27 August,2014 08:17 AM IST | | Kartiki Nitin Lawate
Thespo 16 has organised a one-day orientation meeting for young theatre professionals and aspirants, to introduce them to the technicalities of theatre and of participating at the festival
The orientation programme will include workshops, talks and much more
Thespo 16, the popular theatre festival for young theatre professionals of India, is back. The first leg of the festival will kick-off on Thursday with an orientation meeting which will introduce theatre aspirants to the festival, ways to participate and at the same time, offer a platform to interact with former Thespo participants and established theatre professionals.
The orientation programme will include workshops, talks and much more
Started in 1999, by Q Theatre Productions (QTP), a young theatre group based in Mumbai, the theatre festival is open to everyone below 25 years of age, who have an inclination for theatre and want to showcase their talent either through acting, direction, music, writing, designing, photography, or any other theatre-related activity.
Manan Mehta, Thespo co-ordinator from QTP, says, "Theatre is fun and exciting, and we want to share that with the younger generation. Hence, we have designed a special programme that is not only informative, but also highly participative. Attendees will get to hear about the festival, how they can get involved, interact with former Thespo participants, as well as speak to a few theatre professionals."
The orientation programme will introduce aspirants to the different forms of theatre (short performance, mime, poetry reading or monologues) that are part of the festival, the different roles that they can play in a production - writer, actor, director, music director, creative, lights, etc - and answer questions like how to take part in non-performing activities like workshops, design posters, write articles for the Thespo magazine, or join the organising team.
Amtya Goradia, director of The EQ, a play which was part of Thespo 15, says that the festival is a great place to learn. "We were overjoyed when our play was selected as a part of Thespo 15. The hard work had finally paid off. But that's when the cookie started to crumble to the point that we even considered pulling out. But the mentorship sessions and the workshops brought in a very positive vibe. It showed us the direction we needed to walk towards and helped us perform a very successful show," he shares.
