Thespo’23: Dil Fully Dramatic! – India’s Most Exciting Youth Theatre Festival – is back for another digital edition from 16 – 19 December 2021, with an array of LIVE innovative performances, exciting workshops, international collaborations, open mic, quizzes and community events. Let your Dil be Fully Dramatic at Thespo 23 as we celebrate youth theatre, digital storytelling and emerging artists.
Flagship Performances
Shot on iPhone (Marathi, Pune)
Thursday, 16th December 2021 at 7:00PM IST
In a world where possessions define social status and social media has engulfed our sense of self, Pralhad wants an iPhone, even if it means paying a heavy price.
CAST & CREW
Written & Directed by Sanket Parkhe
Pralhad – Aditya Yadav
Aai – Pranjali Kinnarimath
Rapper – Sanket Parkhe
Delivery boy – Raghavendra Kulkarni
Bandekar Kaku & Sakshi – Arundhati Agashe
Raghav – Sangharsh Jogdande
Chirag – Chirag Chandak
Simran – Paloma Ghate
Deep – Prathamesh Pardeshi
Nishant & Waiter – Sumit Pawar
Ankit – Parth Joshi
Jui- Prachi Jog
Mayra – Gauri Shevade
Fangirl – Vedika Kulkarni
Set – Parth Joshi, Aditya Yadav, Sanket Parkhe
Lights – Sanket Parkhe
Costumes – Raghavendra Kulkarni, Arundhati Agashe
Properties – Paloma Ghate, Vedika Kulkarni
Camera – Full cast
Sound – Yash Lonkar, Sangharsh Jogdande, Gauri Shevade
Music – Prafull Jadhav
Online editing – Yash Lonkar
A Theatron Entertainment production.
PLAN B/C/D/E (English, Mumbai)
Friday, 17th December 2021 at 7:00 PM IST
What do you do when the rising seas are going to destroy your home?
Tired of waiting for political change, this performer decides to make her own back-up plans to survive global warming. In a unique interactive experience, Meghana enlists the help of her audience to ensure that by the time the apocalypse comes, her plans are water-tight.
CAST & CREW
Devised & Performed by Meghana ATTech Manager – Kaushikee Gupta
A tafreehwale production
Yatra (Marathi, Pune)
Saturday, 18th December 2021 at 7:00 PM IST
Kashi, embarks on a pilgrimage to pandharpur, but her Yatra takes an unnecpected turn when she is kidnapped and sold at a brothel. She grows up to be a sex worker, all the while looking for an opportunity to run away and complete her Yatra. Follow her journey as she carves out her own destination.
CAST & CREW
Written & Directed by Mukta Bam.
Cast – Sukanya Gurav
Assistant Director – Shounak Joshi
Live Editing – Swaraj Satardekar
Technical Assistance – Parth Mawal
Crew – Soham Athawale, Chinmayi Patkar, Vaishnavi Gaikwad
Camera – Mukta Bam, Shounak Joshi
A Chakree production
Workshops
Ready? Set? Design!
by David Farley
on 16th & 17th December 2021,
2PM – 3PM
Fees: Rs 500
Explore the world of Set and Costume Design with David Fraley and his process of page to stage.
Explore the different modes of communication with respect to costume & set design, followed by practical tasks.
Bulding Characters
by Helen Barnett
on 17th December 2021,
3PM – 5PM
Fees Rs 500
Unlock the door to a more focused physicality in all performance.
This workshop will explore some of the different physical ways we use to get into character. It will look at how we read and communicate emotions, how a character exists in space and explore key improvisation tools through playful and dynamic drama exercises.
Fitzmaurice Voicework®
& Vachika by Mallika Prasad
on 18th December 2021,
9:30AM-11AM
Fees: Rs 500
This workshop is for anyone who is curious about the miracle that is the human voice and wants a taste of voice acting!
Vachika was developed over a decade of working as an actor and being deeply involved in actor training. These are practical exercises that are designed to support participants to strengthen the voice, increase resonance, and reduce vocal fatigue. These exercises also address the fundamental issues related to articulation and help rooting speech work in the body.
The Go(u)lden rules of Shakespeare by Peter Gould
on 19th December 2021,
9:30AM – 11.30 AM
Fees: Rs 150
GET ANGRY AND GET YOUR SHAKESPEARE ON! We’re going to work on some fierce speech or two! Vectored Lifted and Delivered!
Collaborations
Beyond Borders
Byte Sized Tales from Australia & India ( Live Performance).
16th December 2021, 3PM – 4PM
Entry Free
Worlds apart but together in shared experiences, what brings us together? Who tells our stories? And who listens?
