Theatre and Theatrical skills are the best means of delivering development and learning to Special Children – Children who are mentally challenged, Children with retarded growth, etc. Theatre therapy helps these Children to become more aware of their bodies and minds, be creative and learn self-help, academic and social skills. All of the above lead to a high degree of empowerment of the Special Children resulting in the overall development of their personality.
Theatre Lab works with the Maduram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children. Chennai, in the last 6 months has proved the above said hypotheses. It is, therefore, imminent to vision out and develop an effective and holistic Process (a Pedagogy) that addresses the needs of the Teachers, Parents and the Special Children using Theatre and the different aspects of Theatre as the medium. Theatre Lab intends to leverage the 18 year experts in Theatre and work with the Maduram Narayanan Centre to evolve this Pedagogy, which will have world-wide use.
As a Theatre school, It believes that becoming an Actor is a complex learning process and thus it’s Actor training includes theatre & voice training from traditional and modern sources; Music & dance trainings martial art forms like Silambam, Stuntfight, Gymnastic, Kalaripayettu, Thai-chi; Yoga Vipassana & Zen Meditation, as a life Theatre It’s activities encompass the entire range of theatre specialization such. Theatre Education, Theatre in corporate, Theatre for social awareness, and Theatre for creative learning workshop etc.
THEATRELAB'S OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
CREATING ALL-ROUND ACTORS :
One of the chief objectives of Theatre lab has been to create an all-round actor. It believes that becoming an actor is a complex learning process. Theatre Lab has been able to develop a very powerful method of training the actors by integration of these learning’s.
THEATRE/STAGECRAFT
Theatre Lab expertise extends to stagecraft – sets, costumes, stage management; direction, lighting and music composition.
FOLK PERFORMING ART
Theatre Lab has a long association with almost all the performing arts groups in Tamil Nadu. These include Theru-k-koothu, Devarattom, Thapattam,(Tamilnadu&Andhra), Karaghattam, Silambam, Thudumbu, Peenachi, Poikaal Kudhirai, and tribal percussion and dance traditions
THEATRE IN EDUCATION
Theatre Lab works with schools and colleges and provides a variety of training in theatre basics, traditional forms, and behavioral training for the faculty in these institutions.
THEATRE IN CORPORATE
Theatre Lab has offered plays, custom entertainment and custom theatre-based behavioral training to corporates.
THEATRE FOR SOCIAL AWARNESS
Theatre Lab continues to produce street plays and train teams from other organizations to effectively create and stage street plays with socially relevant messages.
STANDARD TRAINING MODULES
Theatrelab has created training modules on topics such as Kaizen, Leadership, and Safety-Health-Environment for corporates.
STREET THEATRE
Theatrelab pioneered Street Theatre and has provided scripts and enacted social plays for the government and various social movements on a wide variety of topics ranging from AIDS to Traffic Control. In this regard, Theatrelab has trained Policemen, NGOs and other sets of people in Street Play Techniques.
THEATRE-BASED CREATING LEARNING WORKSHOPS:
TheatreLab has created theatre-based learning curricula and programmes for NGOs, Schools and colleges. The curricula include theatre exercises, puppetry, mask-making, clown theatre, martial arts and yoga.
TheatreLab has been regularly interacting with the Sankalp learning disable Centre, Lady Andal School, Maduram Narayanan Centre,The Little Theatre, Corporationschool at Chetpet,Pathway, ICCW(Indian Council for Child Welfare),Baniyan, Dhakshina Chitra.and Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Educare, at Chromepet.