BBC NEWS- SHIP OF THESEUS

NEERAJ KABI'S PERFORMANCE IN "SHIP OF THESEUS" - FILM TRAILER 2012

 ARUNA FROM THE IFA INTERVIEWS NEERAJ KABI 

ON 

ARTS EDUCATION

As a young actor in Pune, Neeraj Kabi entered into the world of arts education primarily for sustenance. As he toured various schools, bringing theatre and elocution to classrooms in Kendriya Vidyalayas, Neeraj observed that middle-class children were disconnected from being children and were often ashamed and embarrassed of their background. Seeing their lives transforming through the arts became a catalyst for Neeraj’s long-term commitment to arts education. He subsequently moved to Mumbai where he initiated a project in his neighbourhood, going door to door, offering arts education services to help children feel good about themselves, feel empowered and also learn a bit about the arts. He started Pravaha Theatre Laboratory, a space where the children could “flow” into their lives through their emotions, thought, and physicality without restrictions. In its early days Pravaha started with a pool of 35 children; workshops involved a range of arts including puppetry, kalari payattu, chhau, Kathakali, painting, and performing excerpts from Indian and foreign writers. The idea of these workshops was to work on “joy” and not “fun.” Neeraj’s team created a profile for each child with observations about their daily activities and shared the raw output of these workshops with parents. He notes with some satisfaction that though some parents, expecting art to be neat, clean and refined went away disappointed, out of initial 35 children, at least 12 went on to develop careers in the arts because of this exposure and approach.

Neeraj is interested in locating the artistic experience within scientific parameters by mapping the cognitive processes that underlie basic theatrical skills such as visualisation and emoting. He opines that when children are made aware of bodily and scientific processes behind gestures and performance they are able to connect it up with everyday life, an approach that leads them to see things in an artistic manner. So, in Pravaha, painting rain, for instance, is a multi-step process. Children would lie on the ground for 3-4 weekends doing nothing but listening to the rain. Then they would get wet in the rain and the mud. After three months they would get canvas and paints. For Neeraj, when the child says, “I have a feeling, how do it put it in colours,” that’s when the artistic process begins. They understand how important rains are for the farmer. A year later they write a poem on it.

Neeraj offers three types of workshops for young adults. The Speech and Voice workshop is based on the philosophy of speech rather than on language or how well one speaks. It enables children to express themselves better and to reach out. Another workshop, English Theatre in Indian Traditions works through teaching the foundations of bharatnatyam, odissi, kalari payattu and carnatic music, which are integrated with performances of plays by Shakspeare and Oscar Wilde. The Complete Theatre Workshop that integrates a variety of art forms brings the holistic theatre experience to children.

Funding is a source of anxiety for Neeraj, who prefers to work in give-and-take partnership model with the corporate sector.  Though he would like to attract corporate patronage by involving the corporate sector in a participatory role, Neeraj is eager to remain self-reliant and independent.

 

NEERAJ KABI'S WORKSHOPS

PRAVAH THEATRE LABORATORY'S

THEATRE  WORKSHOPS

We are a THEATRE COMPANY involved in exploring theatre performance, training and research and would be investing a lifetime to achieve artistic excellence in the areas of acting, direction, production and training. We conduct workshops for adults as well as young adults based on our theatre techniques as part of our research and training programs. The workshops are based on theatre skills, theatre exercises and theatre philosophies. They are therefore interactive, active, performance based and learning through fun. Each exercise is designed with an experiential learning. There is an input, a process and then an output.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS:-

We as a theatre company wish to extend and explore the possibilities of  theatre being not only one of the most powerful  tools of  human engagement and debate ( sometimes even entertainment ),  but also a huge  source of wisdom , physical and emotional strength, and ultimately transformation  for the society. Theatre is the pause you take in between your living to take a closer look at your life. Its engagement ultimately helps human beings to generate empathy towards others and become more aware of  themselves, question their surroundings, re-visit their relationships and constantly search for answers.

PARTICIPANT PROFILE:- Each of these workshops are designed and suitable for a particular profile of people. These are specifically mentioned as a note for each of the workshops mentioned below.

Every workshop mentioned below has a more detailed description of the course content, its costs or fees, the material required for the workshop, pictures of past workshops in session, feedback of earlier participants, a list of earlier clientele. These could be provided on request through email.




