Theatre workshop with Dastak, NSD begins in city

A month-long production-based theatre workshop was inaugurated on Wednesday at Dastak Studio, Kabir Park, under the joint initiative of Dastak Theatre and the extension programme of the National School of Drama (NSD), in collaboration with Amandeep Hospital, Amritsar.

The workshop was formally inaugurated by eminent theatre personality and director Avtar Sahni. A Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and noted light designer, Sahni said that theatre artists and those associated with this art have a responsibility towards society. While he praised the talent in Punjab and Amritsar, he also praised the theatre duo of Rajender Singh and Amitaa Sharma, both NSD alumni and eminent theatre persons for mentoring theatre artists from city.

“The consistent efforts of Dastak Theatre for the growth of Punjabi theatre are truly commendable. By participating in this workshop, the students have already taken a strong step towards shaping a bright theatrical future,” said Sahni.

Camp Director Rajinder Singh and co-director Amita Sharma encouraged the participants to actively engage and explore their potential through the training.

Theatre design faculty Sunny Masoon emphasised that becoming an actor is not an overnight journey, and motivated students to pursue hard work and discipline.

Singh said that the workshop has drawn around 20 participants from across the country including Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Bathinda, Patiala, Bihar, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Maharashtra.

“The training sessions will be led by noted theatre experts Avtar Sahni (Direction), Amit Saxena (Scenography & Body Movement), Ravi Sheen (Theatre Music), Sunny Masoon (Theatre Design), and Amita Sharma (Acting Expert and Associate Director). Along with theatre training, the participants will be introduced to the rich Punjabi cultural heritage through Kavishri, Sufi Kavishri and Bhand-Marasi traditions. We want to disseminate not just drama training but also traditional theatre art forms of Punjab,”said Rajender Singh.