The Hindu : Karnataka / Mysore News : `Ranga Shankara' to give amateur theatre a fillip

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mysore

`Ranga Shankara' to give amateur theatre a fillip

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, OCT. 13. A month-long theatre festival will mark the inauguration of Ranga Shankara, the first professional theatre space in Karnataka. The festival will showcase the works of 26 amateur theatre groups from different parts of the country.

The theatre festival will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, on October 28. The former Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, is likely to participate in the inaugural ceremony. Speaking to presspersons here today, the managing trustee of Ranga Shankara, Arundhati Nag, said that the festival would also feature workshops covering various aspects of theatre. Some of the best theatre groups and theatre personalities of the country would participate in the fest, she said.

Plays

Ms. Nag said that plays would be staged in Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, Chattisgarhi and Manipuri. The Mumbai-based Prithvi theatre group would take also take part in the festival. Commedia dell' Arte Galore, an English and Italian play directed by Marco Luly, would be staged by Luogi dell'arte, she added.

Among the important plays being staged are Motley's Ismat Apa Ke Naam, directed by Naseeruddin Shah in Hindustani; Nandikar's Meghnad Badh Kabya, directed by Goutam Halder in Bengali; Ajoka Theatre's Aik Thee Nanni, directed by Zohra Segal in Urdu; Avishkar's Jungle Me Mangal, directed by Chetan Dattar in Marathi; Naya Theatre's Charan Das Chor and Agra Bazaar directed by Habib Tanvir in Chattisgarhi and Urdu respectively; Chorus Repertory Theatre's Ritusamharam, directed by Ratan Thiyam in Manipuri.

Popular Kannada plays directed by eminent personalities of Kannada theatre such as B. Jayashree, B.V. Karanth, T.S. Nagabharana, Prakash Belvadi, Ramesh Verma, and Suresh Anagalli would also be staged.

Workshops

Apart from the plays, Ms. Nag said that workshops on acting, direction, theatre movement, light design, music, working on the text, and working on character would be organised. The occasion would also provide a platform to discuss issues such as "Sharing information and resources — a theatre guild and joining hands" and "Alternate performance spaces and problems of existing spaces."

Ms. Nag said that Ranga Shankara would help amateur theatre groups in the State by offering space at an affordable cost. She said theatre space would be offered at Rs. 2,500 per show, making it affordable for amateur groups.

She said the air-conditioned auditorium, with a seating capacity of 300, had a 22-foot revolving stage, a trap door, an electronically operated lighting system, a cat walk, and sensitive acoustics. The theatre complex would also have a bookshop, an art gallery and a cafeteria. With the commissioning of the Ranga Shankara, she said, they hoped to stage at least 300 plays each year.

Children's theatre

She said that efforts were also being made to start a theatre programme for children, and that it would be launched from the next academic year. She said that they would make efforts to link with educational institutions through the programme. She added that 50 per cent of the shows would be booked for Government schools free of cost.

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