Venkatesh comes from the experienced pool of facilitators who underwent the Kali Kalisu orientation workshop that was held earlier this year in collaboration with NCERT and DSERT at Kudalasangama. Having been exposed to the Yakshagana form from his early years, he has gained a skill to identify certain encouraging characteristics of the form to aid in his students’ learning process.

With this grant he has planned on using local Yakshagana resources to run a series of workshops on voice modulation and holding discussions on the content of some of the popular performances in the region that are viewed by his students. Since most of these performances are dual character based and highly dialogic in nature, the essence of the performance is derived from oration. Given this very nature of the form, he would work with the students to build their oratory skills and help them overcome their insecurities in everyday communications. He plans on a nine month long engagement using local folk resources to work with his students and eventually prepare a final production for showcase in their school and at the cluster level.

This description is part of the institutional records created by IFA at the onset of the grant. The project may have changed in due course as reflected in the deliverables from the Grantee.