Sambalpur, July 31: Youngsters explored their creative potential and learnt theatrical skills at a workshop organised here recently.

As many as 130 students from 15 schools of the city took part in the two-day event, rehearsing and discovering various aspects of theatre such as acting, speech, body language, script writing, direction, music and literature.

The exercise enabled the participants to identify various aspects of their personality and understand nuances of theatre through talks on “Third theatre” and “Movement and dialogue delivery”.

Well-known personalities from the state’s theatre scene, including actors, directors and critics, imparted tips to the young actors. At the end of the session, the children had staged a play that was lauded by the audience.

“It was a wonderful experience for me. The workshop helped fine-tune my theatrical skills and I believe it has reflected on the stage,” said a young participant, Swetangi Somyadarshi Pati.

Another participant said: “I aspire to become a theatre artiste someday. The knowledge I acquired through the workshop would certainly help me realise my dream. Here, I came in touch with many students from other schools, who have a lot of talent in this field.”

A local group called Adrushya Natya Ashram organised the event as part of its national-level seminar on theatre at Aranyak Mancha.

The seminar dealt with discussions on “Role of a director in the theatre movement as a challenge taker” and “Role of women in Sambalpuri theatre movement from past to present”.

Secretary of the organising group Atish Kumar Satpathy said they had been conducting theatre workshops for school students for the past three years. “Our aim is to attract the youngsters to theatre and encourage their whole-hearted participation in this field,” he said.

Film artiste Sadhu Meher attended the closing ceremony on July 29 as the chief guest.