Umang Weekend Theatre Workshop

In response to persistent requests from children and parents for regular theatre classes, Umang initiated a new endeavour in 2012– that of organizing a Weekend Theatre Workshop for children in the age group 8-14 years. Starting in August every year it continues for five months till December, every weekend, culminating in a presentation entirely designed and conducted by children. This a great process for instilling a sense of confidence , build a capacity to make mature choices, develop communication skills , learn to articulate with clarity and acquire an imaginative and questioning mind.

This workshop is modelled on the Theatre in Education methodology which entails more emphasis on theatre activity designed to educate children about themselves and social units that impact their lives and decisions. The attempt is to look at issues through the child's eye rather than impose the adult view on the child. It involves learning theatre techniques such as improvisation, acting, voice and speech, creative expression through play making, and contributes to a healthy overall development of the child's personality and social skills. The workshop also includes sessions of creative writing, painting and craft work thereby giving multiple outlets to children to discover their own talents. So far these have been conducted by Somesh and Veena Sharma .These facilitators of this workshop are highly skilled professionals experienced in the field of Theatre in Education.

The presentation at the end of the workshop is planned entirely by children with guidance from our experts.. This event has games for parents conducted by children, different participatory activities which the adult audience has to go through to become part of the world the children create, an exhibition of the work the children create as part of the workshop and finally a demonstration of some selected improvisations that the children work on during the workshop. The most appreciated part of the demonstration invariably is the on the spot improvisations presented by children on topics given by the audience. The children demonstrate remarkable team work, quick thinking and imagination in making these presentations with a preparation time of 30 seconds.

Weekend Theatre Workshops are part of our regular calendar as are the Summer Theatre Workshops that culminate in a full-fledged production.