CART
School of Drama & Fine Arts has been conducting CART (Child Art and Recreation Theatre), the exclusive summer camp on Child Dramatics for the past four years. It’s the biggest and most authentic workshop in Kerala of this kind in which 90 boys and girls participated in 2010, 76 pupils in 2011, 80 pupils in 2012, and 100 pupils in 2013. The main objectives of the previous events were focused on the gender-free relationships between children, i.e., providing equal
participation of boys and girls, and sharing of their experiences and imaginations without the barrier of inhibition. But this time we like to go far and bring radical changes to make the camp eventful and colorful.
CART is one of the prestigious nonacademic events conceived and implemented by this institute. The Concept and Objectives Using the advantage of the diverse and vast area of land and structures available in our campus - i.e., about 17 acres of land property, where a number of stages, arenas and old buildings are also situated, consists of hundreds of big and small trees, long strips of bamboo forests, bushes and thickets, surrounded by extensive paddy fields named ‘coal’ -, we plan to create various venues / stages / zones according to various faculties or themes but with an interdisciplinary perspective which would be inspiring for children.
These venues can be primarily named as
(i)environmental space,
(ii) habitat for art and craft,
(iii) science zone,
(iv)abode of history and folklore,
(v) temporary location for cinema and
photography and most essentially,
(vi) zone of music, dance, and child dramatics that connects all separate spaces.
These spaces are conceived not for the sake of the concerned specific themes or subjects, or not for the sake of the faculty of theatre, but for exploring the creative process of learning and understanding of various faculties through theatre; i.e., use of theatre as a pedagogic as well as a creative tool. The preliminary ideas of creating various spaces are shown below -
1) Environmental space: Exploring the resources within and nearby the campus to improvise theatrical spaces using representations, objects, and devices from our natural vegetation as well as cultivation; to create the ambiance and understanding of bio-nature, natural resources, and the wisdom of ecology; and also to bring up the awareness of agricultural activities, the collectiveness and values of farming and, of course, the tradition of performances implied in our agrarian history.
2) Habitat for art and craft: This space should be planned beyond the usual training sessions on art & craft. Apart from training, creating temporary art galleries where the copies of masters display and, designing interiors and
landscapes with sculptures and installations and also with newest forms like Video Art and Internet Art are the innovative aspects in the habitat. This can be done in association with the professional artists, and with the help
of faculty members and students from the College of Fine Arts, Thrissur.
3) Science Zone: This can be conceived as an integration of theatre and science exhibitions. The very concept of science is creative; dynamic and dramatic as well. On the other hand, the fundamentals of theatre, especially of Child Dramatics, depend and derive a lot from the rules of science; from the rules and logistics of mathematics, physics and biology. Using this bilateral aspect, the science zone can be developed into a thrilling ‘play house’
for kids by providing technological objects, gadgets, and spaces along with the vital devices of contemporary theatre. This kind of experimental Child Dramatics obviously needs more input, both physically and financially.
4) Abode of History and Folklore: The enthusiasm about the past in children’s minds can also be triggered through Theatre. Hence, this space too would be an abode that integrates theatre with ‘factual past’, i.e. history, and
‘mythical past’, i.e., folklore. The exhibition of available archives or their copies, the narrations and shows based on the travelogues on ancient and medieval Kerala, designing belongings and costumes of our past and,
improvising historical/mythical events by children using both the ambiance of the zone and the energy of dramatics are some of the probable activities in this space.
5) Location for Cinema and Photography: Opening the door to visual media could be an interdisciplinary entry for kids who are fortunate to go through the ambiance of a workshop of this kind. The zone provides contemporary
knowledge on cinema and new media, using photography, cinematography, animation programs, lighting techniques, editing console and the other devices of visual media in dramatics; screening and making videos too. Process of
learning such devices rather than making of short films may be the thrust of this place. In a free space with camera and other equipments, the theatre of learning will make the virtual world of digital, video, television and
cinema more transparent and simple. This could also be an extensive pavilion with rich but experimental objects as well as activities that assimilating real and virtual realities. Professionals from Theatre, visual media and new media
should be involved in the creation of this space.
6) Zone of Music, Dance and Child Dramatics: The last but master space of the event is the zone of performances. Though any of the places including the zones distinguished above where children can perform or
express physically would be part of this expanse, an exclusive place for dramatics should also be designed. It will serve the purpose of playful learning of bodily expression, i.e., the learning of essential theatre. It could
be extended to making and performing of puppetry, learning of classical and folk forms of dance and music, sporting activities like swimming or trekking, etc. This is the centre of all the foundational training on the art of
theatre. The training modules are mainly focused on movement on stage, basics of acting, theatre games & improvisations, story telling, creative writing, stage & costume designing and yoga.
The workshop is planned in the manner of a fulltime summer camp. 40 to 50 high school/ plus two pupils may be selected from various Children's Theatre groups in all over Kerala. Equal participation of girl children in numbers may also be confirmed. Apart from the interdisciplinary activities explained above, the essential training on the elements and methods of theatre including creative dramatics are also to be chartered out.
The training modules of basic theatre to be included in the workshop are
shown below –
1. Theatre games and preliminary exercises.
2. Theatrical classes based on Child Dramatics, Child Psychology, and
Social Sciences.
3. Free sharing of experiences within small sub-groups to sort out their
mental and physical inhibitions.
4. Story telling and story improvisation.
5. Practical theatre training using exercise and improvisation methods.
6. Mime and Choreography.
7. Personality development.
8. Voice modulation.
9. Creative writing based on stage texts, lyrics and poetry.
10. Development of theatre skills and devices.
11. Group dynamics and team building.
12. An introduction to Stage Lighting and Sound Design.
13. Workshop production.