WORKSHOPS FOR ACTORS AND ASPIRING ACTORS :-

THEATRE WORKSHOP - AN ACTING TRAINING PROGRAM [FOR ACTORS]
Core:- A scientific, methodical training of acting as an art, a science and a way of life for all. The workshop is a serious attempt to raise the bar of performance for actors as well as aspiring actors by introducing a definite technique to acting. This workshop could also be seen as a life-skill workshop
For:- 18 years and above, actors and aspiring actors, open registrations, colleges, acting schools, housewives, any organization of human beings, the film industry, film producers for training new comers.
Days:- 10 days
Timings:- 3 hours daily
Number of participants:- 20 - 30 per batch
Content:- An intensive workshop for actors, aspiring actors and every human being whatever his profession. The workshop reveals to you the immense possibilities of the human body, voice and mind and shows you how to use this wisdom in acting as well as living a fuller life. Theatre is an understanding and exploration of human minds and the human process. It inculcates in the performer a sense of belief, responsibility, complete self-expression, possibilities and an immense desire to reach out. It is ultimately a power to be anything you want to and uses the human apparatus [brain, body and voice] for its creation. The workshop is a scientific, methodical training of a human being’s body, voice, mind and education. It uses elements of traditional Indian martial arts[kalaripayatu], traditional dance[chhau and kathakali], yoga, scientific breathing skills, world painting, world music, physics, body mathematics, human body mechanism, brain theories and masks for training the participants. Stories are narrated during the course of the workshop that reveal simple yet profound philosophies of life and living thereby making acting a natural process of life or a way of life. All Acting is connected to life and living. The philosophies of life are the philosophies of Acting. The workshop is based on the premise that acting does not require talent…..it is a function of the brain.



WORKSHOPS FOR ANIMATORS:-

ACTING FOR ANIMATORS [FOR ANIMATORS]
Core:- A course that helps the animator to physically create the character in himself and understand the finer details of acting. A more complex understanding of performance to raise the quality of acting in animation.
For:- Animation studios, animation institutes.
Days:-2 1/2 days [ Two and a half days ]
Timings:-3 hours on Friday and 9 hours each on the Saturday and Sunday
Number of participants:- 30 per batch
Content:- This is an intensive course for the animator on the body, voice and mind of an actor. Having involved himself directly in the act of acting and directing, the animator experiences an amazing power of self-expression. A course that helps the animator to physically create the character in himself and understand the finer details of acting.
The intention of the course is to introduce acting as an amazing form of art and a great responsibility that goes beyond just earning money. It will prepare the participants to look at acting from a different perspective than merely reacting or responding to a situation as is commonly understood. This course is of tremendous help to the animation industry as it deals at length with character building, voice culture, character growth, gestures, background and inspiration. As the course deals with the body and the mind, joint movements and focus of emotions, muscle control, etc. it would be apt for animation. It’s essentially a course that creates limitless possibilities with the body, mind and voice of a human being. The workshop does not make the animator into an actor. It seeds within him a culture of theatre and drama. He wakes up from his seat to actually physically create the character in himself and ultimately gets in touch with his own life. The workshop makes the animator realize that he has the magical powers touching and moving his viewer.



WORKSHOPS FOR CORPORATES :-

1.THEATRE  WORKSHOP EXPLORING RELATIONSHIPS AND EMOTIONS [ FOR CORPORATES ]

Core:- An experiential workshop that explores various perspectives of looking at relationships at work as well as  personal relationships and how these emotions can create a more conducive  human working environment

Content :- This theatre workshop will introduce you to the inherent possibilities of theatre exercises to build emotional awareness and understanding of relationships. Relationships form the core of our emotional quotient. Personal relationships in your family, show up at work and vice-versa. Better, stronger, more honest relationships help you perform your tasks better in life and take you closer to the truth of who you are and who you want to be.

This workshop will introduce you to the ways in which theatre makes you more aware of the context of each relationship that you share with various individuals. It addresses the urgency to re-look at our relationships with ourselves, our families, our spouses, our children, our colleagues at work and our immediate surroundings. This in effect would create a very healthy and positive human working environment.

Participation:- 20 participants

Duration:-  4 hours

Space:- a huge empty, carpeted  space for participants to move around freely. There would be a lot of ground exercises and ground sitting. Chairs would be arranged along the three walls only to be used during certain exercises. Participants with knee or back problems could use chairs throughout the workshop.