In this collaborative project between Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) and Thespo, young (under 25) writers, performers and dramaturges from Australia and India, come together to explore narratives based on how they experience the world in different cultural contexts and what unites them.
Therefore, I am
A close look at Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play
with Ramu Ramanathan.
17th December 2021, 12PM – 1PM
Entry Free
Thespo in association with Goethe presents a dramatized reading of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play, interspersed with Ramu Ramanathan’s insights on the work and world of the playwright.
Tune into know about the theatre climate across decades along with themes of classical modernism.
Festival Club
Meet like minded theatre enthusiasts and hang out at the festival club!
Thespo Reads : What Planet Are You On?
16th December 2021, 11AM – 1PM
Entry Free
Join us for a participative play reading!
Homi can’t seem to focus on school. He is told that he has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), which affects his concentration in class. With the help of his mother, a caring counselor, his first potential girlfriend, and some great thinkers from history, Homi comes up with creative solutions to deal with his condition.
Theatre Bugs Discussion: The Assumption
16th December 2021, 4.30PM – 5.30PM
Entry Free
Register to watch The Assumption, as per your convenience and join us for a conversation with the cast and crew on the 16th of December.
In a small country house in the Highlands of Scotland during the darkest days of World War Two lies the perfect location for a secret mission. The house itself: crumbling, forgotten, hidden in plain sight at the end of a lonely peninsula – forest to one side, cliffs and sea to the other. As tensions rise to fever pitch, how far will people go to get what they want?
Thespo Listens – Forest 404
16th December 2021, 9.30PM – 10.30PM
Entry Free
Let’s listen to an audio play together!
Bringing arts and science together, Forest 404 is a groundbreaking BBC series and experiment, exploring reactions to natural soundscapes. This environmental thriller follows Pan, as she discoveres the sounds of a rainforest and attempts to understand what these strange signals mean for her civilisation’s past and future.
The Thespo Open Mic
17th December 2021, 9PM – 11PM
Entry Free
Sing out loud, dance to your rhythm, wear your poetry on your sleeve at the Dilfull & Dramatic Open Mic.
Theatre Sheatre Wala Quiz with Sarah & Anushka
18th December 2021, 9PM – 11PM
Entry Free
This is not your regular quiz haa?
We pair you up with like minded dramebazz and throw you into a fun filled hour of trivia, dumb charades and gupshup
Thespo Listens – Virus 2062
18th December 2021, 12PM – 1PM
Entry Free
Let’s listen to an audio play together!
Gayatri encounters “Patient 63” who has travelled from the future to prevent a deadly pandemic!
Featuring Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, this 10-episode audio fiction is the hindi adaptaion of Julio Roja’s Caso 63.
Star Wars Yoga with Brook Genrty (Vermont, USA)
18th December 2021, 4.30PM – 5PM
Entry Free
Join us for some Star Wars themed Yoga.
Goofy sun salutations (Suryanamaskars), facial exercises, music and more. Get yo lightsabers (you don’t actually need one) and join us for some light stretches with Brook Gentry. Je-Don’t wanna miss this.
Dungeons & Dragons with Alby Grace (SAY Arts, Australia)
19th December 2021, 2PM – 5PM
Entry Free
Ever wondered if you could learn how to build characters while playing fun games?
Wonder no more!
D & D is a collaborative role playing game which has been enjoyed by people around the world since the 1970s! Using dice and rule systems, your heroes will explore fantasy worlds, fight magical creatures, and collectively create a unique, personalised adventure. Your Dungeon Master will guide you through an adventure and you will helm your individual character and lead them to glory… or death!
The Thespo Book Club
For every story told on stage, there are countless told off-stage. Passed around at tea-stalls, whispered in the wings, recounted during rehearsal breaks, even presented as heirlooms! And every so often a beloved storyteller distils these tales and turns them into what can be called theatre’s oldest and dearest friend: literature.
To celebrate and explore theatre through the written word, Thespo 23 presents the first edition of The Thespo Book Club, where young theatre-makers get together with seasoned artists of the field to dissect their book, their journey and their experiences.
Join us at Thespo 23 from the 16th to the 19th of December to become a part of these lively discussions where our young panellist pick the brains & books of theatre stalwarts !
Regrets, None with Dolly Thakore
Date: 16th December
Time: 5 pm to 6 pm IST
Panellists: Abhimanyu Nair, Gargi Datar, Gouri Bhuyan, Kokila Mohini Beri,
Moderator: Anushka Ghose
More often than not, both theatre and life demand a good show despite the odds being stacked against you.
How does one navigate this? We learn from the best! Dolly Thakore’s memoir Regrets, None serves as a treatise on using the rulebook as kindling for the fire inside you!
Feisal Alkazi