On Theatre Education
The actor then found that to communicate his invisible meanings he needed concentration, he needed will, he needed to summon all his emotional reserves,he needed courage, he needed clear thought- Peter Brook.
The Buddha talks about the inner golden rule:
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habit.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
This is one of d focus of the theater education program – human making.
Also, Shiksha (education) becomes effective when it is done with due Diksha (respect,humility). For education is not a mere process of sitting near the teacher and listening to her. True education involves active participation in the process of evolution of ideas.
Art is that human activity which consists in one man’s consciously conveying to others by certain external signs, the feelings he has experienced,and others being infected by those feelings and also experiencing them.
The good is that which no one can define, but which defines everything else- Leo Tolstoy.
Art in our time can be and is of two kinds:
1.Religious art : which conveys feelings coming from a religious consciousness of human position in d world with regards to God and his neighbor.
2 Universal art : which conveys the simplest everyday feelings of life such as are accessible to everyone in the world.
True science studies and introduces into human consciousness the truths and the knowledge which are regarded as most important by the people of a certain period and society. Art transfers these truths from the realm of knowledge to the realm of feelings.
Acting is not about mouthing some lines..it is about becoming and reaching goals. Thought and character are the two natural courses from which actions spring and on actions all success or failure depends.
Great performances exude both exactness and a powerful sense of freedom. This freedom can only be found within certain chosen limitations. We should use theatre to question the limits and boundaries of human experience.as a director or an actor your biggest contribution to a play and the only real gift one can offer is attention.
What counts most is the quality of the attention. Attention is an action and it can be learned and practiced. It is a way of touching the world.
Composition in the theatre is writing with your feet, with others, in space and time, using the language of theatre. The actors job in the workshop room is to articulate rather than to please.
An actor is faced with a dilemma- the choice to discharge or concentrate experience. It is easy to discharge.you just let it go, spill it. Whenever you feel overcome. A good actor understands the necessity to concentrate on the irritations, the random feelings, the difficulties,the infatuation,everything that occurs from moment to moment and compress them, let them cook and find the appropriate moment for clear and articulate expression. Your attitude towards resistance determine the success of your work and your future.
About Raja
Raja Chakraborty has trained in theatre at the National School of Drama, New Delhi
He is a very experienced and accomplished theatre actor/director , a film actor & a theatre/acting coach.
He has led several theatre based intervention projects for the United Nations. Raja has been conducting theatre education programs around the country and has also worked with Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai.
As an actor his films have won great recognition at International Film Festivals.
He will be joined by other highly qualified and experienced personalities from the filed of theatre, music, visual arts and films.
Culture Monks 