Workshop format:- participants would be constantly involved in activities that require physical movement leaving them very little time to sit on chairs unless the exercise demands it.

2.THEATRE  WORKSHOP EXPLORING COMMUNICATION AND SELF-EXPRESSION [ FOR CORPORATES ]

Core:- A physical and psychological experience of exploring and enhancing the quality of effective human communication and honest self-expression in an organization so as to encourage a more  productive work culture.

Content:-  This workshop is designed with physical and emotional activities based on theatre philosophies that generate a spirit of learning by not merely understanding but experiencing. The workshop would revolve around a theatre TEXT from a renowned play which would be given to each participant. With this theatre text as a base, we would explore SUB-TEXT, PHYSICAL TEXT, VERBAL TEXT AND CONTEXT in human communication. Performances with the text would be encouraged only towards the end of the workshop. Group theatre exercises would help the participants ease out and feel comfortable thereby preparing them for the individual activities. At another level, the workshop reveals the fact that every communication in the organization by an individual is an expression of the individual’s personal culture and sensibility. The idea eventually is to make the participant break certain personal barriers that prevent him/her from an honest effective culture of self-expression and communication. The workshop aims at sharing, experiencing, expressing, listening, opening up and sensing.

All these qualities are taught through very practical / hands on methods using Theatre as a tool. Each exercise has a powerful learning experience and can be easily adapted to the corporate work culture.                                                                                 

Participation:- 20 participants

Duration:- 1 day session [ 10 hours including a lunch break of 45 minutes and a tea break of 15 minutes ]

Space:- a huge empty, carpeted  space for participants to move around freely. There would be a lot of ground exercises and ground sitting. Chairs would be arranged along the three walls only to be used during certain exercises. Participants with knee or back problems could use chairs throughout the workshop.

Workshop format:- participants would be constantly involved in activities that require physical movement leaving them very little time to sit on chairs  unless the exercise demands it.

3.THEATRE  WORKSHOP EXPLORING THE POWER OF LISTENING IN TEAM WORK [ FOR CORPORATES ] [ OUTDOOR ]

Core:- An OUTDOOR  corporate workshop using theatre, martial arts and music to physically and emotionally experience the power of listening so as to upgrade the quality of team work and team sensitivity in the organization. 

Content:- This workshop brings together the arts and sciences of Theatre, Traditional Martial arts and Classical music and uses them to explore a higher quality of listening. It is a very powerful learning experience for the corporate world as it works on the physical body, the mind and the spirit of the participant in an outdoor location. An outdoor location automatically opens up a very different physical space for the participants. There is a sudden outburst of energy and an expansion of the physical, psychological and emotional aspects of the human body. Due to this physicality, the soft skill of listening to one’s self and others in the team gets activated and understood in a much larger context. The participants go through a constant series of activities with partners as well as teams throughout the workshop. This continuous experience of working with a team and partners with such extreme physical sciences of martial arts, theatre and music creates within the participant a very deep impact of team listening and sensibility. Each exercise has a powerful learning experience and can be easily adapted to the corporate work culture. As each of these sciences are taught by an expert in the respective field, the participants enjoy the exercises and have fun learning from teachers of high caliber.  

Participation:- 40 to 50 participants

Duration:- 1 ½  days [ 4 hours in the evening on day 1 and 9 hours on day 2]

Space:- Outdoor location – at a resort with a swimming pool and preferably a hilly terrain.

              Indoor requirement-  a huge empty, carpeted  space for participants to move around freely. There would be a lot of ground exercises and ground sitting. Chairs would be arranged along the three walls only to be used during certain exercises. Participants with knee or back problems could use chairs throughout the workshop.

Workshop format:- participants would be constantly involved in activities that require physical movement leaving them very little time to sit on chairs unless the exercise demands it.

Accommodation, travel , food:- To be organized for three conductors [ Neeraj Kabi + two more partners ]

Additional Conductors:- Christopher Fernandes [ martial arts ],  Satish Krishnamurthy [ music].

4.THEATRE  WORKSHOP EXPLORING PERFORMING AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS [ FOR CORPORATES ]

Core:-  A unique and extensive  workshop that  enhances individual performance and leadership qualities in corporate organisations through a very powerful  theatre experience that uses theatre exercises, acting concepts, music, paintings, breathing, traditional body sciences, masks and  puppets.

