On April 1, The Stage Door – Theatre Studio, a theatre workshop, has opened its doors to students of dramatics at every level of proficiency to help hone their skills under the guidance of The Stage Door founder Rijita Chatterjee.
On offer will be interdisciplinary modules through which it aims to help learners and performers to productively use theatre as a source of craft, education, awareness and, eventually, change.
Chatterjee is also an actor, director and theatre trainer as well as singer. After gathering experience in the dramatic arts in Calcutta, she studied acting and theatre at the University of Surrey. Thereafter, she had been to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art for an in-depth understanding of musicality and performance. Recently she had an opportunity to explore activism via theatre at The University College Cork in Ireland.
The Stage Door will be conducting its workshops throughout the year. The students will be able to work in the language that they are most comfortable with — Bengali, Hindi or English. The modules would be spread over three months of training each and comprise learning and creating. Those who go through the training are expected to be capable of staging their own production at the end of it.
Classes will be held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Time slot options are 11am to 1pm, 3pm to 5pm, and 5pm to 7pm. The fee structure has been kept flexible to allow even the most budget-constrained but enthusiastic participant to join.
Chatterjee says The Stage Door has been born out of her passion and hopes to be able to promote the performing arts through this platform.
From musical theatre to site-specific theatre, from theatre etiquette and ethics to the crude moments of feet on the stage and owning the stage, The Stage Door will be training performers in every aspect of the theatre world.
With 1,450sq ft, The Stage Door is airy and spacious and can accommodate a large number of students. The workshop is equipped with green rooms and practice rooms with mirrors and quirky purple doors to make the space look eccentric.
