Saturday Drama Club 2012 DAY ONE

Sat 11 Aug 2012
Day One

Today we had our first session with the new batch for 2012-13. So far there are 11 children in the group and we are hoping for a few more participants by the time we have our second session (25th Aug).
Three hours of games that explored physical expression was not something the children had expected. Not sure what their parents had told them about the drama club, the children were definitely thrilled. We also had 8 artistes from Gillo Theatre Repertory who participated in the session. The important note being that adults and children took part as equals, not as teachers and students.

I forgot that the session is till 7pm and wound up the day at sharp 6.30pm. Children were visibly and vocally disappointed, but thrilled when we told them there is another half hour! Maybe if I had planned this it would have not worked!

Now we are all eagerly waiting for our next session. There is a lot in store ahead, from shadowplay to puppetry and masks and much more.
Also excited about involving the parents early on as participants, so they can 'touch and feel' the experience of the workshop.
That's it for now.
Keep visiting this blog for updates :)

Shaili Sathyu
Artistic Director
Gillo Theatre Repertory

Workshops for Pre Primary Children

Gillo presents 4 exclusive workshops at Akshara High School for the Pre Primary Section. Over the past 2 years we have been designing a range of workshops for little children in various disciplines of the Arts, including visual art, drama, dance & movement, music, sculpture, story-telling, etc.

These workshops are designed with special attention to the age-specific dynamics of the participants and with a focus to stimulate them through arts-based activities. The focus is stimulation, exploration and experimentation, rather than teaching skills.

Here are the workshops for April 2012. If you are interested in hosting similar workshops at your space, please do contact us at gillo.gilehri@gmail.com

· Duration: 4 days (Mon 9^th to Thur 12^th April 2012), 1 hr 30 min every day

· For: 4-5 year olds

· Maximum participants: 15 per workshop

· Language: English & Hindi

· Venue: Akshara High School

ONE AND ALL (Creative drama)

By Manoj Karki & Harshad Tambe

Come-create-explore!!!

Here’s a workshop where children shall come together to build structures - from a small pin to a big building. They can create the unthinkable and unlock their imagination, using mime and body movements.

PLAY IT BY EAR (Music and Games)

By Sancharee Saha

Tune in to your melodious side with fun games and songs! This shall be a unique experience of learning songs, tunes and rhythm through games. Churn your creative talents, make your own music and get inspired in this musical playground!

AS LARGE AS LIFE (Visual Art)

By Tanya Mahajan & Yashoda Joshi

Can we draw or paint pictures of large objects just as large as they are in real life?

Come experiment with art techniques to explore real-size objects and images and create wall-paintings and sculptures using interesting materials and surfaces.

PICTURES TO WORDS (Story-telling)

By Suchetna Bandopadhyay & Nishna Mehta

The workshop aims at voicing the imagination of children to create stories. We shall use pictures, colours, objects, paintings, photos, hands, legs, eyes, ears, brains and wit - to celebrate storytelling. 

PLEASE NOTE: Registration for the above workshops has been closed. 

GILLO Theatre Wing completes ONE year!!

On 4th Dec 2010 GILLO's Theatre Wing completed one year. In the past 12 months we have focussed on theatre activities with and for children, trying to keep a balance between both.

Some of what we have done in the past year:

• Theatre Workshops for 4 to 6 year olds
• Saturday Drama Club for 6 to 12 year old children (ongoing)
• Produced a Hindi play SUAR CHALA SPACE KO (for children between 5-12 yrs) and performed almost 20 shows in 4 cities (Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Pune)
• Staged short performances at the Akshara School Mela and the Prithvi Summertime Mela.
• Expanded our theatre group to 25 members that include actors, directors, writers, designers and others.
• Conducted weekly workshop sessions and training for our group members in aspects like mime, dance and movement, acting, puppetry, etc.