“Theatre needs to be something that becomes a habit, [and] is at the heart of school culture,” said Sanjna Kapoor, co-founder of Junoon theatre company, in a Time Out interview prior to the launch of Junoon’s Arts at Play festival in March this year. Even while the two-month-long jamboree of plays and workshops across city neighbourhoods was being launched, co-founders Kapoor and Sameera Iyengar knew it was only part of a larger plan to have children engage with the performing arts. With its Arts at Play for Schools programme kicking off in October, Junoon is exploring the next phase: bringing theatre to academic spaces.

The idea, Kapoor said, was inspired by Shakespearana, the travelling theatre company run by her grandfather Geoffrey Kendal. “Ten days barely go by without me meeting someone who has a wonderful memory of Shakespearana’s performances in their school,” she said in an email interview. The threepronged programme includes a selection of plays for schoolkids, staged at venues in Matunga, Bandra and Malad. On the roster are Gillo repertory’s Kyun Kyun Ladki, Ranga Theatre’s Quixotic Wonderland, Laal Pencil by Aranya group, Tpot Productions’ Zinga Zinga Roses and Stories in a Song by Arpana theatre company. There are also drama workshops for teachers, and schools can sign up for interactive “arts encounters” comprising dance, puppetry and musical performances. “We think experiencing the live performing arts in multiple ways has to be an intrinsic part of the education experience,” said Iyengar, “Which is why connecting to schools is really important.”

Schools are increasingly engaging with theatre to boost their students’ creative and interpersonal skills. The Theatre Professionals company conducts a yearlong programme across 20 city schools including SVKM International and NSS Hill Spring, where drama is part of the curriculum. The idea is to carve out a space within the existing school structure to explore the possibilities of drama, said Sananda Mukhopadhyaya, who heads the programme. The sessions are conducted from preprimary to senior school levels, using theatre forms like puppetry, movement, and structured improvisation. Activities incorporate concepts from school subjects that the students are learning about. “Last year, one of us worked with students who were [learning about] ways to advertise ideas or propagate thought,” said Mukhopadhyaya. “They integrated it with the concept of a street play.” The kids drew on their surroundings for inspiration while staging the play, and learnt how street theatre is a vital tool for creating awareness.

“It’s not just about acting,” said actor and director Jaimini Pathak, who also conducts a theatre programme for schools through his company, Working Title. “If the kids want to draw, work with design and costumes, or even write a script, we facilitate that process.” Pathak brought the theatre-in-education initiative to classrooms around 2006, in partnership with Nayantara Roy. Along with a team of instructors, they conduct weekly sessions at four Mumbai schools: St Mary’s School in Koparkhairane, Nalanda School in Mulund, Bandra’s Rishikul and RIMS International School in Juhu. Though theatre in schools is still at a nascent stage, Pathak said schools are beginning to realise its multidisciplinary quality. “Theatre gives children life skills,” he added, “The more aware, alert, and connected they are, they automatically make [for] better students.”

The instructors are encouraged to update their repertoire and share their skill set with other team-members. “All the people who work with us have a certain background in theatre practice,” said Jehan Manekshaw, founderdirector of Theatre Professionals. “So you have those who use puppets and juggling, clowns and circus arts, and those who use improv comedy and field study.”

But a keener appreciation of drama is often brought about only after the faculty experience it first-hand. Theatre Professionals conducts workshops for teachers, introducing them to drama techniques that they can later integrate in their own classes. “It could be anything from conversation and focus games, to memory and imagination exercises,” said Manekshaw.

Junoon’s workshops for teachers, Kapoor said, will use theatre processes that emphasise on “opening up windows to new perspectives and different ways of working”. They plan to create spaces where educators can refresh their approach to teaching and connecting with the students, Iyengar added. The duo maintains that the primary challenge is convincing school authorities of the programme’s effectiveness. “This is the toughest nut to crack,” Kapoor said. “We want to begin by building a strong base with those few schools who [already] believe that the arts are an intrinsic part of a child’s education.”

For schools that might not have the resources or inclination to make theatre a regular part of the curriculum, Junoon’s initiative lets them take the first steps towards engaging with the performing arts. As opposed to the bleak scenario about three years ago, schools are now more responsive to theatre initiatives, said Mukhopadhyaya. “In an ideal world, you would want maths, science and drama to exist together,” she added, “That’s the dream. That’s what we are pushing for.”

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