At a time when India was grappling with the impact of the pandemic in 2021, Akshat Khot—former learning and development professional with a Gurugram-based manufacturing firm—was made aware of the deteriorating mental well-being of a number of employees. As part of an organisation that provided an essential commodity, a number of their employees had to frequently visit the office even during the pandemic-induced lockdown.
“Our employees, especially the younger ones, were undergoing a lot of stress.” In order to boost the morale of workers, Khot reached out to Kaivalya Plays Foundation, a Mayur Vihar-based performing arts and production company—they conduct creative sessions with people to explore its therapeutic benefits. The idea behind doing so, 29-year-old Khot says, was to “help them unwind a little and communicate what they were feeling and going through with one another”.
The two-day-long “open space” workshop conducted by facilitators of Kaivalya Plays incorporated several improvisational activities that not only helped the employees process what was happening around them but also made them more empathetic. “The session also helped the employees work better,” Khot shares.
Making work more fun
Theatre-based training workshops—unlike conventional corporate training—usually incorporate games and interactive activities that help achieve a pre-defined goal, without a set of instructions. The learning method is not instructional, but emphasises on self-analysis and creative thinking. “Participants get a chance to shed their inhibitions, truly understand themselves and others, which is an approach diametrically opposite to a presentation or boring chalk-and-talk lecture,” adds Rajan Chawla, founder of West Delhi-based Phoenix Theatre-in-Education Company.
Often integrating improvisational theatre (spontaneous storytelling), these sessions allow them to react on the spot. Explaining why this is an effective medium, Gaurav Singh, General Manager, Kaivalya Plays, shares, “It works best because all that improvisation activities need is for one to show up without prior preparation. There is no need to go through any material or orient oneself in some way. It is highly accessible.”
Going beyond the usual
Theatre is usually seen and approached as a collaborative form of performance arts that is meant to entertain the audience. However, several theatre practitioners have tapped into this practice to help professionals foster team collaboration, train for conflict resolution, as well as promote open communication. Several corporate houses have understood the benefits of this medium, and therefore, have time and again, connected with theatricians to train their employees.
Chawla explains the role that theatre plays in corporate training programmes, “Theatre is often associated with acting and stage. But in the field of corporate training, it has become a powerful tool to shape learning.” It is a training resource because it works on multiple levels at the same time.” Apart from team bonding, such sessions also help with decision-making, situation analysis, communication skills, co-ordination skills, and receptivity.