Journalism of Courage
Premium
This is an archive article published on July 8, 2015
A Different Class of Actors
Theatre actor Maya Krishna Rao on her new initiative, TEST, to turn teachers into actors.
4 min read
Maya Krishna Rao in a scene from Lady Macbeth Revisited.
It is impossible to watch a performance by Maya Krishna Rao and not be angry. When she creates plays, the actor locks herself in a room of her south Delhi house, where, alone among the white walls, she unleashes her sorrows, reflections, satire and disappointment at society and records her narratives as these take shape. Thus were born Walk, in response to the Delhi gang rape incident, and The Non Stop Feel Good Show, a sharp look at an urban population’s idiosyncrasies and obsessions. Rao’s acting, drawn from her background as a Kathakali artiste, is physical, almost masculine, and the audience is forced to look at her, listen, react and be disturbed.
The same power of holding a hall captive is in force at the Shiv Nadar University (SNU) in Delhi, where Rao is pushing ahead her new initiative to “fire the imaginations of children by turning teachers and facilitators into artistes”. Titled “Theatre for Education and Social Transformation” (TEST), it aims to introduce drama into educational settings, the development sector and even the conflict zone. Eleven people have enrolled for the year-long TEST classes that started on June 16, and the guest faculty includes Ananda Reed, a Reader at the University of East London who is well-known for her projects in theatre for conflict resolution in Ruanda and Kyrgyzstan. In an interview, Rao talks about TEST and how all lessons need a little drama.
Drama and Theatre
I was in England in the ’80s when the Drama in Classroom movement was very strong. The thinking was ‘how can the teacher become the initiator, the catalyst, the planner for such a drama, where she is not teaching but the children are learning?’ Theatre in Education is about a drama company coming to a school, once in a few months, and performing, but Drama in Education is about the teacher sitting inside a classroom and teaching through theatre.
Meet Mr Bhagat Singh
In TEST, the end is not drama, it is learning through drama. In a history class, a teacher might say, ‘Let’s meet Bhagat Singh. Bhagat Singh took some pretty important decisions as a youngster. What impacts a young boy to make decisions like that?’ The teacher might go out, and come into the class again as Bhagat Singh. The children want to get into his life, they ask him why he wanted to throw the bomb into the Assembly. Bhagat Singh’s other option was to go to Bombay and join the workers’ movement. Why didn’t he do that? Through these questions, children get into issues of the national movement as well as present concerns such as ‘what is the difference between that terrorism and today’s terrorism?’ A lot of learning comes, not because it is read but because it is experienced. After it is over and the teacher asks, ‘What happened? You people met Bhagat Singh? Never ever will a child say, ‘You were Bhagat Singh. Never. Ever’.’
The Teacher-Actor
We are not looking for actors for TEST, we are looking for people who have an urge to teach in a different way. The challenge of TEST is ‘what are the different methods by which we can fire up teachers?’ Most teachers want to be exciting teachers. We don’t need teachers who have had any background in theatre but a sense of curiosity is very important.
Pause Play
As for me, I still go into my white-cubed room but I miss performing. Acting makes me think, it sharpens my senses and I lead a fuller life. Right now, only little vein is on. I just cannot manage. I am too full of TEST.
Advertisement
Top Stories
Live Blog
Loading Taboola...
Advertisement