RANGAYANA – A Dramatic Journey!
If INDIA is a land of culture and tradition, MYSURU is the city of heritage. Rangayana is a theatre institute which operates from Mysuru, Karnataka, India.
Rangayana was started by the government of Karnataka in 1989 for the promotion of offstage crafts and plays. The medium of language used in the theatre and stage performances are in Kannada. B.V Karanth was appointed as the first director of the institute. If one wants to pursue his carrier in acting, he can opt for courses in stagecraft, preparation and presentation of the splays in Kannada since we all know where most of the actor’s kick-starting journey like Sharukh khan began! Bhagirathi Bai Kadam is the present director of Rangayana.
Theatre arts would provide a solid base for all the aspiring actors Unlike cinema, which deals with lots and lots of lights, camera and action where it plays a major role to keep the audience intact right from the beginning till the end. The theatre and performing arts are quite challenging! Therefore the exaggeration of the dialogues and their expressions are extremely important to reach the mass audience. In order to achieve this, Rangayana offers a one year diploma course in theatre. The organization constitutes a professional repertory company theatre training institute called Bharatiya Ranga Shikshana Kendra and a documentation and research centre called Sriranga Ranga Mahiti. Being the only government repertory in the country, it also hosts a theatre fest in Mysuru every year. In addition to this, it also attends the national drama festivals held at New Delhi, Mumbai and Bhopal. The theatre training institute was started by Rangayana in 2001-02 provides vocational training for teachers, social activists and amateur theatre personalities. Rangayana hosts different stages for performance such as Bhoomigitha, Vanaranga, Sriranga, Kutira and an art gallery called LANKESH art gallery bearing the name of popular writer and journalist late P.LANKESH.
Rangayana also organizes theme-based national festivals which host handicrafts exhibition, book exhibition, food festival, art exhibition, seminar and interactions with leading theatre personalities. If cinema is the child, stage shows and performing arts are its parents! Here, the talent will learn the art of presenting himself to his best and extreme potential, since he is facing his audience directly. The audience’s reaction will further motivate him to perform better since the output or the reaction of the audience is eventually seen. The bonding between the actor and the audience is more intimate than that of which is being screened in the cinema hall. Therefore, theatre arts would definitely form a solid base for the talents of all age groups.
by Dharithri V. Mysore