Content:- This is a very unique  workshop for the corporate sector, designed in a scientific manner to make the participant go through an actual intensive experience of “THEATRE” as a performing art whose philosophies and methodologies could be used to enhance the quality of individual performance and leadership attributes in corporate organizations. It would use elements of THEATRE, PAINTINGS, MASKS, PUPPETS, MUSIC AND  MARTIAL ARTS . The workshop ultimately questions and addresses what every individual in the organization would leave behind for its people to identify with. It addresses the values of awareness, openness and acceptance. Each exercise has a unique learning experience and can be easily adapted to the corporate work culture. In a much larger context, it explores the choice to become the kind of person you wish to be, the kind of mind you want to inherit, the kind of physicality you wish to experience, the kind of relationships you wish to build with others and by re-experiencing human life situations, tries to move closer to the truth. It is about the choices you make every moment with your thoughts, action and speech that affect your future state. Theatre exercises and philosophies sensitise  you to higher levels of feelings so that you can relate and express much more effectively and powerfully in any human environment. At another level, your individual capacities of leadership, team work, communication and  inter-personal relationships get empowered as you experience and participate in the Arts. 

Participation:- 20 core group  participants

Duration:- 30 hours [ 3 hours daily on week days and 8 hours on the week-end ]

Space:- a huge empty, carpeted  space for participants to move around freely. There would be a lot of ground exercises and ground sitting. Chairs would be arranged along the three walls only to be used during certain exercises. Participants with knee or back problems could use chairs throughout the workshop.

Workshop format:- participants would be constantly involved in activities that require physical movement leaving them very little time to sit on chairs unless the exercise demands it.

WORKSHOPS FOR YOUNG ADULTS :-

1. THEATRE WORKSHOP -THE ART OF PERFORMING [FOR YOUNG ADULTS]

Content:- The workshop uses theatre exercises, speech techniques, breath & voice exercises, music, paintings, kabuki masks, bun-raku puppets, yoga, dance and martial arts to give a complete theatre experience to the participant. It is a scientific training  to the craft of theatre and acting. Acting is the art of becoming anything that one wishes to, a great art of coordination and being one with what you do. The workshop essentially exposes the participant to the huge and amazing possibilities of methodical performance styles in theatre using various dramatic text pieces. 

What it does:- The workshop intends to do the following to the participant:- a) trains the participant to put his body and soul into  whatever he performs b) exposes the young adult to the huge and amazing possibilities of methodical performance styles in the theatre.

For:- 12 – 16 years

Duration:- 3 ½ hours

Days:-  10 days

Participation:-  30

Language:- English

Presentation and parent’s workshop:- on the last day for 1 hour

2. SPEECH AND VOICE CULTURE [FOR YOUNG ADULTS]

Content:- A workshop on self-expression that explores breathing skills, belief, emotions, clarity, projection, sound and techniques of approaching classic text pieces from literature, poetry and drama. The workshop attempts to remove the fear of speaking and inculcates a strong sense of belief in one’s own self. It makes the children realize at the end that speech is a very powerful tool  to reach out and connect to the world regardless of who you are speaking to. To touch, move and inspire your listener. The workshop ultimately opens the entire vocal system and teaches the child  to be one [ in body and mind ] with what he/she speaks, to be herself/himself and not put on an act of speech.

What it does:-  The workshop intends to do the following to the participant:- a) Uproot and remove the fear of expressing and speaking to an audience, b) help him explore the  delivery of dramatic texts with belief,  feelings and honesty in self-expression. 

For:- 12 – 16 years

Duration:- 3 hours

Days:-  10 days

Participation:-  30

Language:- English

Presentation and parent’s workshop:- on the last day for 1 hour

3.PERFORMING ENGLISH THEATRE IN INDIAN TRADITIONS [FOR YOUNG ADULTS]

Content:- An enriching body-speech coordination workshop that teaches the participant the unique skill of performing English theatre pieces in Indian traditions of dance and martial arts exploring new speech patterns. The quality of speech improves due to the understanding of the physical rhythms. The body begins to participate in the speech of the performer. The workshop trainers are an experienced team of professional performers in Indian traditions of Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kalaripayat , percussion and English speech. The participants are trained in all these forms over a period of ten days where they learn to use the Indian traditions and explore English text pieces of Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. The workshop attempts to improve the emotional intelligence of the child and wakes up the participant’s body out of slumber. The performer experiences an inherent confidence at the end of it all. A shy participant experiences a sudden let-go of inhibitions.

