Theatre professionals on benefits of children's workshops

Itrsquos common to hear adults comment on how children today are smarter than they ever were Keeping up with the wizkids Prithvi Theatrersquos Summertime Prithvi will include workshops for fouryearolds for the first time this year ldquoThe arts and the performing arts in particular can bring joy a richness of experience a depth of feeling and new dimensions into your life The earlier that one is able to start experiencing this the better it is especially as once you get introduced to the arts at a young age it never leaves yourdquo says Tanya Mahajan of Gillo a Mumbaibased theatre repertory that works exclusively in theatre for young audiences two to 18 yearsA shadow workshop organised by GilloldquoThe common perception is that children are lsquolittle adultsrsquo and so things that work for adults can be tweaked and presented for use to children This is untrue Children are distinctly different from adults they have unique ways of responding to the world of reacting to things around them and expressing their thoughts and feelingsrdquoKunal Kapoor extreme right with participants of SummertimePrithvi 2015Mahajan recalls how in 2009 when Gillo began a lot of learning and training was required for most of their team Understanding language sentence structure for kidfriendly performances dialogue structure as well as the appropriate length of a scene in a play meant for a particular age group were key tools to consider ldquoAs we slowly developed the skills in the area it became clear that we should now use the unique skill set and expertise to solely create performances and experiences for children ldquo she addsAn interactive workshop with school children after the performance of Hanuman Ki Ramayan by Gillo The mind of a childWriter director and actor Makrand Deshpande who will hold a sevenday acting workshop for 13 to 16yearolds at Prithvi theatre uses a different technique to work with children ldquoA childrsquos mind is not that cluttered as yet For adults often the mind comes before the acting Actors tell me that they will prepare for the scene and return the next day I reply that life prepares one anyway When people create character sketches with sociopolitical and socioeconomic backgrounds acting gets scientific and people forget the most important aspect which is instinctrdquo says Deshpande ldquoKids should be allowed to just actAmole Gupte of Taare Zameen Pe fame with participants at a cinema workshopThey grasp and observe a lot The idea is to let them use their imagination and not try to teach too much At times when I say something in the beginning and change the dialogue later kids correct merdquo he admits adding that not all children who attend workshops wish to pursue theatre as a career but the idea is to expose them and get them to think about itStudents at Faezeh Jalalirsquos workshopFaezeh Jalali a theatre professional who directed the annual play in 2008 at a city school believes ldquoChildren do almost everything better than adults They are uncensored open to creating and sense everything quicklyrdquo Jalali will conduct a workshop for children between four and five at the festival ldquoChildren at any age donrsquot like to be treated like children I treat all my students as equal The advantage of these workshops is that they start trusting their own imagination learn to work with others and respect their ideas The key learning is that it is okay to make mistakes and to expressrdquo she saysFaezeh JalalildquoChildren who get involved in theatre either through performances or through workshops learn about teamwork using their imagination understanding stories and their subtexts observing people around them while trying to portray a character how to give space and time to each other mdash about small details of the world around them that they try to recreate on stage They also learn how a play is puttogether with elements like the set design costumes music and movementrdquo shares Mahajan adding that the workshops go beyond teaching how to act to become stars in the futureMakrand Deshpande Prithvirsquos Kunal Kapoor echoes the sentiment ldquoWe discourage parents who want to train their child for television Our aim is simply to expose the children to the exciting world of the arts and awaken their imagination and inculcate team spirit appreciation and respect for the arts We do not support the making of child actorsrdquo he saysIn the digital ageDespite the popularity of mediums like television and digital platforms these workshops have managed to remain popular with both children and parents ldquoNothing can take away from the lsquoreal thingrsquo To feel touch and experience first hand is irreplaceable and unfortunately becoming difficult to experiencerdquo asserts KapoorNot just theatre but cinema too is now being taught to the young Filmmaker Amole Gupte who started dedicated film appreciation classes for underprivileged children as young as sixyearolds nine years ago says ldquoMoviemaking is not rocket science Children donrsquot need to wait to get a degree to appreciate the works of mastersSometimes the viewpoint is myopic because the exposure is restricted to Bollywood cinema and soaps on television An early encounter with the art will ensure that they invest in themselves and the artrdquo says Gupte ldquoWhen you see impoverished people watch a film on a cloth screen without blinking you know you have arrived In schools art sometimes gets restricted to drawings of two mountains the sun and the river We want to canvas for these classes to be a part of school curriculumrdquo he concludesSubmissions for SummertimePrithvi start From April 10 For details Log on to wwwprithvitheatreorg