[Reader-list] The Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) : 12th Theatre Utsav 2010 : Plays , Schedule & Events ( Delhi & Bhopal )

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 The Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) : 12th Theatre Utsav 2010

The Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) was started a decade ago by the National 
School of Drama in order to contribute to the growth and development of 
theatre across the country. From being an annual national festival that 
presented the most creative of recent work in India, it has grown into 
an international event, hosting theatre companies from around the 
world. It is today acknowledged as the largest theatre festival of Asia 
– dedicated only to theatre – and is firmly established on the global 
theatre festival map. Over time it has evolved into an opportunity for
audiences and students alike to enjoy and critically engage with the 
process and practice of the theatre arts as reflective of the issues 
and concerns of our troubled times.



GENESIS OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA

The idea to set up an institution in theatre first germinated in a 
seminar on ‘Education’ organized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1956. 
With the help of UNESCO and committed to the cause of helping students 
realize their aspirations in the field of theatre, the theatre 
institute itself, finally came into existence two years later on the 
20th of January 1958.

In July 1958, the ‘Asian Theatre Institute’ (ATI) was taken over by the 
Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) - India’s premier institute of music, dance 
and drama – to meet the growing needs for developing a National Theatre 
in the country. A year later, in April 1959, the ‘National School of 
Drama’ (NSD) came into being and was housed at 25/A, Nizamuddin West,
New Delhi, from where it functioned under the supervision of SNA. At 
that time it was called the ‘The National School of Drama and Theatre 
Institute’, the latter half of the name being dropped eventually, when 
the two were merged to form single entity. The Institute was officially 
recognized in December 1975 under the erstwhile Ministry of Culture and 
Education, Department of Culture.


WHO WE ARE

Over the years, the School has made advances on various fronts 
including a rapid expansion of its activities in all parts of the 
country. It has produced a galaxy of talents - actors, directors,
script-writers, designers, technicians, educationists - who work in 
theatre, films and television and have been the recipients of several 
awards, national and international.

The central aim of the training given at the NSD is to prepare students 
for the practice of theatre. To this end it offers a Three-Year 
Full-Time Diploma Course in the Dramatic Arts for entrants intending to 
make theatre their profession. During the course of their training 
students are helped to develop a variety of practical skills and 
acquire a corpus of knowledge ranging over the allied areas of Modern 
Indian Drama, Western Drama, Yoga, Mime & Movement, Voice & Speech, 
Theatre Music, Production Process, Acting & Improvisation, Theatre
Architecture, Scenic Design, Make-up, Costume Design and Stage 
Lighting. The syllabus takes into account the methods of great theatre 
personalities who have shaped contemporary theatre in all its variety 
of expressional forms. The systematic study and practical performing 
experience of Sanskrit drama, modern drama, traditional Indian theatre 
forms, Asian drama and Western drama give the students a solid 
grounding and wide perspective in the art of theatre. While all areas 
of study are assessed separately and a high standard of work demanded
in each, the most important intention of the course is the development  
of the intangible concept of creative imagination and its expression 
within the collective framework of a group.

The School has a Repertory Company and Theatre-in-Education Company in 
Delhi and a Regional Resource Centre at Bangalore. NSD’s Extension 
Programme seeks to extend and diffuse its activities in all regions of 
the country. A programme for research, documentation and publication is 
a recent addition to strengthen the academic activities of the School.
The School’s publications include anthologies of plays in different 
Indian languages translated into English; reference works; theatre 
studies in Hindi; and two regular periodicals, viz. Rang Prasang in 
Hindi and Theatre India in English, in their eighth and seventh years 
respectively.

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2008: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF EXISTENCE

The 10th BRM, which coincided with 50 years of the School’s existence, 
was organized last year and had as a special feature a salutation to 
the School’s alumni for their phenomenal contribution to the theatre 
movement, and showcased the work of over 60 of its alumni from across 
India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Mauritius. Starting with the inaugural
performance of Prologue, the first part of Ratan Thiyam’s Manipur 
Trilogy, the Festival went on to present 76 productions over a period 
of 17 days.