What it does:- The workshop intends to do the following to the participant:- a) Wakes up the participant’s body out of slumber, b) The participant  develops a power to co-relate speech with evolved artistic movements and classical music.

For:- 12 – 16 years

Duration:- 3 hours

Days:-  10 days

Participation:-  30

Language:- English

Presentation and parent’s workshop:- on the last day for 1 hour

pravahtheatre@gmail.com          +91 9819289504        http://neerajkabi.blogspot.in

NEERAJ KABI - COMPLETE PROFILE

 

NEERAJ KABI IS THE  ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER OF PRAVAH THEATRE LABORATORY

HE IS AN ACTOR, DIRECTOR AND TRAINER  ( b-1968)

Neeraj Kabi is a theatre & film actor, theatre director and trainer. Since 1997, Neeraj has been working as a professional actor mostly in lead roles with award winning national and international theatre and “art house” film directors. As a theatre director he’s been exploring the concept of collaborating Indian traditional artistes with urban actors to interpret Indian and Global theatre texts. Neeraj  has traveled across the country since 1996 to conduct theatre workshops for actors, animators, corporates, schools, colleges, young adults,  teachers and parents.  As Theatre and Films deal with advanced levels of behavioral sciences which can be life changing, these workshops are based on the foundations of deep explorations of theatre philosophies, theatre sciences and theatre arts. He has been working for many years into evolving his own grammar of theatre and acting.  Neeraj Kabi is the founder and artistic director of Pravah Theatre Laboratory which is involved in theatre performance, training and research in order to explore excellence, awakening and empowering humans. At a deeper level his vision is to bring Indians closer to their individual selves and to their rich Traditional Indian sensibilities so that they transform the way they perceive themselves and the world in order to become powerful Indian resources in domestic as well as global transformation.

Neeraj has trained briefly in a host of traditional martial and dance forms to equip himself for his work in ‘physical theatre’. Through intensive study into breath techniques, mind and body mechanism, theatre and world cinema, Neeraj has been working for many years into evolving his own grammar of acting and theatre.

As an actor in the theatre, he has worked as the lead performer with national and international theatre and film directors. Neeraj began work as a professional actor in 1997 in Mumbai. Ever since, he has been well received in the theatre circles of Mumbai having performed in the lead roles in major plays by Shakespeare (as Banquo), Tom Stoppard (as Hamlet), Moliere (as Sganarelle), Marivaux (as Harlequin), Chekov (as Gurov & Chekov) , Oscar Wilde (as King Herod), Ibsen (as Tesman), Margurite Duras ( as Peter Morgan ) amongst others. He was selected to play the lead role in a production directed by Jean Jacques Bellot from France in collaboration with Alliance Frances de Mumbai. Rene Migliaccio from the USA selected Neeraj to play a major role in his production of a Marivaux play here in Mumbai. The celebrated Eric Vigner from France selected Neeraj, after many auditions in some cities of India, to play Peter Morgan in his theatre production of  ‘Gates to India Song’ which had Nandita Das playing the lead. In 1997 he was cast in the lead role in “The Last Vision”, a feature film directed by Mr. A.K. Bir and produced by the NFDC. The film won a national award in 1998 and made it to the competition section of Cairo, Singapore and Delhi International Film Festivals. In 2005, Gil Alon from Isreal cast Neeraj in the lead role as King Herod in a theatre production of Salome. He has also been cast in the lead by Mumbai based directors, Atul Kumar and Rehaan Engineer, in their theatre productions.

