CHENNAI: In the series Abbott Elementary, one of the senior teachers advises her junior counterpart, “Teachers like us have to be able to do it all. We are admin. We are social workers. We are therapists. We are second parents. Hell, sometimes, we’re even first.”
Similarly, when Aysha Rau, managing trustee of The Little Theatre, Chennai, began her journey more than three decades ago her mission was to do it all for the kids. Even after all these years, she hopes to do more for children, especially for ages one and two. With her workshops for toddlers set to return in the new year, Aysha shares her experience of working with the theatre, plans and much more.
Humble beginnings
Aysha was exposed to different kinds of art forms, like dance, music, and theatre from around the world from a young age as her father KC Cheriyan had to travel for his work with the United Nations. “We were very fortunate to have parents who wanted us to be engaged in the arts, even though we studied science. The beauty of studying Arts is that you can have conversations around it. More than that, it also helps you develop yourself as a complete human being,” says Aysha.
The idea of The Little Theatre, she describes, came up “as a selfish need” to provide something for her children. She adds, “My dad suggested that I work from a grassroots level and do something for others as well.” Thus in 1991, Aysha and around nine teammates got together and formed the theatre.
They set up The Little Theatre as an Arts organisation to provide creative workshops for children between the ages of 5 and 12. In the following year, it was registered as a Trust with a 12A Certification so that the members could provide workshops and educational grants for underprivileged children.
“I guess the acid test was when my children were about 14 or 15, they were not part of the workshops anymore, they grew out of age. Even though there was confusion if I would be able to continue with the organisation, I did because I just felt it was something that I enjoyed doing and was very passionate about. I also wanted to make sure that every child in the city, whether they have money or not, has a chance to be engaged in the Arts,” she says.
The Toddler Theatre workshops for 2- to 4-year-olds and The Little Festival, which is an international theatre festival for a young audience, started in 2010. Five years later, the group created India’s first hospital clown’s troupe. In 2019, they set up India’s first Creative Therapy Studio at a Children’s Government Hospital in Chennai. The team informs, nearly 200 underprivileged children were supported through high school and University over 25 years.
With all the milestones and years of experience in hand, Aysha continues to give her best for the theatre. “I do all the fundraising, and come up with new ideas and put them together. My husband Jayaraj Rau also helps me a lot,” says Aysha. Her daughter Rohini and son-in-law Krishnakumar Balasubramanian serve as the trustee and creative director respectively.
The success timeline
One of their famous events is the Christmas Pantomime, whose 27th edition was held recently. After the success of this year’s Christmas Pantomime, the annual fundraiser event, Aysha says, “This year’s Pantomime was the best. Every character on stage brought in their A-game. Everyone was at par and their energy on stage was amazing. We enjoyed that act. Even though most of them were struggling during the floods and also ended up getting sick, they continued to perform. The Little Theatre’s Christmas Pantomimes are our Christmas gifts to the city.”
Aysha used to write the script for the Pantomimes for 17 years, now she serves as the producer. She wants to give more focus to the children from ages 1-5. “Even under the Tamil Nadu Government, there is no department that takes care of 1- to 4-year-old’s artistic temperament. The authorities confine their attention to health and nutrition,” she notes.
With her workshops, limited to 10 toddlers, parents can also join in and get involved in the activity-based learning practices.
Another annual programmes is The Little Festival, along with which Aysha aspires to set up an event, bringing in shows that are for 1- to 4-year-olds. “The Little Festival brings in shows from different countries so that kids can experience theatre at a world-class level. If we get funding and everything goes well, we will extend the festival from nine days to 13 or 14 days,” she shares.
Apart from managing the theatre, Aysha is a writer, does model coordination for commercials and is a casting director for feature films. She hopes to write more books for kids in the coming year. When asked about how she manages numerous tasks at the same time with the same energy, she responds, “I think you need to live every minute of your life. You can’t just exist. So I like to live my life and I don’t want to just exist.” With her enthusiasm and cheerful spirit, Aysha continues to nurture young minds of the city.