File picture of children staging a play at an event organised by Baa

Nov. 20: Budding actors in the city will celebrate Christmas this year by staging Raja, a play by renowned author Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi and directed by Anup Hazarika, at the auditorium of Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra on December 25.

The play will be staged on the concluding day of a 21-day “production-oriented winter children theatre workshop” for children between five and 12 years of age.

It is being organised under the aegis of Baa — The Creative Breeze, a city-based socio-cultural organisation, in collaboration with the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi.

Besides the acting part, the budding actors will be imparted training on the diverse aspects of drama under the guidance of workshop director and theatre personality Pakija Begum.

“The workshop will be an educative trip for the young aspiring theatre enthusiasts on diverse aspects of theatre. During the three weeks, children will also have rehearsal sessions on Raja, the famous story by Bordoloi baidew, so that after attending the workshop they can showcase their talent through the play in front of the audience.”

Besides acting, the participants of the workshop will also be trained in martial arts, yoga, voice modulation, make-up, light designing, set designing, costume designing, play writing, choreography, property making, production process and theatre music.

Baa has been conducting theatre workshops especially for children for the past four years.

“Grooming child actors and technicians is one of Baa’s main priorities. This will help them take up theatre not merely as a hobby, but also as a career choice when they grow up. Moreover, the city’s child actors have great potential. What we, as theatre workers, can do is hone their talents and help in the growth and development of theatre culture,” said Begum.

About choosing Raja for the workshop, Begum said: “The story has great potential that can be explored in several areas. The practice sessions of the play will also help the children learn a lot about the various departments of theatre.”

Keeping in view school timings, the workshop sessions will be conducted in the evening for three hours every day.

Established in 1995, some of the prominent productions of Baa are Agnigarh (1996) by playwright Arun Sarma and directed by Anup Hazarika, Sinsa Paneer Maach (1998) by playwright Mahendra Borthakur and directed by Anup Hazarika, Menaka (1998) directed by Pakeezah Begum, Charandas Chor (2000) directed by Anup Hazarika, Rupaleem (2002) directed by Anup Hazarika, Saru Dhemali Bar Dhemali (2004) directed by Pakeezah Begum, Bandar Aru Shiyal (2004) directed by Anup Hazarika and Moi Tuniye Tuntunalu by playwright Navakanta Barua and directed by Anup Hazarika which was also staged at Jashn-e-Bachpan, the National Children Theatre Festival organised by the NSD in New Delhi in 2003.

Baa’s last production Rajkumar Hemendrajit, an Assamese adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, directed by Anup Hazarika, won the appreciation of critics when it was staged at the Kalakshetra auditorium.