Nisha is busy collaborating with the young crowd for their annual day productions

CHOOLS and colleges are now actively outsourcing workshops. From a crafts session by Crafts Council of India instructors to theatre courses by leading groups, and a recent college competition conducted by Evam, the extracurricular front has been vastly revamped. Case in point: Theatre Nisha's school plays.

Having collaborated with Stella Maris College for their play Black, Blue and Other Hues, V Balakrishnan, the founder is all set to team up with four schools for their annual day productions. "For two schools, I have chosen Bhasa's plays as it is the 100th year of discovery of his plays," says Balakrishnan. Bhasa is one of the earliest and most celebrated playwrights of India. He is a predecessor to Kalidasa as the latter has mentioned him in one of his works. From Alpha to Omega, a school for special children on OMR to re gulars like MCTMMCTM, Holy Angels and Navadisha, Balakrishnan trains them all. "With Alpha, we work through the year that culminates in two productions during their annual day," explains the director. "And this year we have zeroed in on four plays of Bhasa -Duta Ghatotkacham, Karna Bharam, Urubhangam, Dutavaakyam." Bhasa's plays are derived from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The most interesting aspect of Bhasa's works is that he mostly tries to reason out the cause of the villains. For example, Urubhangam features Duryodhana as a repentant hero while he lies dying on the war field.

Karna Bharam on the other hand showcases the miserable plight of Karna, another epic character from Mahabharata. "In fact, these two are the only known tragic Sanskrit plays," explains Balakrishnan. "As Natya Shastra considers plays with sad endings inappropriate." Dutavaakyam is based on Krishna and is detailed in the Udyoga Parva of Mahabharata while D Duta Ghatotkacham is a one-act play b based on Bhima's son Ghatotkacha. "For t the seniors, we are presenting an easy v version of Julius Caesar in an army b background," declares Balakrishnan.
Catch the plays on November 16 at Chinmaya Heritage Centre.

For Navadisha, Balakrishnan is adding another Bhasa creation Madhyam Vyayog to the above four. In the play, Ghatotkacha, son of Hidimba and Pandava prince Bhima goes in search of a human to feed his mother. He encounters a family of five and is a witness to acts of selflessness as each member of the family volunteers himself in order to save the rest. It is then decided that the second son would be Hidimba's meal. The rest of the tale talks about the encounter between Ghatotkacha and Bhima, who is s u m m o n e d by t h e f a m i l y. B h a s a BharatamwillbeperformedonDecember 5 at Chinmaya Heritage Centre.

Theatre Nisha is also working with MCTM School on Scot on the Rocks ­ a parody of Macbeth and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for Holy Angels. To be presented on November 18 and January 6 2010 respectively .