Rooted firmly in their cultural specificities, the Indian component 
comprised a riveting mix of technical perfection and histrionic skills; 
drawing on adaptations of Indian and foreign plays alike—classics and 
contemporary, correspondence, autobiography, short stories, nonsense 
verse. One of the highlights of the international component was Pina 
Bausch’s work Bamboo Blues, that was an expression of her artistic 
interaction with India over the past 25 years. Other highlights of the 
10th BRM included a 360-hour long performance of The Glass House
Project: A Reality Performance by a Practicing Actor, exhibitions, 
interactions with foreign festival directors and a satellite festival 
in Mumbai, where 26 performances from the main repertoire traveled.


2009: BLENDING EMERGENCE AND EMINENCE

In 2009, the BRM was host to sixty-three plays spread over six venues 
in Delhi and two in Lucknow. One of its objectives was to showcase the 
work of young directors, of whom ten presented their work. They dealt 
with subjects ranging from social issues like caste, gender, 
communalism and exploitation in a feudal society to interpersonal 
interactions and relationships. The overall fare included a revisiting 
of the Classics; a new negotiating of the traditional performance space 
through improvisations and installations; revisiting of mythology and 
history from new perspectives; and creative tributes to individuals 
like Manto, Basheer and Brecht, through new exploration of their 
ideologies in contemporary contexts. From the fantastic to the
historical, from the romantic to the tragic, from the amusing to the 
disturbing, the repertoire of the 11th BRM allowed us to explore the 
angst of modern existence, the tryst between the old and the new, 
conflicts born of changing realities, introspections and retrospections.

A special feature of the Festival was an exhibition, Third Theatre, on 
the life and work of the eminent writer, director, actor and 
theoretician, Badal Sircar, to help widen our understanding of his
holistic view of political engagement as personal commitment. The BRM 
also released two books -- Collected Plays by Satish Alekar and Mahesh 
Elkunchwar by Oxford University Press.


2010: CELEBRATING THEATRE NOW

In keeping with the tradition of presenting outstanding theatre that 
allows for meaningful engagement, this year also the BRM will be 
presenting a rich fare of creative, dramatic representations and 
interactions drawn from over 350 proposals received from both India and 
abroad. Based on the enthusiastic response to the ‘Young Experimenters’ 
component last year, we will be taking forward the initiative by 
showcasing the work of ten young directors, distinguished by the manner 
in which they access and interpret classic texts, new work and their 
own socio-cultural and psycho-political realities. A special focus in 
the 2010 festival will be evenings of theatre music and songs, that 
will include stalwarts like B.V. Karanth, Jagmohan Upreti and Habib
Tanvir.

Also, in recognition of the increasing importance played by technology 
in every area of contemporary existence, including the arts and 
creative expression, we will be holding backstage tours and 
technical/sound/light workshops. These shall be accompanied by 
exhibitions, interactive sessions with directors, one-to-one meetings 
for experts on special requests and video screenings, in addition to 
the performances comprising the rest of the BRM repertoire. In addition 
the BRM will also be host to a special round-table conference that will
include eminent people from the world of theatre and the allied arts 
coming together in panels to discuss issues of current interest to 
practitioners.

The 2010 Festival, on the whole, aims to showcase the synthesis of 
experience, tradition, new energy and vision, which infuses the 
dramatic form while creating a new language that pushes the boundaries 
of the known, the expected and the usual.

2011: ANTICIPATING NEW HORIZONS

The 13th BRM slated for 2011, in addition to other performances, plans 
to have a special segment on ‘Theatre in South-East Asia’, that will 
draw upon the rich dramatic traditions, styles and diversity of forms 
in the region. We will also be inviting proposals from young theatre 
practitioners with new work in playwriting, devised texts and 
collaborative performances.

The Festival also intends to focus on the eminent playwright, Vijay 
Tendulkar, whose plays we will be staging and on whose work we will be 
releasing a book.

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FOR THE PLAY Schedule IN BRM 2010, 6-22 JANUARY , Kindly Check the Link
http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/delhi.html ( For Delhi Schedule ) ,
http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/bhopal.html ( For Bhopal Schedule )