On a low-key tenor, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi, is conducting a 75-day Young Theatre Artistes Workshop in Joka. This is part of a cycle of projects aimed at changing the scope of theatre education in the country. The workshop, which started on December 5, involves stage students from eastern India.

?Back in 2000, the first phase of workshops was conducted in seven zones across India with participants aged between 18 and 35,? said camp director and instructor Satish Anand, acclaimed actor-director on the Hindi stage.

The ongoing camp at Art Land Hotel, Joka, is the second one in the second phase and 29 students from Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and Bihar are attending classes. From 8.30 am to way beyond 5.30 pm, the students are busy with the theories and techniques of theatre.

Guiding them is an array of actors, scholars, directors, make-up artists, and set and light designers. ?From how to read a play to music, western dance, yoga and poster design ? almost every aspect of Indian and Western theatre will be touched upon,? said Jayasree Mitra of Padatik, which is coordinating the workshop.

If Anand is giving voice and speech training, Ratan Thiyam from Manipur will share inputs on his style of production, Gopi of Kerala will teach Kalaripayattu, V. Ramamurthy of Bangalore will demonstrate lighting techniques. The faculty also includes Samik Bandopadhyay, Niranjan Goswami, N.K. Panikkar, Nisaar Allana and Kirti Jain. Badal Sircar, Kumar Roy, Usha Ganguly, Bibhas Chakraborty and Rudraprasad Sengupta are also scheduled to drop in.

A colour of life

Before she shot to fame for her gift of the gab, Oprah Winfrey had made a name as an actress with her debut film The Colour Purple, directed by Steven Spielberg. Fifteen years on, the most famous talk-show host on the small screen is throwing her weight behind The Colour Purple, yet again. But this time it?s a musical on Broadway. Based on Alice Walker?s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Colour Purple tells the story of a black girl growing up in the 1900s. The show opened on December 1 in New York.

?The Colour Purple has long been a part of my life, from the first time I read it over 20 years ago until now. I?ve always wanted as many people as possible to experience this story. To present this Broadway production is a dream come true and a full-circle moment for me,? Oprah tells The Associated Press.