Last year, when the festival was facing extinction, the community came together to 'save' the festival.Friends of Thespo was born, and in honour of the crowds that supported us, we have dedicated this year to them...therefore it's Thespo 13, Theatre Tera Mera. Do come and check out India's most exciting youth theatre festival. You can reach us at: thespo13@thespo.org

Friday, December 2, 2011

Announcing plans for 2011:
·         Four Brand new plays in English and Marathi selected from 95 Plays across Seven Cities
·         Special Features –Theatre Workshops by Local and International professionals
·        Arundhati & Jagdish Raja to be honoured for Lifetime Achievement

Last year, when the festival was facing extinction, the community came together to 'save' the festival. Friends of Thespo was born, and in honour of the crowds that supported us, we have dedicated this year to them... therefore it is Thespo 13 - Theatre Tera Mera

Thespo 13 will be held from 13 to 16 December at the Prithvi Theatre and 17 & 18 December 2011 at the NCPA Experimental Theatre. The days are packed with exciting workshops, live band performances, platform performances and the much anticipated Full Length Plays!

From 95 plays across seven cities, the four plays chosen for the Thespo 13 Festival are “Cock” (English) and “Ek Don Adhich” (Marathi) from Mumbai; “Patient” (Marathi) and “Janhit Mein Jaari”  (Marathi) from Pune. The four plays shortlisted this year look at giving something back to the very audience that has supported the festival through these years.

Kashin Shetty, (Member of Screening Panel this year, participant and winner at Thespo since 2003) shares a few insights - “The festival line-up is very exciting! It made me see youth theatre in a new light. Interestingly all the plays deal with difficult questions that we are faced with day in and day out. All the plays are about making choices. Young theatre wallahs are taking the challenges of growing up head on and this is reflected in the kind of stories they have chosen to stage.”  

The festival also boasts of a series of unique workshops that will be conducted by the local and international theatre fraternity. Workshops will be lead by theatre legend Alyque Padamsee, actor/director/trainer Faezeh Jalali and RJ Rohini Ramanathan. Thanks to our continuing partnership with Urban Myth Theatre of Youth (Adelaide, Australia), we have director David Hirst at the festival. We have also joined hands with UK’s Kipper Tie Theatre who will be represented by Bernie Byrnes and Jim Fowler.

Varrun Bangera, Festival Director of Thespo 13 comments: “We were clear from the beginning that Thespo 13 was to become a much larger learning experience for every theatre lover. It is to their delight that we have an increased number of workshops from the theatre giants. Thus, Theatre Tera Mera seemed a very apt theme to go with.”

Other festival highlights include live acoustic bands. We see the return of Blek, along with new entries Tejas Menon, Vernon Noronha and Spud in the Box. Platform Performances include workshop production – Us and Them, Kalakaar Ki Kahani from Kolkata, and an expressionist contemporary dance piece A.T.T.A.C.H.E.D. (See Complete schedule attached.)

The festival will culminate in the “Thespo 13 Awards Nite” on December 18th at the NCPA Experimental Theatre. Thespo award statuettes will be presented in various acting, directing, design and writing categories. Thespo is also delighted to announce that Arundhati and Jagdish Raja will be presented the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Rajas have worn many caps over the years – producers, directors, actors and mentors to generations of theatre wallahs. Through their ART Youth programme they have been an inspiration to young theatre enthusiasts in Bangalore for over 30 years and it is only fitting that we acknowledge their invaluable contribution.
Alyque Padamsee (President – Theatre Group Bombay) shares
“Jagdish and Arundati Raja are a theatre team who have done outstanding work in Bangalore and around India for the last several decades. But unique is their achievement of building a theatre through their own efforts which is an example to all of us of how to attain the impossible.”

To take the theme of Tera Mera even further, Thespo has tied up with Crossword to create informal theatre performances and experiences at their outlets in the lead up to the festival, and Red FM have provided on air time. The Crossword Curtain Raisers will be held at 6:30pm on the 3rd, 4th, 10th and 11th of December at the Kemp’s Corner branch.

And not to forget – The Friends Of Thespo Movement forges on. In the absence of sponsorship and grants, Thespo relies on individual supporters to make the festival happen. Support, Save, Share Thespo 13 by becoming a Friend of Thespo. For more details – fot@thespo.org / call Ayushi 9833424947.

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For more details, interviews, photographs contact Thespo 13 PR Team: Manan Mehta on +91 9769952050 and Ishani Chatterji on +91 9920767209

Notes:

We invite you to support Thespo 13 by previewing the plays and/or meeting the teams

For more information or visuals of plays, call Vidisha 98675 62859


Those interested in volunteering or participating in Thespo 13 are invited to email thespo13@thespo.org

Join Thespo on facebook for regular updates:- http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99944568190

Become a Friend of Thespo and help save the festival:- http://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfThespo

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