Theme Based Workshops
Theme based workshops fall in the category of Theatre-in-Education (TiE) where theatre is used specifically to deepen the learning of a particular topic within any subject, academic or otherwise. Topics occurring in the syllabus or simply those relevant to the times we live in are good to be taken up. These workshops can engage the children in numerous ways including theatre activities, research, reflection, debates, singing, dance, artwork.
Workshop Structure
There is no one specific structure or outline that can be followed for theme-based workshops. Each workshop is devised in its unique way based on the objectives that are to be met and outcomes to be achieved.
Suggested time is a minimum of 10-12 sessions of 1.5 – 2 hours each, conducted once a week, ideally with a maximum of 12-14 children in a batch. Within each session it’s good to have these four elements:
- A physical warm-up
- Main activity that you want the children to engage with – ideally with some theatrical elements
- Reflection
- Homework if needed. This can be used as a starting point / to add meat to the next session.
Recent examples of such workshops done by BLT’s Academy of Theatre Arts (BLT) include:
Theme Based Workshop
East West Public School, Bengaluru
The Water for all -Youth (WA-Y) Project
THE WATER FOR ALL – YOUTH (WA-Y) PROJECT was initiated in 2021 by HAE Theatre Group in South Korea, who partnered with four Asian Countries – Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bangladesh, and India. BLT was the Indian Partner.
BLT collaborated with East West Public School, Rajajinagar for this project. 20 Students from 6th & 7th grades participated for about 12 hours in total. It was October and Bengaluru city had just experienced extremely heavy unseasonal rains, hence BLT decided to take this as the topic for exploration. Theatre-in-Education technique called ‘Mantle of the Expert’ was used to get the children to explore the issues at hand as well as look for solutions to the problems. The aim was to arouse interest and awareness about water issues among the youth using theatre activities.
My New WORLD
MY NEW WORLD was devised and conducted online during and around the COVID-19 lockdown period. It got children to reflect on the pandemic itself and its impact around the globe, not just on humans but other species too. It got them to dig deeper into their own feelings, changes to their lives, the state of others around them and to envision and reimagine a better future for all.
The first batch was a mixed group of seven children ranging from the ages of 12 – 17 years. The workshop ended with a short skit largely prepared by the children with help from the facilitators, which was performed online from their homes.
Subsequently we had another batch of children from Shishu Mandir school take this up as well.
External Links
MY NEW WORLD was documented in an international publication called ‘Creativity as Progressive Pedagogy: Examinations Into Culture, Performance, and Challenges’ published by IGI Global. The chapter written by BLT is called Adversity and Innovation: Staying relevant in the Theatre. Details of the workshop are presented in this chapter. It can be purchased online: https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/adversity-and-innovation/291844
© 2020 Bangalore Little Theatre Foundation