Thursday, March 27, 2014

Workshops - Summer 2014

Theatre and Arts workshops for Summer 2014

 

ADVENTURE TIME

Conducted by Sahil Gangurde

Age group: 8+ years
Language: English
About the workshop: Adventure time, as the name suggests, is all about using our imagination to explore different ages of time, different places, meeting some interesting characters, solving mysteries and coming back with a lot of stories to tell. It combines imagination, storytelling, ensemble work, physical theatre and many such techniques to create scenarios. But that’s all secondary; the most important thing it promises is a whole lot of fun and many adventures.

SUMMER THEATRE WORKSHOP

Conducted by Sahil Gangurde

Age group: 5 to 8 years
Language: English
About the workshop: The workshop is aimed at enhancing creative thinking and encouraging free use of the body. It combines concepts from mime, movement, story creation and rhythm work for creation of drama. The activities also bring out a sense of group work and creating together.

About the conductor: Sahil Gangurde is a theatre actor and drama instructor. He is currently a part of Gillo Theatre Repertory as a performer. He facilitates creative drama workshops for children and has been a part of the Theatre Professionals Drama in school team for the year 2013-14. He has also been assisting in directing school plays and street plays.

THE RIDERS’ ACADEMY

Conducted by Prasad Dagare

Age group: 5 to 8 years
Language: English, Hindi
About the workshop: Hello, brave caretakers! This is a call to all the bright and young Dragon Riders. We have organised an initiation program for young Riders to learn how to play with, take care of and bond with the most graceful, magical and intelligent of all creatures. We will explore their physiology, their habits, their habitats and the rituals that are followed around the world.
Note to caretakers: Your young Rider will undergo a rigorous training through the use of theatrical activities and games in mime, body-work and rhythm!
About the conductor: Prasad is a physics graduate with a rich 6-year experience in designing educational content for the K-12 segment in India, UK and US as an Instructional Designer. Now, he works in schools trying to use Drama to enrich the learning experience of the children. He is associated with Gillo Theatre Repertory as an artist and a workshop conductor.


PICTURE STORY

From performance to stories

Conducted by Manoj Karki

Age group: 10 to 12 years
Language: English, Hindi
About the workshop: It is in silence where lie most of the stories...
Just think how an image or a gesture can spark a thought or a word and how many simple images can be turned into a story. Or how about giving shapes to your body to tell a story. In this picture story workshop we shall explore how our body can express thoughts and emotions. Creating and analysing images, building gestures using masks, playing with words through mime and more. Finally we shall bring all this together and create a picture story.
About the conductor: Manoj K Karki has trained at Barry John’s Imago Acting School and worked with groups like Jana Natya Manch, Act One Art Group and Imago Theatre Group, all in New Delhi. Over the past 12 years he has worked as a drama teacher with schools in Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai, and also at Miranda House, Delhi. Manoj is currently an artist in Gillo Theatre Repertory and also a drama teacher at Udayachal High School, Mumbai.

CLING, CLANG, BANG!

A sound and rhythm workshop

Conducted by Hetal Varia

Age group: 8 to 11 years
Language: English, Hindi
About the workshop: Every day we hear a range of sounds and voices around us. Are these just noises or is there something more? Cling, clang, bang is a sound and rhythm workshop specially designed to sensitise children to sounds and voices around them, as well as music and rhythm as layers to these sounds. This will be a process-oriented workshop with a focus on exploration and discovery.
Activities will include devising soundscapes with objects from day-to-day life, body percussions, vocals and storytelling through sounds. Theatre games, music elevations, mime and movement shall be used to explore different facets of sounds and rhythm.
About the conductor: Hetal Varia is intensely passionate about music and has been working with Gillo since 2009 as a performer and music composer.  “My experience of performing for and working with children on music, sound, voice and rhythm has given me the opportunity to explore music and sounds in completely different and fascinating ways. It is thrilling to share these experiences with young minds because they take it to a different level of excitement and creativity. I believe it is close to ideal when teaching-learning happen through interactions and playful exchanges.”


