StageCraft by Theatre Nisha is an immersive theatre program for anyone interested in exploring the world of stage acting. It is a meticulously crafted 7-week intensive to equip participants to explore and refine their acting and theatre skills. The program delves into various aspects of acting and theatre-making, including expressions through movement and voice, understanding of dramatic literature and storytelling, physical theatre, musical exploration in theatre, and much more. 

 

Designed for individuals aged 18 and above, this comprehensive program encompasses the following modules:

 

A. Acting for the Stage: Going beyond consciousness and understanding the craft of facilitating the creation of illusion of the character in the minds of the audience. 

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B. Physicality & Movement:  The body moves effortlessly within the space in unison with the rhythms and tempo of the surroundings. The body does not segregate itself but is a singular unit. 

 

C. Voice & Musicality: A free uncluttered voice that develops the ability to speak the truth, unpacking the ability to move through different octaves. 

 

D. Exploring Playwrights: Analysing scripts like an actor is a must. 

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E. Creating Physical Theatre: To create and engage in a narrative with sheer physicality, allowing the body’s intuitive abilities to come to the fore and transform the space. 
 

Meet the Trainers :

V Balakrishnan: V. Balakrishnan, an alumnus of Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts (New Delhi) and the National School of Drama (New Delhi), is the founder and artistic director of Theatre Nisha (Chennai), and has staged over 130 plays in the past 23 years under its banner. He was awarded the Charles Wallace Scholarship to attend an International Residency for Young Directors with the Royal Court Theatre, London. He has directed over 210 plays, acted in over 160 plays and written more than 15 scripts. He was one of the actors in the International collaboration with Performance Group Tuida for the performance 'Beyond Binary' which premiered at Seoul and then traveled through India. He has also attended an International Residency with them at Hwacheon, South Korea on 'Puppet as Body.' 

 

·   In 2015, he was invited to be a TEDx speaker at the Bangalore Convention, where he spoke on 'How to Build a Character?' 

·  In 2017, he was awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching (FDAT) and returned having completed a 4-month inquiry-based project from Indiana University.

·  In 2018, the Rotary Club of Madras East conferred the Dronacharya Award on him for his contributions to theatre education.

·  In 2019, he won the Hindu Playwright Award for his script ‘Sordid’ and was chosen as a Fellow for the Arts for Good Fellowship 2019 organized by the Singapore International Foundation.

·  In 2020, his play ‘Arundhati’ was short-listed for the Sultan Padamsee Award. 

·  In 2022, he was the joint winner of the Sultan Padamsee Award for Playwriting for his play 'God's Will'. 

 

10 of his plays have been published by Zero Degree Publications and Dhauli Books. He has won the Being Association’s Samhita Manch 2023 (English category) and is one of the two selected playwrights for Bhasha Centre and Goethe Institute’s @Brecht 2023. 

 

Shakthi Ramani: Shakthi holds a Masters in English Literature and a Diploma in Movement Arts and Mixed Media from Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore. She has been an actor with Theatre Nisha for 12 years now. She has acted in over 40 plays and performed in more than 15 international, national and regional theatre festivals. Her debut direction- Bhasa's Urubhangam premiered in Chennai in June 2019 and traveled to Soorya National Theatre Festival in October 2019.

 

She has been a theatre educator for 10 years now and conducts workshops on movement for the actor. She has won the Best Actor award at the Short and Sweet Festival, South India Edition twice. She also participated in Theatre from the Streets with a piece on violence against women. She recently directed the Tamil translation of Roland Schimmelpfennig's The Tin Soldier and the Paper Ballerina for the Goethe Institut's regional project ‘Contemporary German Drama in South-Asian Languages’. 

 

Meera Sitaraman: Meera holds a double Masters in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Medical Anthropology from Durham University, UK (for which she was awarded the Shared Commonwealth Scholarship). She has been working with Theatre Nisha for over 15 years now as an actor, designer (costume, lighting, prop), writer and stage manager.

 

She debuted as a director with The Trojan Women in Chennai in 2019 which later traveled to Bangalore and the Soorya Festival. She has acted in over 35 plays, and participated in more than 15 international, national and regional theatre festivals. She is also a theatre educator and has been working in that capacity for 10 years. She works with schools that are inclusive and those that specifically work with children with learning difficulties. She was one of the 14 chosen playwrights for the Writers Bloc 4 organised by Rage Theatre, Mumbai and Royal Court Theatre, London. She has participated in two international residencies with Performance Group Tuida, Hwacheon (South Korea) - one on 'Puppet as Body', and the other 'Artists' Playground' which was a collaboration between Tuida and National Theatre, Wales. Her script ‘The Cut’ was a finalist at The Hindu Playwright Award 2016. She has directed plays for children and has conducted several workshops for them. Most recently she won the Kali International Solo Award for 'Will Ammu Stop Crying?' organised by Kali Theatre, London. 

 

Aparna Kumar: Aparna Kumar is an actor, designer (costume, lighting, prop), drama educator and stage manager with Theatre Nisha, Chennai. She has been working in professional theatre since 2016 and has acted in over 19 full length plays and participated in regional, national and international theatre festivals. She is currently training in Kalaripayattu and Devarattam. She is debuting as a playwright and director with the Short and Sweet Festival, Chennai in September this year.