THESPO 2004
2nd Dec ’04 - ‘Inspector Bhanumati Chand Par’ (Directed By-Sujata)
3rd Dec ’04 - ‘Yakadayaka’ (Directed By-Nupur Behl)
4th Dec ’04 – ‘Tattoo’ (Directed By- Mallika Taneja)

Venue: Sri Ram Centre, Safdar Hashmi Marg, Mandi House
Time: 6:30 p.m. (for all three days)
Tickets: Rs 70/-
Tele-booking: 011-51603537

Tickets are available at:
Kirori Mal college
Maetreyi College
Hindu College

For online ticket booking : thespo@rangshala.com

ABOUT THESPO
Thespo is India's first theatre festival exclusively for the youth. Conceived in 1999 by Theatre Group Bombay (that honed the skills of veterans like Alyque Padamsee, Ebrahim Alkazi, Pearl Padamsee etc.), the festival has grown over the years into a 3 city, 6 day mega event.

THE AIM
The idea behind Thespo is to encourage young talent and give them simulation of what professional theatre is all about. The festival takes care of most of the production hassles of the groups by giving them free auditorium, lights, sound, make-up, publicity, travel and accommodation (incase of out-station) and even gives them a percentage of ticket sales. This enables young theatre lovers to concentrate on their art uninhibited and produce the best that they can.

PROCEDURE FOR ENTRY
The festival has two basic rules :
i. All participants (from director to stage-hands) must necessarily be under 25years of age
ii. The play must be of minimum 1 hour in duration
iii. Audition dates are 27th and 28th of October '04 & results will be announced by 1st November '04.
v. Besides the main performance, there will also be platform performances, workshops etc. the details of which can be sought at the same address

DATES & VENUES
Thespo Delhi : 2nd, 3rd, 4th December '04 , Sri Ram Centre Auditorium, Mandi House
Thespo Bangalore : 7th to 12th December '04, Rang Shankara Auditorium
Thespo Mumbai : 16th to 21st December '04, NCPA Experimental

THESPO DELHI
Organized by ANANT (An Association for Nascent Art and Natural Theatre) for the first time in Delhi, Thespo seeks to bridge the gap between a young theatre lover and infrastructural requirements that are required but hard to come by. ANANT has been working for the last 5years in the field of children's and youth theatre, and is managed entirely by a group of young upcoming theatre enthusiasts.

THESPO - Genesis
Early in the 6th Century BC, a Greek poet named "Thespsis" pioneered spoken dialogue, breaking the tradition of chorus and verse. At the Great Dyonysia in 534 BC he became the first recorded winner of a prize for tragedy. His followers since then have been called Thespians, and it is in honour of this "rebel" that we name our festival 'Thespo'.

Thespo has grown from strength to strength over the last 6 years. From its humble beginnings as a one act play festival, to now a 3 city, 6 day event, with platform performances, workshops and full length plays it has been quite a journey.

With a surprising number of new "thespo-ans" coming on board every year, we hope that the festival will scale greater heights and encourage more people to take up the theatre.

Thespo would never have got so far if it wasn't for the drive and support of Theatre Group Bombay, and the encouragement from the theater fraternity and theatre audience of this city.

QTP from Bombay; Harlequin Entertainment from Bangalore; and ANANT from Delhi invite you onboard

'Come, Celebrate the Future of Theatre!'

ABOUT THEATRE GROUP BOMBAY
The birth of Theatre Group Bombay began with a group of people in a theatre - the hall of St. Xavier's College, during a 1941 production of 'Macbeth'. Theatre Group was the brainchild of Sultan (Bobby) Padamsee, and even in those British Raj days, he was able to stage versions of 'Othello', 'Salome', etc. that rivaled their West End counterparts.

Unfortunately the spark that had ignited the flame went out in 1946, when Bobby passed away. But the fire still burned and Theatre Group became a public trust. It was managed by three pioneers, Ebrahim Alkazi, Deryck Jeffereis and Hamid Sayani. The trio along with Adi Marzban gave Theatre Group a formidable command over classical theatre, social thrillers and even comedy.

Theatre Group has always been a platform for young actors and directors. Some of the teenagers who cut their teeth on TG productions are Alyque Padamsee, Sylvester da Cunha, the late Pearl Padamsee, Nisha da Cunha, Gerson da Cunha and Faroukh Mehta, among others. After such solid grounding, it is little wonder that these Theatre Group veterans have given us such brilliant plays as 'Jesus Christ Superstar' (1974) and 'Tughlaq' by Alyque Padamsee, 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' by Sylvester da Cunha, 'Arturo Ui' and 'Equus' by Pearl Padamsee, 'Three Sisters' by Nisha da Cunha and a host of other plays. Theatre Group stands for decades of expertise in classical, experimental and musical theatre.

Theatre Group Bombay, believes that the time has come to pass on the baton. Thespo has been created for this purpose, to guide and support the youth. TG provides a wealth of experience and expertise and feels that this must be passed on to future generations. Rather than restrict themselves to plays, the group devised Thespo as a way of reaching out and spreading the wonderful art form that we know as drama.

Contact:
Roopak Chauhan
Mobile - 98105 44022
E-mail : thespo@rangshala.com