Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Around 240 candidates from across the country showcased their acting, dancing and singing skills at Ravindra Convention Centre in the city. It was part of a six-day preliminary round of auditions for admission to the two-year PG Diploma in Theatrical Arts, launched by the Madhya Pradesh School of Drama (MPSD). The candidates were from West Bengal, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.
They were asked about the basic knowledge of theatre and also about the place from which they belong to. Director of the School, Teekam Joshi told Free Press that the candidates were not artistes; they just want to become artistes. ‘So, we are not testing their theatrical skills. We are just trying to gauge their level of awareness about the culture, language and folk arts of their place,’ he said.
Film and theatre actor Purva Joshi, theatre actor and director Priyanka Shakti Thakur, NSD alumnus Sanjay Shrivastava and head of theatre department Raja Mansingh Tomar University, Gwalior were judges for the audition.
The auditions will continue till May 28 and around 80-90 candidates will be shortlisted for the final round by May 30, Joshi added.
The inaugural session of the two-year PG Diploma in Theatrical Arts launched by the Madhya Pradesh School of Drama (MPSD) will begin from mid-July. The School was so far running a one-year diploma course. The degree will be awarded by Raja Mansingh Tomar University, Gwalior and the course content will be broadly along the lines of MA (Theatre) course run by the university.
