Students visited Birla Vidya Niketan School on 12th April 2016 for a special theatre workshop accompanied by Ms. Sunita Singh. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Tas, currently associated with the Globe Theatre in London, a theatre house known to focus on the works of Shakespeare.
The workshop began with some fun ice-breaking exercises. In the first exercise, participants were asked to gesture or enact to represent what was opposite in meaning to the one that was called out. For example, if the word called out was high then they had to come up with a suitable gesture to illustrate ' low'. In another exercise, participants sang the famous song we will rock you to the beat of rhythmic clapping. Both exercises effectively broke the ice and everyone was enthused to proceed with the workshop.
Mr. Tas asked the participants about which of Shakespeares plays they were most familiar with. Many responded with The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth and so, the days activities were centred around these. The participants were divided into batches of 10-15 and every participant was encouraged to participate.
The groups were handed two scripts to read and memorise. One was a conversation between Shylock and Tubal, from the Merchant of Venice while the other was between Lady and Lord Macbeth. The scripts were powerful and required modulations of voice, expression and gestures. Mr. Tas worked with the groups and demonstrated techniques to project the voice in different ways. By the end of the day, the groups were able to put up some suitable performances.
The next day students from the host school presented a delightful show for the visiting participants. Amidst the performances, Mr. Tas shared interesting personal experiences from his stints in the tv industry and at Globe Theatre. His story was inspiring to hear. He also gave the participants several invaluable tips on what to keep in mind while pursuing a career in drama.
The workshop was extremely enriching particularly for those wishing to engage in drama in the future.
Tanmaye Kohli (XC).
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