Theatre Workshop @ SP

All of the arts, poetry, music, ritual, the visible arts, the theatre, must singly and together create the most comprehensive art of all, a humanized society, and its masterpiece, free man” - Bernard Berenson

In an effort channelized towards inculcating theatre as a form of education, SPJIMR conducted the first of its many theatre workshops lined up for the current year. A Thursday that was meant to catch up on a lot of lost sleep, since it’s the weekend here, was anything like a normal Thursday. Students dropped their respective management hats to don roles totally outside their character.
So how and why did this happen? SPJIMR truly believes in the holistic concept of management with the extra stress always being on non-classroom learning. Students over the years have realized that this is truly one form of learning that makes you experience what you are supposed to learn, thereby ensuring that the learning stays within you for far longer than it would if it was just done through books.
The workshop was primarily designed to give everyone involved in the theatre group a feel of what theatre is all about. What goes into the making of a play behind what finally comes live on stage one fine evening was something that intrigued a lot of the participants, and the workshop was meant to clarify just that. What the workshop also succeeded in doing was to successfully squeeze out the acting juices of the participants in the limited time available.
With a facilitator as enthusiastic and power packed as Ms. Yuki Ellias, who came down to conduct the workshop, there was no letting go of the energy infused in each one of the participants. With these perfect ingredients in place, the workshop truly had the makings of a blockbuster and it certainly did not disappoint. It kicked off with some basic exercises to warm up the crowd (almost literally), before people actually got down to seeing and experiencing the various nuances of theatre in its larger sphere.
One of the most prominent exercises which left an indelible mark on the participants was the one in which we were asked to use our hips, shoulders, nose, knees and any other part of our body apart from our legs to walk. Interesting ain’t it? Things got more crazy when a simple expression of a smile or a frown was magnified as it passed on from one person to the other, thereby exposing to people, how much of a story can be conveyed through often under-estimated expressions.
There was more to come though. The most enjoyable part of the workshop truly followed in the 2nd half by which time, most of these first time actors were starting to find their rhythm and character. We were transformed into clowns, were given jazzy attire to play with, and were asked to entertain the crowd for a good ten minutes each as a group. . What seemed a rather straight forward fun exercise actually involved the most learning. The instructor intervened in each performance and started asking them random questions and through this intervention taught everyone present about the different types of clowns and how the best in every clown comes about when the clown is cornered and it’s this desperation that moulds the clown into the performer.
The icing on the cake though was the finale exercise where a visual space was created right there in front of our eyes. We designed an illusionary stage depicting a club with a fancy reception, a swimming pool, changing rooms, showers and et al. Artists were picked up and were asked to play a game as simple as “Chor-police” in the space that was created, thereby increasing stage awareness and self-consciousness while on stage. What was exhilarating to say the least was to see, how this exercise was repeated in 1/10th the space keeping everything else the same. The exercise truly emerged as being one that exposed artists to creativity and innovation with the limited resources and constraints available, something that most often is the case with stage performances.
Some of the biggest takeaways from the workshop included the amount of freedom that artists possessed as individuals, the teamwork that goes into the making of a production, confirming the fact that no individual was greater than the process for which we had gathered.Participants left the place feeling more rejuvenated having touch sides of themselves that they had never known existed within them. The workshop served its overall objective and with the kind of feedback it received, will ensure to be just a start of many more to come in the months ahead.

-Ajay Simha

-Abhinay N

GASPians

PGDM 2008-10

JOY!

After being here for nearly 4 months.. therez one thing that describes it all… JOY! The ‘attitude’ went down the drain, the helpfulness bloomed, some started to come out in their true colours, others who were slow, followed suit. Tragedies formed the bond, Faith strengthened it, selflessness nurtured it, and friendship grew. There were a few hits and misses, but there came a stage when every one was there for everyone who came asking. People listened to those who asked, people respected those who deserved, and people got those with an attitude, down to the ground (for their own good). Today it feels a different place, today it feels a place where joy abounds. Its a place, where the future is not worried about, the past is not pestered about, and the present moment is lived with complete passion. Talent finds itself on the pedestal, knowledge is shared, hobbies are perfected… (assignments, submissions, presentations come out reflecting this).. to an extent that the talent just oozes out. People wish they were back with their folks, but in their hearts they know they will miss this place, that they will remember the madness some day and laugh in their hearts. That on a sad day, they will have these happy memories to cherish themselves. That they met 173 of the most talented people, and had the pleasure of calling them by nick names that they dare not call anyone. And that they stood by them, in the most self less and the most heart warming way, when distress came calling. Perhaps this is what an MBA is, perhaps this is when you feel Joyful, when others around you are joyful, and you feel happy when others around you are happy. Whatever be the time, however high the pressure, it’s moments like these that tell you, that all is not lost. That these moments of Joy you lived will be yours forever. Hope this happiness stays all the way… touchwood!. I am only trying to paint a picture with words.. when you see the photos you will see the personification of what I said

Gunjan Bothra

PGDM Batch of 2010 (Finance)

S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai

Eco-Ganesha 2008

There were a few lessons we learnt as kids; those few which were fondly taught by parents, teachers and the people around us; those which have imbued subtle traits and given us a sense of responsibility towards the environment we live in. Today, we wish to share this concern with those little souls around us, who make the future of the world. L.I.F.E ( Lasting initiative for environment ), a student body at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research has been taking small steps in this direction. Following the tradition of holding ‘Ganesha Idol making’ competition, this year too, L.I.F.E brought to the floor around 400 people to witness the wonderful creations of kids. The idols were made out of waste/recyclable/biodegradable materials like vegetables, fruits, paper, wood, cardboard etc. Year after year, students of SPJIMR have been conducting "Eco Ganesha" to spread the word "We cannot command Nature except by obeying her ".
On 14th September, despite being the Ganesh Visarjan day, Bhavan’s Cultural Centre was brimming with kids and parents who were all enthusiastically waiting to participate in the institute’s eco drive. L.I.F.E, honored by the overwhelming response, started off with an introductory note on how each of us can contribute towards building the synergy between nature and humans. The talk was directed towards building awareness of the hazards caused due to usage of non-biodegradable materials and educating the audience on all the possible uses of biodegradable materials. Children were advised to avoid adopting an exploitative approach towards nature, habitat and environment for creating conditions conducive to sustainable development
This was followed by a humorous play by GASP, the theatre group of SPJIMR to entertain the kids assembled there. Mr. Tiwari of the NGO, Nava Nirmath took over the reins from there and through his innovative methods of teaching, not only kept the kids engrossed in his games, but also conveyed eco awareness through petite messages. People kept pouring in even after 6 p.m to watch the idols displayed. There were idols made from vegetables, cotton, hay, shells, mud, clay., etc. Even the glue used was made from crushed rice or sabudaana. The innovation and creativity of the kids was laudable.
When the kids left and the room was surrounded with idols on all four sides, it was a feast to watch them, all resting in sync with the environment around. L.I.F.E was only happy that it was playing its little role in infusing life back to the environment which we so fondly love.

-Nagashree Natarajan
PRComm