Avartan Theatre for All...

Students of the university will now be able to learn theatre and also get to perform, thanks to Avartan.

Avartan is the first of its kind theatre club set up in the University of Hyderabad by Satyabrata Rout. It was setup in 2010 with the aim of spreading awareness about theatre among students. It actually began in 2007, in the name of Theatre Club of S N School with a small group of students interested in theatre. The group wanted to do drama outside the theatre department, so as to take drama to all kinds of students.

            The group staged a lot of performances across North India in 2007 and hence gained immense popularity. With a wish to promote theatre awareness, personality development and ‘applied theatre’, which is not just confined to theatre; it seeks to empower students. “We get students from different streams. For a lot of students, especially from science backgrounds, it’s about creative relaxation. They spend so much time studying that drama is like a creative distraction to them,” explains Mr. Rout.

            The workshop is conducted every semester for a period of 10 days for two hours in order to benefit students from all streams. “We have a screening procedure for students who apply, where we interview and then shortlist them. There has been an overwhelming response from the students, which is good news, but we take a limited number of students only.”

He further added, “We can definitely do with more support from the administration, as we are still growing and have great potential.” The workshop first enlists students, trains them in theatre, and by the end of the course, a play is staged by the students for all to see. The students, on completion of the course get a certificate from Avartan. “Being an autonomous club, we don’t act in accordance to any department, not even the Theatre Arts department where we actually work,” he added.

Srinivas, an MA Communication student, who attended the workshop last semester says, “It was a dream come true for me. It brought out the latent talent and gave me a lot of confidence. The idea of a student from a non-theatre background performing on stage to an audience is an exhilarating experience.”

Avartan also plans to work with slum kids in nearby villages and with the spastic society to push the boundaries of applied theatre. They recently staged a play called – Waiting for Godot at Lamakan, a cultural centre in the city. “We are having a performance in the university on the 22^nd of October at the DST auditorium and on the 23^rd at the NIFT,” Mr. Rout said.

Welcome Note on the Eve of Presentations of Avartan Workshop 2011

Good evening ladies and gentleman and a warm welcome to all on behalf of Avartan Theatre, University of Hyderabad. Before start let me say few words about Avartan. As you all know Avartan is quite a well-known at the University of Hyderabad and in the world of theatre. This organisation was founded 2 years back to promote theatre among those who don’t have theatre background at all. It tries to break the conventional and elite mentality in this area. We welcome people from different departments, background, communities and cultures. Thus today we have students from almost all disciplines. We are quite successful to achieve our goal and we have miles to go. We need your support and blessings. Its all for you, as aptly said Avartan-Theatre for all.

            To add a little about the workshop, in the similar line of action like other years, we conducted a theatre workshop from 23^rd September to 2^nd October 2011. The responses were huge, nearly 100 students applied for the workshop. Not only from University of Hyderabad, we also got candidates from EFLU and MANUU. We selected nearly 40 candidates for the workshop of this year after a formal audition. With little initial training on basics of theatre, improvisional abilities, mental creative exercises and personality development we divided the whole team into four groups and those four groups will perform tonight in front of you.

            A few common things for your attention, the students who are performing are not any mature or professional actors and they are just students like you from different streams. So, if the performances do not meet your expectations, please take it as part of exercise as there is always a chance to develop in future. The idea, concept and design of these improvisional acts are done by the students fully without any direct support from any theatre expert in order to develop their self-confidence. Our organisation, Avartan does not hold any responsibility with the content of these plays. Personally we don’t want to criticise anyone but unfortunately if it happens, just take it as co-incidents and please never mind at all.

            Few instructions with deep request please switch off your mobile phones or keep them in silent or vibrate mode during the play. Flash photography is strictly prohibited; please do not come near to the stage. Please don’t howl, claps or shout unnecessarily, it disturbs the performers. So enjoy the plays without disturbing others. Now we will present four small plays of the students. One play will be 15 to 20 minutes. The plays are; LH to MH Travels, Prakriti Ka Panchnama, Maara Iss Mahengayi Ne and Aaj Ke Sham Bandh Ke Naam. Over to you, enjoy yourself. Thanks a lot.