The Goa Project

Performing Arts

The Performing Arts track of The Goa Project 2016

Performing arts are art forms in which artists use their voices and/or the movements of their bodies, often in relation to other objects, to convey artistic expression. Performing arts include a variety of disciplines including Martial Arts, Theater, Dance, Music and Poetry.

Looking at all the new formats of theatre, dance and music coming out, there’s a mind shift in the Indian as to what he consumes in terms of the performance arts. In theatre, interactive theatre and immersive theatre are breaking new grounds. In dance, you have new paradigms and further evolution of dance in to dance and voice shows. In music, EDM has made huge inroads and people are flocking to the Sunburns and the NH7s (which also includes EDM). What are these new forms, styles, audiences? Where are they taking place? What happens to traditional forms?

We are looking for topics ranging from evolution of the arts, discussions around the arts & their growth in our country, use of theatre for training, the power of performing arts, new forms of theatre, slam poetry, your experience with arts entrepreneurships – what works & what doesn’t, how martial arts helps achieve balance & inner peace (Yes, that’s a Kung Fu Panda reference) and everything else to do with the mentioned 5 disciplines.

If you consider yourself well versed in such topics, or know someone who is, and think you have some thoughts & insights to share on these, please go ahead and propose a session that you want to moderate.

Hosted by

TP
The Goa Project
#The Goa Project Funnel The Goa Project is an unconference - where unlike a typical conference, the talks are not put together by a panel or knowledge partner - but is proposed by the attendees themselves. You propose a session or talk that might be of interest to the audience at the unconference, … more
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Padma Damodaran

@padmadaran

Mind games - Using theatre to unlock the secrets of the mind

Submitted Jan 15, 2016

Technical level: Intermediate

To find out what drives human beings in specific situations using theater games and improvisations.

Outline

The human mind is unchartered territory. The process of understanding how a mind works - its values, beliefs, morals, desires, motivations, needs, desperations, instigations, inspirations, commitments, responsibilities - is complicated and often unfathomable for those trying to harness those brains. How do we understand these individuals who are given to us and whom we have to work with? Can we discover what really drives them, how their feelings affect their actions, and what algorithms do their brains respond to?
This is a demonstration cum interactive session exploring the workings of a mind. After a brief demonstration of how situations can be explored using theatre games and improvisations, I will invite participants/audience members to suggest further situations that can then be worked upon. Participants themselves will play the roles that these situations throw up and other audience members may also suggest games and improvs.

Requirements

Whiteboard and markers.
Audience members willing to suggest professional situations that they have been unable to resolve or were not satisfied with the results
Willingness on part of audience members to play roles/enact said situations
A desire to understand the mind without judgement

Speaker bio

Padma Damodaran is an actor, writer and trainer. She can currently be seen in Charge, an absurd sci-fi comedy directed by Yuki Ellias, in Ambu & Rajalakshmi directed by Gurleen Judge, and the Boy Who Stopped Smiling by Jaimini Pathak (latter two plays written by Ramu Ramanathan). She recently co-directed a play, Single Mingle, that explores people’s sexualities, and earlier directed a play with transgenders on skin donation, Mai Zinda Hoon. She will appear in Nicholas Kharkongor’s film, Mantra, provided the censors don’t snip her bits. Padma is also the founder co-convenor of the Drama School, Mumbai, the city’s premier theatremaking school, and designs and curates actor training programmes. She works with corporates, with children as well. She is a former business journalist, a trained dancer and singer, and is happy to share learnings from the theatre that have shaped her own life with anyone willing to listen. She is curating the Performing Arts track for the second year in succession.

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Hosted by

TP
The Goa Project
#The Goa Project Funnel The Goa Project is an unconference - where unlike a typical conference, the talks are not put together by a panel or knowledge partner - but is proposed by the attendees themselves. You propose a session or talk that might be of interest to the audience at the unconference, … more