sree Sankara College, Kalady and the Research and PG Department of English, UC College, Aluva saw even greater participation.