UDUPI : With film-song mashups and flashy dance performances increasingly dominating school annual day celebrations, drama, as an art form, has silently slipped off the stage in many educational institutions.
Recognising this cultural void, Rangabhoomi, a 60-year-old Udupi-based organisation, launched an initiative, ‘Ranga Shikshana’, last year to rekindle interest among the younger generation in theatre. As part of ‘Ranga Shikshana’, a training-cum-workshop, exclusively for schoolchildren, is steadily bringing the magic of drama back to school auditoriums.
Narrating how drama is becoming rare in school functions, Rangabhoomi general secretary Pradeep Chandra Kuthpady said, “Over the last decade, schools almost stopped staging dramas during their annual day celebrations or other functions. Children received no training and many were completely unaware of theatre as a medium of entertainment.’’
The growing distraction from electronic gadgets only deepened the disconnect between youngsters and traditional performing arts. To counter this, Rangabhoomi approached 12 schools in and around Udupi last year and proposed the idea of professional drama training for students. With support from Neenasam theatre institute, well-known directors were invited to conduct a one-month training-cum-workshop for students of classes 8, 9 and 10, he told TNSE.
“We wanted to make sure children received quality training. So, we collaborated with Neenasam. Their trainers brought discipline, creativity and proper structure to the sessions,” said Kuthpady, who is a drama artiste.
The results were inspiring. Around 350 students were trained last year. For the first time in many years, many educational institutions featured dramas in their annual day events. “Drama not only entertains, but also boosts the confidence and memory power of children. They learn acting, dialogue delivery and work as a team,” Kuthpady said.
Building on last year’s success, Rangabhoomi commenced the training programme in 11 schools for about 250 students in Udupi this year. Workshops will end this month-end, allowing students ample time to focus on exams later. An estimated Rs 6 lakh is spent annually by Rangabhoomi on these training programmes for schoolchildren. No fee is collected from students and their schools, he said.
To cap off the training season, a natakothsava (drama festival) will be held this month-end, where participating schools will stage plays. Staging two shows is compulsory after the training-cum-workshop. Students should stage a drama at their school first and another at natakothsava. The students may also stage dramas if they are invited by other institutions and organisations, Kuthpady said.
The training programme will help students overcome stage fear and improve their communication skills. Students, who learn drama, will start loving this performing art later. Recalling one instance, Kuthpady said a woman, who works as a labourer, recently expressed happiness over her daughter’s improvement in academics after attending the training programme. Her daughter now reads books instead of being glued to her mobile phone. Her behaviour too has changed for good.
Vidyavantha Acharya, convener of Ranga Shikshana, said when this initiative was taken to schools, it was welcomed wholeheartedly. It soon became a huge success. Students, their parents, instructors and teachers were made to understand that through theatre, more than 20 life skills can be learnt.
Maybe after a few years, schools will make theatre training part of their activities and conduct drama festivals at the school-level, he added.
Aanchal Abhishek, a Class 9 student from EMHS, Kunjibettu, said Ranga Shikshana helped her gain confidence. ‘‘Now, I am participating in debate competitions and winning prizes,” she added.