At her theatre workshop for children, Padmavati Rao would first try and get to know all the children. Then, a night before the final presentation, she would sit and craft individual bookmarks for each of the children, based on what she learnt about them and what they told her about themselves. At the end of the workshop, these bookmarks would be gifted to the children as souvenirs.
“Years later, when I’ve met the parents of those children, often, I’ve heard that the child has preserved the bookmark carefully, nurtured it even,” recounts Padmavati. “The bookmark would have acted as a line of encouragement for the child and it would have also given the parent an insight into the strengths of the child,” she adds.
In more ways than one, the relationship that the child shares with his or her bookmark in this incident gives us an inkling of what children’s theatre is really about or at least, should be about. As Padmavati puts it, “an enduring gift of a relationship with the stage that helps the child discover different aspects about himself or herself and fearlessly engage and nurture his or her strengths in the process.”
Have we managed to grasp this and create this for our children? What is our assessment of children’s theatre in Karnataka today?
In the recent past in Karnataka, and most specifically Bangalore, each year has witnessed some fortuitous spurts of activity related to children’s theatre. These are mostly in the form of the few scheduled theatre festivals or particular children’s plays travelling around the State. Then, there are the workshops for children that often take place in the summer or during other school breaks. So, as theatre practitioners say, purely in terms of opportunities, things are better than before but at the same time, a lot more needs to be done. Let’s look at a few: First, there is a need for more people to invest in the field, both from the government as well as society. “The response of audiences across the state has changed dramatically. There is a lot of encouragement from their side. What is lacking, however, is support from the Government,” says Mandya Ramesh. Kalpana Naganath, Member, Karnataka Nataka Academy, adds, “While there are theatre artists doing their best in children’s theatre in the different pockets of the state, there needs to be more of a concerted activity and more individuals need to come forward to invest their time, money and energy in children’s theatre.”
Second, the focus needs to shift to theatre at the school level, but there is a particular way to go about it, say practitioners. “I’ve heard that in schools, while they want to bring in theatre, they want to grade students on their performance in theatre. That’s the worst thing that could happen to children! If we claim to care for our children, then this is something we ought not to do,” she says. “Whether it is the philosophy of natural versus synthetic, or compassion over violence, these things can be very well imparted through theatre without the hammer and tong approach,” she adds.
Third, Kalpana flags the important issue of the lack of original and contemporary children’s writing. “Where are the current plays? We need people to write for children. We cannot use the old plays again and again,” she says.
However, incidentally, apart from what needs to be done, what takes precedence and demands an urgent scrutiny is our current involvement with children’s theatre, say artists. There is something fundamentally wrong with our approach to children’s theatre, they say. For instance, Padmavati draws a clear distinction between theatre for children and theatre with children. “At the school level, we should make theatre available to children. It should be purely theatre for children. Let them come and watch. There is no substitute for watching theatre. What you take away- the intangibles of theatre- can never be overestimated,” she says. She adds that not enough is happening in the State in making theatre available for children.
When it comes to theatre with children, theatre artists say that often, it becomes simply about putting a child on stage. “Many parents tell us that their child is the best fit for the lead role of a play. But, we have to pause here and ask ourselves, theatre satiates whose need here? I do workshops with children where we tell both children and parents that we are not promising a production at the end of it. Theatre cannot be about the stage and stardom. When you talk of becoming a theatre person, you need everything under the sun to equip yourself for it. Theatre is a mirror of life, it is all encompassing ,” says Padmavati.
Unfortunately, theatre has become a route most parents take to ensure their child’s entry into the world of reality shows and television, says Kalpana. “This is a recent phenomenon. Parents bring their children into theatre with the sole intention of making them famous. This is why it becomes imperative to coach parents first.”
So then what should theatre with children be about and where and how should it happen?
“Theatre with children is that game that is played by children and among children. It is played under the bed… a make believe house for instance where cooking is happening… Imaginations run wild and there are no deadlines or time frames to it. You float in and out of it as though it were a dream. That is when theatre really happens,” says Padmavati. All three artists assert that children in theatre cannot be treated as a herd or just as labour in an industry. Theatre with children will happen organically once children begin to watch more plays. In other words, theatre for children will lead the way for theatre with children.
Perhaps then, theatre for and with children, is the story of individual children, of individual bookmarks.