As a film actor, he has performed  in the lead role as an Indian monk in Anand Gandhi’s international award winning English feature film,  “Ship of Theseus”, which has had the honour of being selected by the Critics Circle of the British Council as one of the ‘15 all-time great films of the world that can change your life’. The film was also awarded the Best film of the world at the Transylvania Film Festival[ 2013]. It was selected and invited to all the major Film Festivals of the world such as the Toronto International Film festival [2012], as well as feature in the world competition section at the London and Tokyo Film Festivals. This lead performance of Neeraj won him accolades and high praises from national and international film critics, actors, directors and audiences. 
Neeraj was awarded the BEST ACTOR [ Jury Special Mention] for his performance in this film, in recognition of Cinematic Excellence at the 4^th Jagran Film Festival, 2013. He also won the BEST ACTOR at the 4th Sakhalin International Film Festival, Russia in the International competition section.
He has also performed in a crucial role opposite Hollywood’s Harvey Keitel in Kranti Kanade’s [ international award winning film-maker] English feature film, “Gandhi of the month”, which is yet to be released. His has also performed as one of the three leads in Amit Kumar’s  [ international award winning film-maker] Hindi feature film “Monsoon shootout”, which has been selected to represent India at the prestigious Cannes Film festival, London and Melbourne as well. The film has been produced by Anurag Kashyap in collaboration with Netherlands and U.K. His recent venture as an actor has been an honour and privilege to essay the role of Mahatma Gandhi in a television series called 'Samvidhaan' based on the making of the Indian Constitution. This series has been directed by Shyam Benegal, considered to be one of the few great film making legends of India and the world. "Samvidhaan" has been declared as a national gift by the Indian government.
Neeraj completed his work as an actor in two more feature films. He performed as one of the main leads in a very different role as a Villain in Dibakar Banerjee's "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy" being produced by Yash Raj Films. The other film, "Talvar", is based on a true life story directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Vishal Bharadwaj where he plays one of the lead roles. Neeraj was critically acclaimed for both these roles as an actor and was nominated at the Sony Guild Awards, Zee Cine Awards as well as the Stardust Awards in 2016 as Best actor in a Negative role and Best Supporting actor. In May 2015, the NBC honoured Neeraj with the Newsmakers Achievers' Award for BEST ACTOR for his silent and steady contribution to theatre and cinema. He has just finished shooting for Gurinder Chadha's feature film Viceroy's House in the role of Mahatma Gandhi. This is Neeraj's first International Film with an ensemble cast of British American actors.

His theatre production of ‘Hamlet’ which he directed in 2006 with support from the British Council Division of Mumbai, was invited to perform at The Nehru National Theater Festival in Mumbai and at National School of Drama’s Bharat Rang Mahotsav. It also had the honour of opening the Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai, the same year. Neeraj’s version of Hamlet was performed as a bilingual using actors from Mumbai and original artistes from Indian traditions of Dhrupad singing and Yakshagana dance-drama. He directed his first full-length English play for young adults called “Aham”  which premiered at the Prithvi Theatre in 2004. The play was recognized for its unique experimentation and its bold attempt in theatre for young adults. It explored an original script that was written by thirteen young actors aged between 12 and 16 years.

In 2009, Neeraj was one of the four directors from India invited to direct a play for the Delhi Ibsen Festival’09. This was an International theatre festival featuring the works of 12 directors from across the world. He created this production of Ibsen using Mumbai actors and original Indian traditional performers of Chhau dance and classical singers of Thumri. He has also been invited twice as a director since 2008 , to create short theatre pieces for the Rangashankara theatre, Bangalore. One of such creations is called ‘The fatal entrance of Lady Macbeth’ featuring Arundhati Nag as the solo performer and a renowned  Thumri singer. This is a “work in progress” and would eventually culminate into a theatre piece.

Besides Acting and Directing in Theatre and Films, Neeraj has spent many years in sharing his training and expertise through conducting theatre based workshops and courses across various communities of people such as corporates, animators, actors, young adults, schools, theatre organizations, etc. throughout the country.

He has been conducting a very powerful and specialized one-day workshop with the CORPORATE sector on “SELF-EMPOWERMENT AND TEAM MOTIVATION THROUGH THEATRE”. This workshop has been invited by companies like Patni Computers ( Mumbai ), CAPCO ( Bangalore), I-FLEX (Bangalore ), British Gas ( Mumbai ), Vector Projects India Ltd. ( Mumbai ) and others. He has very recently created four specialized workshop modules for the corporate sector. These workshops are based on Theatre arts and Theatre philosophies. They are scientifically designed so as to address and explore key corporate values such as  RELATIONSHIPS AND EMOTIONS [ 4-hour workshop], COMMUNICATION AND SELF-EXPRESSION [ 1 day or 1 ½ day workshop], POWER OF LISTENING IN TEAM WORK [ 2-day outdoor workshop], PERFORMING AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS [ extensive 7-day workshop]. Some of these new workshops have been very well received by companies like Tata Consultancy Services (Mumbai) , INTEL (Bangalore) and Vector Projects India Ltd. (Mumbai).

