Theatre camp in Chowhati under the vertical Arts Connect gathered around 12 children on a Sunday morning in an open space. The ground next to the space was getting prepared for the Sunday Football match with some Bollywood songs. The children came without any idea of what was the plan for the day. They never saw theatre, they never experienced theatre. Also, as the camp was a celebration for World Theatre Day, we had to tell them about that as well. 

The session started by standing in a circle where everyone can see each other with children in age groups 8-12. After the introduction, they were asked to participate in a game wherein one particular word they have to stand and with another, they have to sit. The words were coming up together, separately in an arbitrary manner. The theatre game is designed for enhancing concentration as the theatre itself needs it. The actor deals with multiple elements on stage at a time such as lights, stage design, acting style, dialogues, requisitions, co-actor(s) and sometimes, the audience. Hence, it is essential for an actor to build a kind of concentration and intuition which help them to go through this multitasking ability on the stage. Therefore, the actor preparation methodology includes some exercises and theatre games that focus on mindfulness practice and building up concentration levels. Naturally, the children were missing the instructions from time to time as they tend to the practice that instructions of sitting and standing will come one after the another. As it was not coming, that generated fun but at the same time, it pushed the children to concentrate more, listen and act carefully as they were very serious in participating in the theatre game. 

We all know, how children are good imitators and if we look carefully, we’ll understand that we all try to imitate other humans, as well as the animals. In the next part, we asked them to imitate the sound of their favourite animals. Mostly, cats, dogs and tigers arrived there. Probably because those are easier to imitate. They were also asked to walk like them. The idea was to embody animal characteristics into a human body and understand how a human body moves like an animal. If we want to imitate them carefully, we’ll understand that there are several animal behaviours that we do and we are not even aware of them. These experiments help us to understand our own bodies as well as the bodies that are around us. Along with that, the embodiment of another character or an animal forces us to develop observation skills. We also know that observation is one of the key elements that make an actor better. That also enhances the skill of analyzing behaviours. 

In the next part, the children were asked to move in the space in a haphazard way by using different manners of walking while doing the sound of animals. The exercise included cognitive usage along with creative application. The exercise of different walking patterns not only allowed the children to be aware of the possibilities of their body parts but also pushed them to use their skills of imitation and observation. During the walk, they were asked not to stamp on each other so that they can be more careful about the other bodies in a shared space. That also made them aware of how to use one space creatively. 

As the children were mostly in their early stage of entering adolescence, theatre can work as a life skill for them. As we have discussed, it worked for developing concentration, enhancing cognitive usage along with creative expression. Theatre also makes a space where a child can express themselves. That helps to work on personality development, speech and vocabulary. Theatre can help a child to push their boundaries and go beyond their imagined limitations that creating a safe space for opening up. 

Theatre camp in Chowhati was a one-day workshop that tried to give a sense of the experience of what theatre can be. That also intends to generate curiosity among the children so that they can get back to the theatre and develop a personal interest in practicing the theatre. It creates a space for a community as well where the group can grow together and develop community relationships. That’s how the practice of theatre started, as the history says.