CBSE to start theatre studies in Class XI from this academic session

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched Theatre Studies as an elective subject in Class XI from the current academic year. The subject will be introduced "as a pilot course on first-come-first-serve basis". The latter from the board to school principal said, "Theatre is one of the strongest mediums of expression...it is as old as mankind and has manifested itself in countless forms all over the world. It concretizes issues that would otherwise remain abstract and difficult for children to grasp. It puts life back into bookish learning."

Students will learn different theatre skills and experiment in different ways of responding to and performing drama. The subject in divided into two section 70 marks will be awarded in theory and 30 marks for case study based project and viva voce. The course will enable students to learn theatre as an art-form (what it is, why it is relevant and concepts of space, time, audience and performance), different dramatic forms and styles, theatre architecture, history of Indian theatre, Indian folk and street theatre, Asian theatre (Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian), western theatre (Greek, Roman, Elizabethan, Italian) and even the links between Indian theatre and films.

As part of the course they will study the course of Vijay Tendulkar, Mohan Rakesh, Dharmveer Bharti, Badal Sarkar, Shankar Shesh, Girish Karnad, Chandrashekhar Kambar, Rabindranath Tagore and Bhartendu Harishchandra. They will also "review" Indian theatre organizations such as National School of Drama and Sangeet Natak Academy.