Love Acting? Here Are 8 Theatre Groups You Can Join In Your Free Time

Known to be one of the oldest theatre groups in the city, it has several renowned actors working with them (such as Debshankar Halder, Rudraprasad Sengupta, and Sohini Sengupta). At the moment, they aren’t taking in anymore people but being the legendary organisation it is, Nandikar has something thoughtful for people who are dedicated to theatre: a six-month course workshop. Because the troupe has senior people as teachers and mentors, be sure you’re serious about your passion and not just fooling around before you join up.

Brainchild of a few acting lovers of the Heritage College of Engineering, it initially started off as a college acting group seven years ago. Bodnaam has now become an independent theatre group with lots of young students working with them, doing successful shows and street plays on issues of the modern life. They conduct rehearsing sessions four days a week (decided according to members’ work schedules). But if there’s an impending show, you might have to rehearse all seven days a week. To join the group, you have to give auditions. Audition dates are posted on their Facebook page from time to time.

If your Sanskrit is any good, consider joining here. Established in 1974 by the talented Shib Mukhopadhyay, Natadha does  plays in Bengali and some in Sanskrit. Most of the their plays are classical in nature (think Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Mahabharata and even Greek mythology). They have also performed Roktokorobi from 1974 to 2014 in various different forms and are quite well known for that. In the past, Natadha has collaborated with Paschim Bangla Natya Academy for workshops and also, had figures like Rudraprasad Sengupta as guest mentors for their workshops.

Padatik has been there for quite some time now and is popular with the youth. Their plays and dramas are mostly in Hindi and English they pay good attention to an actor’s body language, clothes and props. They are also known for their dance classes in different forms. For more information, visit their office on Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road.

Started back in the year 1976, Rangakarmee has been addressing issues related to exploitation and oppression prevalent in our society through their plays. Join this group and you will come out more wise and aware, as it will not only nurture your acting skills, but also make you question the status quo.

Started by Ramanjit Kaur in 2011, TCA is unique as it’s an all-women group. It doesn’t just do theatre, but also does therapy (via exercises and games) for women who are dealing with emotional stress and trauma. The plays and scripts are never very planned, everything is spontaneous and on the spot, and everybody’s idea is given equal importance to put up a show. Classes are taken by Ramanjit herself, twice a week. They often bring down people from various walks of life as guest mentors.

This one started off as a drama group of Ashutosh College bound by one common thread -- theatre. Now all of them are working but they are still carrying on with their passion for theatre. It’s now an independent group and if you join them, it is assured that you will have fun and pick up theatre rudiments. Keep tabs on their Facebook page for the next audition.