Jammu, June 01: Natrang’s Summer Theatre Camp for children- 2025- the most sought after and ultimate professionally devised event for children in the region was inaugurated here Sunday at Natrang Studio Theatre, Jammu with the lighting of traditional lamps by Director Natrang, Padmashri Balwant Thakur.
Natrang’s Summer Children Theatre camp matches the international standards in terms of the level of its activities, training faculty and the programme structure. The exposure of participating children is going to be all time high. To cite one example, on June 2, the children are being shown Natrang’s popular play ‘Sainyan Bhaye Kotwal’ at Abhinav Theatre, Jammu at 6 pm. Such opportunities are very rare and the participating children are lucky to have such occasions. Thakur who has worked in over 100 countries internationally has devised the programme module after having worked in the best of the children centres like Oxford Summer School and Cambridge Children Theatre. The most noteworthy feature of Natrang’s Children programme is that it focuses more on social development, self-development, emotional development, critical thinking, public speaking, empathy fostering and enhancing cognitivity. Children Theatre Camp-2025 will be conducted by Sumeet Sharma who is a National Awardee for direction in theatre. Neeraj Kant and Gauri Thakur in addition to Balwant Thakur will also conduct sessions in this workshop. Natrang’s Children Theatre Wing was started in the year 1990 and since then, annual Summer Theatre camps, Spring Theatre workshops, Winter Theatre Workshops have been a regular feature of Natrang’s children activities. Over 5,000 children have been trained in this process and the majority of them are now top professionals in varied fields. Fact remains that theatre transforms an individual to a level that he/she excels and succeeds in every field. The period of summer vacations is exclusively dedicated for children theatre every year by Natrang as this is the only time when children have many days in continuity to learn, explore and groom their personalities and improve their immense inner abilities in a fun-filled creative space and occasion. Till now, Natrang has groomed the personalities of thousands of children with an effective and efficient transforming tool called theatre. A new full-length play would also be prepared by the participants during Natrang’s Theatre Camp-2025 which would be presented before larger audiences who get a chance to watch a wonderful children’s play every year as the outcome of the summer theatre camp. The training module is designed by Padmashree Balwant Thakur, who has taken the children theatre of Jammu to the entire length and breadth of the Country. His children theatre productions like ‘Mere Hisse Ki Dhoop Kahan Hai’, ‘Aap Hamare Hain Kaun’, ‘Hum Hain Na’, ‘Udaan’ etc. are considered to be the landmark children productions of India. His play ‘Aap Hamaare Hain Kaun’ has been translated and staged in French, English and Creole internationally. Special training focus of the workshop will be on developing communication skills, public speaking and imbibing of confidence through latest developed techniques of theatre. The skill developing techniques, devised by Sumeet Sharma during his consistent work with children for over 25 years, prove very successful in imparting the benefits of theatre to the children. The workshop module is consistently developed and upgraded by the innovative inputs by the top professionals and children would get training under the supervision of expert trainers. The camp will also have the intervention of allied arts, Cartooning, Yoga and visual arts in addition to dancing.
