BANGALORE: The annual summer workshop for children at Ranga Shankara is back again this year. There will be 16 workshops for children between 7 and 17 years old. The workshop will be conducted by 14 well-known arts practitioners. There are workshops on theatre, acting, music, filmmaking, writing, visual arts, and many more. It will take place between April 9 and May 7. Ranga Shankara’s ‘Theatre for Children’ programme is being conducted in association with Britannia Industries Ltd.
“The festival brings to Ranga Shankara, children who fill the air with their energy, creativity and yen to learn. This year’s line up is perhaps the most diverse and powerful we have had so far. The fact that every workshop faculty is a star practitioner of the arts makes the whole experience special. The children of Bangalore never had it so good,” says Arundhati Nag, creative director of Ranga Shankara.
Well-known singer Bombay Jayashri leads the ‘Summer Express’ debutants with a unique workshop to introduce music to children. “I hope to experience the joy of music with these children. I will be happy if the workshop helps them get in touch with the song in their hearts and have them ask for more, either as musicians or as listeners, as they grow up,” she says.
Joining her are Kapila Venu (acting), Anurupa Roy, Shaili Sathyu and Hamsa Moily (theatre), Shilo shiv Suleman (visual arts), Nimi Ravindran (writing for theatre), Jaaga Media Centre (filmmaking) and Suma Murthy (rangoli).
Summer Express veterans Neeraj Kabi and Padmavati Rao (theatre), Anju Sudarshan (cooking), D M Suresh (car mechanics) and Virginia Rodrigues (photography) have designed new workshops this year.
Complete details of the workshops are available on rangashankara.org. Registrations are on at Ranga Shankara. Payment is by cash or cheque only and age proof is mandatory. A limited quota of seats is available for registration on e-mail.
Started seven years ago, Summer Express focuses on theatre. This year, there is a wide array of theatre workshops to choose from. Theatre workshops use the medium of theatre to instill self-confidence, help children shed inhibitions, use their strengths well and just have fun. Most workshops end with a presentation by the children, to which the parents are invited too.