SHADOWCATCHERS

Conducted by Shaili Sathyu

Age group: 5 to 7 years
Language: English, Hindi
About the workshop: Lights! Curtain! Shadow! Making shadows with our body and also with objects and puppets. Come create your own shapes and stories and unleash your imagination. The workshop will explore the science behind shadows and the visual drama they help us create.
The focus shall be on providing a new experience to the children, stimulating their curiosity and giving opportunities for self expression.

NONSENSE-BAKWAS!
Conducted by Shaili Sathyu
Age group: 7 to 10 years
Language: English, Hindi
About the workshop: Come explore the world of poetry that brings alive the most mundane through nonsense. Peek into and become a part of some wonderful poetry in Hindi and English, written by some of India’s most loved writers. Did we say become a part of? Yes, of course. Come, join us and find out how!

About the conductor: Shaili Sathyu works in education and the arts, with a specific focus on children. She is the Artistic Director of Gillo Theatre Repertory, a company that she founded exclusively for Theatre for Young Audiences.  She has written and directed six plays for children, including Suar Chala Space Ko and Kyun-Kyun Ladki. She has conducted several workshops for children and teachers, with themes ranging from the literary and visual to the performing arts. These include workshops for Junoon, Prithvi Theatre, NCPA, Ranga Shankara Bangalore, British Council, etc.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Making Theatre Accessible

Sub.: Making Theatre Accessible: Tickets for Plays available at discounted rate for NGOs in Mumbai working with children

Dear Friends, 

We at Gillo would like to make our shows accessible for children who otherwise do not get to experience theatre performances, including children from lower economic backgrounds and children with different abilities.

Under our initiative of Making Theatre Accessible, we are once again offering discounted tickets this summer to NGOs in Mumbai working with children.

Gillo is offering seats at Rs. 25 per ticket to children from NGOs in Mumbai. (Ticket prices are between Rs.150 and Rs.300)
These tickets are available on a first-come first-served basis and for LIMITED SEATS as follows:

Play 'Taoos Chaman Ki Myna'
at 11 am on Sun. 27th April 2014 
at Bhavan's Auditorium, Chowpatty.
Maximum 50 seats per NGO.

Play 'Double bill of Mister Jeejeebhoy... and Catch That Crocodile' 
at 6.30 pm on Sat 17th May 2014 
at NCPA, Nariman Point
Maximum 20 seats per NGO.

Play 'Double bill of Mister Jeejeebhoy... and Catch That Crocodile' 
at 12 noon and 4 pm on Tue 3rd and Wed 4th June 2014 
at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. 
Maximum 20 seats per NGO.

Play 'She-He-Shey' 
at 8pm on Tue 3rd and Wed 4th June 2014 
at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. 
Maximum 20 seats per NGO.

Visit http://gillogilehri.blogspot.in/2014/03/shows-in-summer-2014-in-mumbai.html for more details (such as language, age group, etc.) and choose accordingly.

To book tickets, please send an email to gillo.gilehri@gmail.com with details (name, address and contact of NGO, number of children, age group, name of play, date and time of show you would like to see).

Interested NGOs must avail of the discounted tickets (including payment) 10 days before the show date. After that only direct bookings at full price will be available. 

[Note: Please DO NOT contact Bhavan's Auditorium or NCPA or Prithvi Theatre or Book My Show directly for discounted tickets]

Regards

Tanya Mahajan
Gillo Theatre Repertory
N.B.
Do also note that:

- Tickets shall be handed over to you one hour before the show at the venue.
Arrangements to bring the children to the theatre and take them back to their homes to be done by the NGO. 
-  You are advised to reach the venue 30 min before the start of the show so that all the children can be seated comfortably before the show starts
- Late entry after the show has started is not permitted, even for a large group, as this is disturbing for the rest of the audience.
- For any adults accompanying the children, tickets will have to be purchased by you directly at the full rate.

Shows in Summer 2014 in Mumbai

Gillo Theatre Repertory will stage the following plays from April to June 2014 in Mumbai.

