ākāśa : a workshop on contemporary retelling & performance of folk tales

“The inner, what is it, if not the intensified sky ?” – Rainer Maria Rilke

Katha’Koli Storytelling platform presents ākāśa

A workshop which traces the relationality (relation and differences) between tradition and our being. A space which fosters intercultural dialogue and seeking an immersive storytelling experience.

About the Workshop

ākāśa is a workshop where we work on ways of assimilating our cultural memory into our current context. Using the vast treasury of performance rituals and methods as laid down in Natyshastra, we find the relationality between our past & explore current contexts – personal, social, political, etc.

Through this workshop we also seek to adapt folk tales for various applications including pedagogy, therapy, business, social issues, etc.

Unearth the creator & teller/performer of stories through a practice based on the scriptures of Natyashastara. This workshop is open to everyone and prior experience in performance or any performing arts practice is not necessary.

The objective of the workshop is to connect the participant with their expressive and creative faculties and make them more confident and effortless at presenting and performing. This workshop also acts as a stepping stone for actor training.

Basics

a. The art of Listening and types of listening
b. History and philosophy of storytelling
c. Textures of storytelling
d. The art of telling – Voice and Movement; Sound and Images.

The on line module consists of live lectures, access to videos, reading materials and suggested books, assessment and certification.

Dates :

Choose any one suitable batch

Sunday (most suitable for Australia/New Zealand, others may join too)

coming soon… send us an email (sudipta@culturemonks.in) if you’re interested and we shall get back to you with the batch details.

Saturday Batch (most suitable for Africa, Americas, Canada, Europe)

July 9, 16 & 23, 2022 from 5 pm – 7:30 pm (Universal Time) i.e 12 pm – 2:30 pm (New York time)

Sunday Batch (most suitable for India , Africa, Asia & Europe)

June 19, 26 & July 3, 2022 from 5 pm – 7:30 pm (India time) i.e 11:30 am – 2 pm (Universal Time).

August 14, 21 & 28 , 2022 from 5 pm – 7:30 pm (India time) i.e 11:30 am – 2 pm (Universal Time).

For more info whatsapp +91 8697919308. Thanks

Register

Call + 91 8697919308 or email sudipta@culturemonks.in to register.

“Was great, and really mind triggering :)” – Michaela Broeckx

“Great. Thanks a ton. Your work is wonderful and you conducted it very well. Thanks a ton. There is a higher power doing all this” – Vanitha Muthukumar

” Earlier this month I had participated in another workshop of Story Telling organised by Cultural Monks. It was a wonderful experience, learnt a lot. Thank u culture Monks. You are doing a great work for the community”. – Lipika

“Wanted to thank you with all my heart. It was indeed one of its kind cathartic experience for me”. – participant from  Kathakoli storytelling workshop
― Alakanda Chatterjee

So these are my biggest takeaways from the workshop.

Personal Learnings:
1.) The importance of warmup before any performance. This can be applied to any area in life. Eg: Everyday is a performance for me personally , so I do 15 mins of breathing based guided meditation daily; first thing in the morning before I start the day. This practice was reinforced & validated through the lessons during the workshop as I clearly felt more relaxed and “in the flow” after performing them.

2.) Through the critiquing session feedback, it was very clear that I had a lot of work to do on my editing skills while structuring any narrative. As I mentioned in the workshop, I have been repeatedly told this before, by many of my mentors, friends & colleagues. I’ve made improvements in this domain from the past but obviously I’m still a work in progress!! This workshop was an important reminder to spend more time on my editing chops!!

3.) ( This one is completely my personal viewpoint ) The most important story that you’ll tell is your OWN. The more comfortable we get owning up our OWN LIFE STORY, with all it’s imperfections, blemishes & vulnerabilities; the more we can connect authentically with others. We as humans, crave connection over concepts. We prefer the Raw & Real over Polished & Processed. We embrace simplicity over sophistication. In fact as someone famous said, ” Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

I put this to practice intentionally through my tasks at the workshop. Did the authenticity resonate with you folks? That part can only be answered by you! Let me know.

I would love to hear from the other participants about their personal experiences. And from the mentors / masters as well. Thank You.

Sudhasheel Sen ( Creative Director ) , Cogfree Advertising

Related Content

why storytelling is important

why storytelling is important in business

why storytelling is important in marketing

why storytelling works

why storytelling matters

why storytelling is important for preschoolers

why storytelling is important to a child

why storytelling is powerful

how storytelling affects the brain

how storytelling is important

how storytelling can change the world

how storytelling heals

how storytelling started

how storytelling makes us human

how storytelling is shaping the automotive industry

how storytelling helps students

are storytelling and speaking the same thing

what are storytelling techniques

humans are storytelling animals

what are storytelling elements

what are storytelling strategies

what are storytelling devices

we are storytelling creatures

we are storytelling animals