The Temple of Fine Arts Pancatantra Ensemble Theatre was initiated in 2004 to augment the dance and music studies already available at The Temple of Fine Arts.

The drama component is taught based on five basic principles:

karyam script or text

kaayam body, action or movement

kalpanam imagination, mind and intelligence

vaakyam speech and vocal expression

rasa sentiment, flavour or essence

 

The objectives are three-fold:

1 stimulate a heightened awareness and appreciation for prose, poems and plays and using these as a vehicle for creative expression in a theatre environment

2 refine speech and vocal expression, stage presence and confidence

3 develop acting skills

 

The methods used include:

vocal exercises * understanding rhythm and meaning in text * character, circumstance and challenge * interpreting text and character * understanding emotions * physicalizing thoughts, ideas and emotions

 

The pilot drama project involved eight teenage dance and music students using texts from plays, prose and poems - all in English. The resource material includes Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra, Jerome Lee's Inherit the Wind, Sanskrit playwright Bhasa's The Broken Thighs, and William Buck's Ramayana.

Drama Workshops for teenagers and children are conducted on a needs basis depending on the availability of time and space at TFA.

 

Sample drama workshop A

TEXT & CONTEXT
Exploring text, meaning, and mime for Dance

This short 2hr x 5 days course will help senior dancers explore deeper possibilities of meaning and expression in dance and drama through the study of common speech, poetry, lyrics and improvisation exercises aimed at releasing the emotions.

A1 Meaning and Rhythm in Text
A2 Emotional Shades in Text
A3 The In-Between, Unspoken Thought in Text

B1 Character – Mental & Physical States
B2 Visualisation – Creating the Physical Space
B3 Reviewing Cliches in Mime

C1 Placing Text in Context
C2 Breathing Life into Character

 

Sample Drama workshop B

IMPROVISATION & STAGE PRESENCE
Stimulating the Imagination & Expression

This short 3.5 hr x 5 days course explores the inherent need for expression, and the diverse ways that are available to a teenager. The core of the course is to enhance self-confidence and stage presence, leading to an awareness of untapped creativity and imagination.

1 Vocal Exercises: Breathing / Diaphragm / Projection
2 Confidence in a Word: the use and uses of everyday words
3 Accents: verbal and physical – moulding a character
4 Creating a Short Scene: the principles of drama
5 Freeze & Go: Improvisation of Scene
6 Ensemble Spontaneous Scene Building
7 Presentation

 

Lam Ghooi-Ket / drama instructor

Ket is an ardent practitioner of the arts who has learned both Bharatanatyam and Odissi, and has been involved in theatre since his university days. His extensive travels as a journalist for a lifestyle magazine gave him many opportunities to experience art and life in diverse ways. At the Temple of Fine Arts, Ket played a major role in developing the scripts for most of the dance dramas created by Swamiji. After his role as the Sage Viswamitra in Ramayana, he began to write for the stage: Dharmasoka, Buddham Sharanam Gacchaami, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sundera Keralam, Taj Mahal, Shakuntala, Butterfly Lovers, and most of scripts for smaller in house productions such as the Dinner Show Melas.

Recently in 2004, Ket presented a troupe of young actors in 5 theatre pieces as a full programme which included passages from the Ramayana novel by William Buck; scenes from Romeo & Juliet; an excerpt from Bhasa’s play The Broken Thigh. This was followed up later in 2005 by “All 4 Love”, exploration of the theme of love using Shakespeare: Antony & Cleopatra, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and William Buck’s rendition of Savitri & Satyavan.

In February 2006, he successfully adapted, produced and directed Shakespeare’s Merchant with 12 young actors, setting the entire action in Klang, Malaysia, Indianising the characters but remaining true to the Bard’s text. For the first time, the role of Shylock was played by an actress!

Ket has also conducted an intensive 30 hour course for youngsters which culminated in a presentation of a play The Crow, The Mole & The Tortoise, written by him based on the Pancatantra Tales by Vishnu Sharma.In May 2006, Ket wrote, produced, and directed Journeys to the Buddha, a series of three monologues detailing the mindscapes of three characters who lived during the Buddha’s time. This was essentially an experiment in exploring the dramatic capabilities of the young actors in creating characters with intense psychological and emotional needs.

At present, two new plays are in the works: The Crimson Curtain - a story of a devadasi at the turn of the 20th century and Genies and Hidden Treasures - an adaptation of tales from the Arabian Nights.