19 plays to feature in 4-day children’s theatre fest beginning today

Nagpur: The Maharashtra state children’s theatre festival’s Nagpur centre round will start on Sunday at Scientific Hall, Laxmi Nagar. This year, 19 plays from the city will contest for an entry in the state-level final round. The top two will qualify for the final round.
The formal inauguration of the contest will be held at 10am on Sunday. Senior theatre actor and playwright Udayan Brahma will inaugurate the four-day event. Five plays will be presented between 10am to 4pm daily. Each team gets one hour for preparation and presentation. The play is between 30 to 45 minutes. Many renowned schools and popular theatre groups have submitted their entries.
The subjects of the children’s plays are very innovative – right from mythology to technology. Overall, the theatrical event offers a good experience to the audience.
This is the 19th year of the children’s theatre festival organized on behalf of the directorate of cultural affairs, Maharashtra. “As per the rules, all on-stage actors must be under 15 years of age. Technicians can be elders. There is no entry fee for this event. Everyone is invited,” said Vaidehi Chaore-Soitkar, local coordinator of the event for Nagpur centre.
Director of cultural affairs Bhibhishan Chawre also appealed to theatre lovers to turn out in large numbers to encourage young theatre artists. This year, the first round of the children’s theatre festival is being held at 7 centres across the state. In Vidarbha, the children’s theatre fest is already under way at the Amravati centre where 40 plays are to be presented in an 8-day festival.