Evam might have given us some of the best standup comedians in the recent past, but its amateur acting and theatre course, called First Rush, is equally popular, especially among young drama aspirants, corporate professionals and students. In the coming edition of First Rush, the 33rd batch will enact five single-act plays in a production titled 5 Shades of Something, with genres ranging from horror and comedy to emotional and family drama.
Priyanka Natarajan, who is one of the organisers of First Rush this year, informs that three of the scripts have been written by previous First Rush participants, while the remaining two were written and staged earlier by city-based Hari Ramakrishnan, who freelances for Evam and has directed the last four batches of First Rush, including the 33rd.
Held thrice a year, First Rush consists of workshops that are held over two days, from which selected participants will work for a month as a mock theatre group under the supervision of an eminent acting or theatre artiste. Priyanka says, “The two-day workshop focuses on basic nuances of live acting and theatre acting. This time, we got an initial number of 16 registrations, who were taught by John Pradeep, a theatre artiste for the past 12 years. He is also a mime and clown artiste.”
John explains how he ensures that the participants receive an all-round training experience. “They are taught everything, from organising shows and designing costumes to organising ticket sales. Activities and stage practice make up most of the training, based on a curriculum set in collaboration with city-based group, Training Sideways,” he says, adding that famous First Rushers include popular television and TV actor Amit Bhargav.
Tomorrow, 7 pm. At Alliance Francaise. Tickets from Rs. 200 on in.bookmyshow.com