Around a dozen children huddle in a tight circle at the Government Higher Primary School at Ramagondanahalli on the outskirts of the city. As one child speaks about a scene, the others give inputs on how to make the scene and acting better.
The last three months for the excitable children has been all about ‘Sweety’, a timid girl who sprang from their imaginations and explores a world of policemen, rowdies, a doctors and a magician, and other colourful characters. Discussions are intense and each suggestion eventually adds to the story, which is scheduled to be performed on a stage usually reserved for professional artists.
For Nagarathna G., a sixth standard student who plays a menacing rowdy, the process has been revelatory, one that has seen her shed her own timid nature. “I was very scared initially to even audition for the play. But a voice in my head compelled me to audition. I don't regret it,” she says.
The children were trained for nearly 200 hours over three months. The ‘actors’ even skipped their vacation for the rehearsals.
The children, who are not exposed to theatre in their school, are being trained by Whitefield Ready, a non-governmental organisation, which has teamed up with Rotary Bangalore IT Corridor and Whitefield Rising. The result: ‘To do To do Sweety, what to do’, a Kannada play, is an exploration of power and fear told through the eyes of a timid girl.
“All the characters in the play are heavily inspired by people from their own lives. They could relate to them easily,” says Anitha Santhanam, a theatre director roped in by Whitefield Ready.
The children were trained for nearly 200 hours over three months by Ms. Santhanam and Maitri Gopalakrishna. The two-hour rehearsals would begin at 7.30 a.m. To ensure the children stuck to the schedule, Whitefield Ready provided breakfast, which turned out to be an important incentive for parents to allow their wards to attend rehearsals. The ‘actors’ even sacrificed their vacation for the rehearsals.
'To do To do Sweety, what to do' will be performed on January 5 (6.30 p.m.) and January 6 (3 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.) at Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield. There is no entry fee. Donor passes are priced at ₹450 each. The organisers hope to take the play to other government schools in the city.