Here are some details about the plays:

TAOOS CHAMAN KI MYNA
‘A poignant tale of a father’s love for his daughter’
Language: Urdu
2hr 10min (with interval)
Suggested age: 8 years and above
Adapted from Naiyer Masud’s Urdu story ‘Taoos Chaman Ki Myna’ published by Katha Books
Adaptation and Direction Atul Tiwari
Lyrics Nazeer Akbarabadi, Atul Tiwari
Music Amod Bhatt
Production Design M S Sathyu
Choreography Pooja Pant
Cast: Vighnesh Sinkar, Manoj Kumar Karki, Vianca Varma, Afsana Ahmed, Sharvari Deshpande and others

Work is on in full swing at the Royal Peacock Garden to install a Wondrous Cage that will house forty talking hill mynas. Soon, the Cage and its lively, twittering occupants are entrusted to Kale Khan’s care. But he steals a myna for his little motherless daughter, who has long been asking him for one. What lies in store for Kale Khan ... and the beautiful historic city of Lucknow?
Taoos... premiered in May 2013 and has since been staged in Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Delhi, Lucknow and Kanpur, including two shows at the NSD’s prestigious Bharat Rang Mahotsav.



DOUBLE BILL: CATCH THAT CROCODILE & MISTER JEEJEEBHOY AND THE BIRDS
Two short plays for the very young
Language: English
1 hr 45 min (with interval)
Suggested age: 4 years and above
CATCH THAT CROCODILE (new play)
Based on a story by Anushka Ravishankar
Directed by Shaili Sathyu
Sound designed by Hetal Varia
Production designed by Tanya Mahajan, Shaili Sathyu
Cast: Shreyans Iyer, Prasad Dagare, Sahil Gangurde, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Hetal Varia, Vighnesh Sinkar, Amit Bhargava, Afsana Ahmed
A crocodile appears in the centre of town – no one’s sure how it’s got there but it needs to be caught and returned to the river. Easier said than done, as various high profile people of the town find out. The crocodile outsmarts almost everyone who tries to catch him, but he sure was not ready for little Meena.
This is a stage version of a relatively simple story, originally written by Anushka Ravishankar in fun, quirky verse.
MISTER JEEJEEBHOY AND THE BIRDS
Based on a story by Anitha Balachandran
Directed by Shaili Sathyu
Music by Sharvari Deshpande and Vighnesh Sinkar
Cast: Manoj Karki, Sahil Gangurde, Sharvari Deshpande / Nishna Mehta, Devina Medda / Ishita Dave
Musicians: Vighnesh Sinkar and Prasad Dagare
Two siblings, one very strange Aunt, and a flock of escaped birds... Magic and mayhem comes in unexpected shapes and sizes to one small corner of a very big city.
Each part of this spectacular story by Anitha Balachandran is brought to life in an interactive form that will delight and amaze children. Come, become a part of the ‘strangeness’.




SHE-HE-SHEY
A stage adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Shey
Language: English-Hindi-Bengali
1 hr 20 min (no interval)
Suggested age: All above 12 years
Original bengali text Rabindranath Tagore
English translation Aparna Chaudhari
Adaptation & direction Shaili Sathyu
Choreography Hamsa Moily
Music Mithila Lad & Anagh Banerjee
Production design Abir Patwardhan
Light design Sananda Mukhopadhyay
Cast: Sharvari Deshpande, Vighnesh Sinkar, Hetal Varia, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Prasad Dagare, Sahil Gangurde, Devina Medda, Amit Bhargava.
She-He-Shey is a stage adaptation of Tagore’s book ‘Shey’ (Se), a collection of stories of extraordinary adventures, created for his nine-year old granddaughter Nandini. To keep the tales spinning he employs ‘Shey’, a person constituted entirely of words and rather talented at concocting tales. This stage adaptation is a free flowing response to the stories in the book Shey, set in a collage along with poems and paintings by Tagore.
This play was commissioned by Happenings Kolkata for the Rabindra Utsav 2013 and has also been performed in Santiniketan and Mumbai.