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Learning Life Skills Through Theatre!





Learning Life Skills Through Theatre!

Theatre isn’t always about acting; it can also be a creative outlet for exploring your personal, public and social space. And, so when TRIAD Events, Cuttack joined hands with The Creative Art School Cuttack for a theatre workshop, the participants had a lot to gain! The two-day innovative workshop held at Happy Hours School in the city aimed at bringing about a new wave in the theatre scenario by promoting theatre, not just as a skill, but a way of life.

 

Explaining the concept of the workshop to the MCL team, Ramanjit Kaur, international award-winning theatre, film actor and director from Kolkata says, “These workshops are meant for young adults. Though the idea is to train them in theatre skills like voice, expression, body language, body movement, speech and acting, it also plans to teach them life skills.”

 

“However, to be good at these, first and foremost, one needs to know one’s inner self and discover one’s latent talent and feel confident. Building better communication skills and better relationships also help in building a better personality and grow as a person. The concept of this workshop is to encourage these traits by using theatre games and theatre skills,” adds Ramanjit.

Emphasising on the idea that irrespective of the kind of lives we lead, we all look for happiness at the end of the day, she further says that it cannot be achieved by money only. One will eventually look towards healthy and loving relationships to find fulfilment. Healthy relationships can be nurtured when one is aware of oneself and grows as an individual. One needs to work on one’s strengths and weaknesses. “Learning theatre skills can be useful in our day to day lives as they contribute in improving one’s ability to communicate in ways that will have an impact, which is the key to becoming a successful person,” she adds.

 

Even the theatre games at the workshop were an exercise that gave the participants an insight into their own selves and about their fellow participants. Although, strangers initially, the participants felt they knew each other well by the end of the games. The games played at the workshop included activities for better mental and physical agility, besides meditation and introspection. The games and exercises, all were directed towards having a positive effect on the body, mind and heart together.

 

And, the workshop turned out to be a huge success, courtesy an overwhelming response from participants from across the twin cities, who were more than happy to be a part of it. The sessions conducted were not only meant to impart knowledge on how to improve communication skills, they also focused on health and grooming for encouraging a holistic life.With a

 

mixed group of 20-30 participants, mostly within the age of 10-25 years, the workshop became a platform for all of them to gel well with each other through different activities. “All our participants were unique in their own ways. In fact, a talented 11-year-old girl turned out to be complete fireworks and encouraged and inspired the rest of the group. She was like a lesson for all that age does not matter and that if you are confident about yourself, you can get through any situation. It was interesting to see how her confidence helped her deliver and inspire others. She was an example of what we wanted to convey through the workshop- ‘How well are you living in the moment.’ As we grow older, we stop living in the moment and start thinking too much about everything in life,” says Ramanjit.

 

Ramanjit who was in the city for the second time after a span of 10 years says she was very impressed with Bhubaneswar and wants to continue her association with the city through the workshop every year. “Odisha is a land of some of the most beautiful performing arts, yet it would be great if people of the state also get interested in welcoming contemporary theatre of modern times and modern thought,” she adds.

 

The theatre workshop was organised by TRIAD Productions by Prachi Agarwal Mahajan and Vineeta Bothra Abhani who were joined by Vineeta Mitra in their endeavour this time.

Author: Shreeyanka chowdhury

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