The YUVA Ekta is back with a new motive, a new group of people (some familiar faces) and with a new energy. I was welcomed in the Tehelka family last year and it was a hell of a time and that’s why I din even think twice before joining this year. You don’t only come here to meet new people but actually bond with them and work together for a common cause.
My day at the workshop has always started late but I have all my excuses ready all the time and people have their punishments. My amazed expressions while the warm up session just gives everyone the hint that it is not my piece of cake but I still try at times. Moving forward we start with our common theatre exercises so that we can actually connect to what we are here for actually.
Initially we had to establish a bond between all the members in this year’s workshop and so we did our exercises accordingly. For example, Trust walk, Mirror exercises etc. These exercises doesn’t only help us in bonding with people but also help us in opening up which is very important in workshops. At times getting worked up with so many exercises we need to take a break and suddenly from zero level of energy we burst into 100% of energy because we are about to play “NAME-GAME”. For people who don’t know about this game then basically it’s a game in which you have to play with names. It’s fun with learning game because you actually test your listening powers and also test your voice. This game not only gets you filled with energy but excites you too. I absolutely LOVE this game because I have never lost any!!
With all the fun and laughter we don’t move away from our focus which is actually to make a strong play to leave an impact on people. Discussions are a very important part of our workshop because it’s our space to voice out anything we like or dislike our every idea about the play or about the workshop comes from an outcome of these discussions. After discussing the topic for the day, we break into groups and do some enactments. We are amazed to see some plays because these people are filled with some amazing ideas and we are just taken a back. Some plays actually leave you speechless and that’s how we progress gradually.
The day of the performance is coming closer and we are finally building up our script. Things are getting serious and longer as well form 3 hours we move on to 4 hours. And we don’t even realize how quickly time passes away in our laughter, tears, work, expressions, voices and our moments!
Photo Credits: Tanushree Singh