Theatre in DU

Our education system has, time and again, been severely criticised for its cruel preference for scholastic achievers. Fortunately things are changing. All DU colleges, as per university rules, recruit students through ECA and Sports quotas, and roughly 5 students (colleges largely differ on the criteria and the number) are admitted per society/sport into the college post rigorous trials. Every DU College boasts of an active Drama and Dance society, at least.
Around admission time, every education counsellor professes that one should opt for choice of course over choice of college, since in the long run 'it is the course that stays with you, even beyond the three years you spend at college'. But what if a student wants to opt for a non-academic career? Is it then wrong to join a college for the extra-curricular activities it offers?

Personality Development is a very important aspect of college life, and what could be a better measure of the personality development that a college offers than its co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Certain colleges that haven't been as prominent as the so-called 'brands' have also done exceedingly well in this sphere. South Campus/ Off Campus colleges (Dayal Singh (Evening) and Maharaja Agrasen, for instance), which are usually behind the scenes, come to the fore-front, in this respect.
DU colleges have made a commendable effort in reviving the dying arts, especially that of theatre. 'Experimental Theatre' and 'Campus Theatre' are two genres that have become unanimous with DU's theatre tradition. The following are the colleges whose Drama Societies have been performing consistently in competitions over the years and deserve mention (aspiring actors, please note):


STREET THEATRE

Dayal Singh (Evening), Maharaja Agrasen, Kamala Nehru, SRCC, Gargi


College: Dayal Singh (Evening)
Name of the Drama Society: Junoon
Street Play(s) performed (2007-08): Street Play called 'Soch' (based on discrimination on the basis of caste and class distinctions).
Achievements: 30 prizes (approx) in all, which include 1st position at IP College of Women, Miranda, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, IP University, Dhirubhai Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad, Deshbandhu, Deshbandhu (Evening), Bhagat Singh, Janki Devi Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Rajdhani and Lady Harding besides 2nd position at AIIMS, IIT-D, IIT-K, Hansraj, SVC, KNC, MAC amongst others.
USP: "Most respected society for its enthusiasm and comic timing; presents the hardest of facts in the smoothest style." (President, Drama Society, Gargi College)


College: Maharaja Agrasen
Name of Drama Society: Abhinay
Street Play(s) Performed (2007-08): Street Play called 'Teesra Sach' (based on Trans-Genders)
Achievements: 1st position at Youth Nexus, Hindu, Gargi, JMC, IHE, and MDI, Gurgaon
USP: Original theme, natural attention-seeking tendency.


College: Kamala Nehru
Name of Drama Society: Lakshya
Street Play(s) Performed (2007-08): Street play called 'Iss raste par' (based on Road Rage)
Achievements: 1st position at SRCC, LSR, Gargi, Hindu and Dayal Singh (Evening)
USP: Unconventional, infectious energy levels.


College: Sri Ram College of Commerce
Name of Drama Society: Dram.-Soc.
Street Play(s) Performed (2007-08): Street play called 'Aham Bramhasmi' (based on Communalism)
Achievements: Held 1st position at IIM Bangalore, NIFT and Indian Institute of Labour and Management, Gurgaon
USP: Spontaneous, amazing talent pool, versatile, catchy music.


College: Gargi
Name of Drama Society: Kshitij
Street Play(s) Performed (2007-08): Street play called 'Haan Main Samajh Gaya' (based on the loop-holes of the Indian Education System)
Achievements: 1st position at MAC and Mata Sundri
USP: Simple to comprehend, constant motion.



STAGE THEATRE

Lady Sri Ram, Kirori Mal, Hansraj, Sri Venkateswara


College: Lady Sri Ram
Name of Drama Society: Dram.-Soc.
Stage Play(s) Performed (2007-08): Hindi Stage play 'Kharashein' (K) written by Gulzar, English Stage Plays; Mahesh Dattani's 'Tara'(T) and Woody Allen's 'Death' (D) besides the Public Production 'Final Solutions' both written and directed by Mahesh Dattani
Achievements: (K) 1st position at IIT Powai (Bombay), MICA; (T) SRCC, IIM Bangalore, DCE; (D) NLS Bangalore and JMC.
USP: "Brilliant timing; be it comedy, drama or tragedy; campus theatre in professional taste." (Member, Drama Society, Hansraj)



College: Kirori Mal
Name of Drama Society: The Players
Stage Play(s) Performed (2007-08): Hindi Stage Plays 'Holi' (written by Mahesh Elkunchwar) and 'Line Mein Lago' (written by Nigel Williams). English Stage Play 'Ground Zero'(self-scripted)
Achievements: Holi and Ground Zero performed 15 times, out of which 11 were competitive performances where KMC received in all 13 prizes (approx). Holi has had a reputation of either winning or being disqualified completely. Ground Zero, on the other hand, uniformly received high critical acclaim.
USP: Amazing actors; offer variety without compromising on performance.


College: Hansraj
Name of Drama Society: Theatrix
Stage Play(s) Performed (2007-08): English Stage Play 'Vagina Monologues' (an adaptation of the popular novel by the same name)
Achievements: 1st position at BITS Pilani, 'Vagina Monologues' voted as the 'Best Play' at SRCC, IP College for Women and Miranda House
USP: Risk-taking attitude; limited resources, maximum utilisation.


College: Sri Venkateswara
Name of Drama Society: (Hindi) Anubhuti/ (English) Verbum
Stage Play(s) Performed (2007-08): Hindi Stage play, Vijay Tendulkar's Baby. English Stage play, Adaptation of Woody Allen's 'God'
Achievements: Hindi Dramatics Society won in all 18 prizes while the English Dramatics Society won 6. 14 prizes out of these went to the Stage Play Category (both Hindi and English)
USP: Bold choice of script; merging the difference between campus theatre and professional theatre.

Non-competitive performances were held in terms of various theatre festivals and special performances on invitation basis. Most of the above-listed colleges were present at one or the other of these venues: NSD, IHC, KMC, Stephen's, Hansraj besides Govt. College University, Lahore.