RANGAPEETH

Santipur Rangapeeth is an academy and repertoire of theatre arts. Sree Devendra Raj Ankur, former Director of National School of Drama inaugurated Rangapeeth in the year 1999. The group started its activity by holding extensive workshops with local weaver community of Santipur, a region famed for its handlooms. Production of plays started in 2001, with special focus on issue based socially relevant theatre. Performed widely in the districts of West Bengal, the intension is to take theatre to the grassroots level.

Rangapeeth has produced different productions with adults and children alike group has four full-length productions with Adults and five Children productions. Four street plays and Kabipranam-1, 2, 3 & 4 with Rabindranath Tagore's songs, poems and stories. Group has some puppet shows based on relevant social issues.

Play Akasher Opare Akash, Banyen, Sauda and Hey Manush has been staged at the Bharat Rang Mahotsab in the yr. 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2014. Children production Akasher Kachakachi has been staged at Jashn-e-Bachpan in 2004. Rangapeeth has reached to Orissa, Assam, Tripura, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangladesh and Pakistan with its different productions.

The group organizes regular workshops, theatre training and productions with adults, children and community children alike.

Rangapeeth Natyamela, a National Theatre Festival is a regular annual event of Rangapeeth. Groups from Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Delhi and Bangladesh have participated in this theatre festival. Rangapeeth Natyamela a wide ranged theatre festival in this city Santipur since last 11 years. Through this festival Rangapeeth tried to look through the window of different theatre activities and share it as friendly circumstances. Many of the experimental and creative theatre artists including graduates of National School of Drama, New Delhi have used this platform translating their creative imagination into stage reality. As well as dancer, singer, painter, musicians and writers are the important part of this festival. Its not only a theatre performance based festival but also a sky where performers and audience fly jointly to spread out the catharsis and spread-out feelings to go together for a better life, life that means awareness, consciousness, sensitivity and humanity.

Rangapeeth is doing special awareness programme through theatre ie. Dowry, under age Marriage, Save the girl child, Health, Drugs, Consumer awareness, Global warming, Legal Literacy, Drinking water

Another important wing of Santipur Rangapeeth is the Children Theatre wing. For the Children by the Children. Rangapeeth is doing mental growth and personality development, nutrition, health care amongst school drop-out children, street child, child- labor, physically challenged boy and girl through theatre passionately. Giving free tuition and educational aid to the child artist is a very strong and bold activity of Rangapeeth.

Rangapeeth Rangajatra a theatre caravan is running with its full-length play, short play, children play, street play and puppet show regularly to the village, street and to the people.

From 1999. 31st No. of plays are going on with Adult & Child artist. Weaver community engaged in this group. Attend 15th. No. National-International Theatre festival all over India like Bharat Rang Mahotsav Delhi-Mumbai-North East. South Z.C.C.Festival.etc. Working with other NGO's issue based theatre production. Since 10yrs. organizes National Theatre Festival. More or less 2000 nos. of artiste from different states & Bangladesh was involved till today. Group has Children Theatre wing funded by own. National Repertoire is going on aided by Ministry of Culture.

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ACHIVEMENT (Activity since-1999)

 

• FULL-LENGTH PLAY: 7 Nos. BARAMLAGER MATH, BANYEN, SAUDA, HEY MANUSH, ARSHINAGAR, AKASHER OPARE AKASH, MRICHCHAKATIK

• SHORT PLAY : 11 Nos. ANADHIKAR PRABESH, AKASHER KACHAKACHI, GALPER SATHE DEKHA, RAMDHANU, ANDHAR NAGAR CHOUAT RAJA, KABIPRANAM-1,2,3,4., JUTA ABISHKAR, RABIR KHELA, ANANTAJATRA

• PARTICIPATION NATIONAL-INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL IN INDIA & BANGLADESH: BHARAT RANG MAHOTSAV-2001,2004,2007,2008 AT DELHI MUMBAI & GUWAHATI, JASHNE BACHPAN-2004,DELHI, SOUTH ZONE CULTURAL FESTIVAL-2004 VISHAKHAATTNAM, RANGAYANA-2007, MYSORE & CHITTAGONG, BENGLADESH-2002

THEATRE WORKSHOP WITH SCHOOL CHILDREN SINCE 2007.

• ORGANIZE CHILDREN THEATRE FESTIVAL, RANGAPEETH NATYA KISHALOY-2011: EVOLVED 6 CHILDREN PLAY FROM DIFFERENT AREAS BY OUR GROUP ARTIST & INVOLVED 90 Nos.OF CHILDREN WITH 180 PARENTS IN ONE FESTIVAL. WORKED WITH RENNOWNED PLAYWRIGHT / POETS' WORK : RABINDRANATH TAGORE, BHARTENDU HARISHCHANDRA.UPENDRAKISHORE ROY CHOWDHURY, SUKUMAR ROY, MAHASWETA DEVI, DHARMVIR BHARATI.

ISSUE BASED PLAY ON : NATIONAL LEGAL LETERACY MISSION, ICDS,CONSUMER FORUM, RED RIBBON EXPRESS, WBSEDCL, 100DAYS WORK AWARENESS, POLIO. SOCIAL WELLFARE : DONATE TEXT BOOK AND FREE TUTION TO CHILD ARTIST.