<p class="bodytext">Bhasha Centre for Performing Arts is organising a theatre festival from June 6. The main focus of the nine-day fest, ‘Kusumaale’, is contemporary Kannada playwriting. The festival is being conducted in partnership with Chiguru by Prestige Centre for Performing Arts.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nine new plays written by the first fellows of Bhasha’s Girish Karnad Fellowship for Kannada Playwriting will be staged. </p>.Online public opinion poll for reprinting out-of-stock Kannada classics.<p class="bodytext">A year ago, Bhasha conceived the fellowship programme to encourage contemporary playwriting. “Younger playwrights don’t seem to engage with contemporary writing in theatre. There is a tendency to drift towards mythology and the classics. As much as those are important, there are also stories around us, of the lives we lead, the people we know, the opinions we hold. And these are topics of great interest,” says Vivek Madan, founder of Bhasha Centre.</p>.<p class="bodytext">From the 40 applications they received, 11 playwrights were chosen for two residency workshops focusing on discovering the stories they want to tell. Of the nine scripts that emerged, five plays will be presented as full productions and four as rehearsed readings. Theatre persons Irawati Karnik, Lakshman K P, Sathwik N N, and Yashaswini were the facilitators of the programme. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Some of the seminars at the fest include ‘Gender, Gaze, and Authority’ by literary critic and writer M S Asha Devi, ‘Theatre of Power: Interrogating Politics of Performance’ by literary critic and writer Rajendra Chenni, and ‘The Confluence of Many Kannada(s) in Children’s Theatre’ by poet and <br />playwright Kotiganahalli Ramaiah. </p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="italic">Kusumaale, June 6 to 14, at <br />Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, Konanakunte. For tickets and details, visit bhashacentre.com</span></p>
<p class="bodytext">Bhasha Centre for Performing Arts is organising a theatre festival from June 6. The main focus of the nine-day fest, ‘Kusumaale’, is contemporary Kannada playwriting. The festival is being conducted in partnership with Chiguru by Prestige Centre for Performing Arts.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nine new plays written by the first fellows of Bhasha’s Girish Karnad Fellowship for Kannada Playwriting will be staged. </p>.Online public opinion poll for reprinting out-of-stock Kannada classics.<p class="bodytext">A year ago, Bhasha conceived the fellowship programme to encourage contemporary playwriting. “Younger playwrights don’t seem to engage with contemporary writing in theatre. There is a tendency to drift towards mythology and the classics. As much as those are important, there are also stories around us, of the lives we lead, the people we know, the opinions we hold. And these are topics of great interest,” says Vivek Madan, founder of Bhasha Centre.</p>.<p class="bodytext">From the 40 applications they received, 11 playwrights were chosen for two residency workshops focusing on discovering the stories they want to tell. Of the nine scripts that emerged, five plays will be presented as full productions and four as rehearsed readings. Theatre persons Irawati Karnik, Lakshman K P, Sathwik N N, and Yashaswini were the facilitators of the programme. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Some of the seminars at the fest include ‘Gender, Gaze, and Authority’ by literary critic and writer M S Asha Devi, ‘Theatre of Power: Interrogating Politics of Performance’ by literary critic and writer Rajendra Chenni, and ‘The Confluence of Many Kannada(s) in Children’s Theatre’ by poet and <br />playwright Kotiganahalli Ramaiah. </p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="italic">Kusumaale, June 6 to 14, at <br />Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, Konanakunte. For tickets and details, visit bhashacentre.com</span></p>