His other popular workshop has been with the ANIMATION INDUSTRY. A two and a half day workshop called “ACTING FOR ANIMATORS” has been doing the rounds across India’s top-listed animation studios that include Crest Animation Studios ( Mumbai ), Technicolor ( Bangalore ), Tata Elxsi (Mumbai), Rhythm & Hues (Mumbai) amongst others.

Neeraj conducts regular sessions ( 10-days) for actors as well as aspiring actors through a highly scientific and evolved workshop called “THEATRE WORKSHOP – AN ACTING TRAINING PROGRAM”. He has been conducting these workshops in Mumbai since 2006. He was also invited by the Film &Television Institute of India [FTII] to conduct this workshop for their student/actors.
In 2014, Neeraj and his theatre company actors created, designed and conducted a special three-week  module for the student/actors of The Drama School in Mumbai called ARRIVING AT THE EPIC. This workshop trained the actors to perform a Sanskrit monologue in the Indian Epic Style and was based on a text called 'Urubhangam' from the Mahabharata. The workshop used Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Taalam, Rasa and Vedic chanting as tools of the performance.
In 2015, Neeraj designed and conducted a new one-day workshop module for school teachers of pre-primary, primary and junior levels called TEACHERS' TRAINING PROGRAM for Junoon. Junoon is a powerful organisation headed by Sanjna Kapoor and Sameera Iyenger that encourages the role of Arts in school education among other things.

All the workshops that Neeraj conducts use Theatre exercises, masks, puppets, world paintings, music, martial arts, dance, breathing skills , science and psychology. They are therefore interactive, active, performance based and learning through joy.

In addition, Neeraj has spent more than nineteen long years training and researching with YOUNG ADULTS aged between 13 and 17 years. The three organizations that invite Neeraj for conducting theatre workshops for young adults every year during summertime are Prithvi Theatre (Mumbai ) ( since the last twelve years ), Rangashankara Theatre (Bangalore ) ( since the last five years ), Neerja Modi School (Jaipur). He is extremely popular as a trainer for young adults in the country and conducts these three exclusive , scientifically designed and researched workshops called SPEECH & VOICE CULTURE, ENGLISH THEATRE IN INDIAN TRADITIONS, THEATRE WORKSHOP FOR THE YOUNG. Each of these workshops for children are very different from each other and unique in their content.

Neeraj has established his own theatre company called PRAVAH. Pravah is a theatre company that functions as a Theatre laboratory for performance, training and research. It is an organization with a vision of creating a theatre residency for collaborating various Indian traditional performing arts resourced from their origins with modern contemporary theatre performing styles. It would encourage creative interaction between the traditional artistes from the villages and urban theatre actors. This amalgamation would therefore explore the relevance of classical theatre texts from India and across the globe in the present day Indian context. These would be done through “adapting” the traditional forms to suit the dramatic text so that deeper layers of meanings, metaphors and symbolisms are layered to the performances of the modern contemporary actors. As a result of this area of work, we would be exposing the urban Indian and global theatre audiences to a treasure of traditional Indian theatre arts through contemporary theatre, thus catering to a much wider audience.

The Theatre laboratory for the young is an integral part of the company whose productions with young adults aged 13 to 17 years would focus on the research, exploration and understanding of the Indian Epics, Indian mythology and great Indian writers. All productions would evolve out of intensive performance training and the scientific understanding of Indian culture. The focus would be to provide a platform for a variety of theatrical expressions and expose the young adults to nuances of basic and advanced theatre so as to create serious theatre performers and audiences out of them and  ultimately to bring them closer to their Indian roots.

Pravah is a Theatre company involved in exploring and understanding theatre performance, training and research. Its vision and engagement is to invest a lifetime in achieving  artistic excellence in the areas of acting, direction, production and training. We wish to extend and explore the possibilities of theatre being not only one of the most powerful tools of human engagement and debate ( at times even entertainment ), but also a huge source of wisdom, physical and emotional strength, and ultimately transformation of the self and society. We’d like to believe that theatre is the pause you take in between your living to take a closer look at your life. Its engagement ultimately helps human beings to generate empathy towards others and become more aware of themselves, question their surroundings, re-visit their relationships and constantly search for answers.

+919819289504        pravahtheatre@gmail.com      Web Link - http://neerajkabi.blogspot.in