Youth in Telugu theatre are still seen as amateur

The present scenario for the youth to pursue their interests in the Telugu theatre arena seems to be rather demotivating. The most obvious reason is that it is not a ‘rewarding’ career from the financial point of view and it is still called as ‘amateur theatre’.

For the really keen among the young crowd, the obvious option then is the small screen and if lucky, they manage to make a mark on the big screen of cinema. In a bid to discuss the future and importance of youth theatre, around 20 young theatre actors, directors and technicians of Telangana and Andhra came together on June 14 at the Telugu University as part of a day- long seminar.

Some of the points that emerged for subsequent follow-up action were:

• Theatre arts should be implemented as a subject at both the school and college levels as it has many innate advantages like personality development, increasing confidence levels, leadership qualities etc which is proven worldwide.
• A youth wing ian Cultural Department which should be active.
• There is a pressing need for skill development
• Film Development Corporation should initiate steps to begin academies, introduce fellowships for artists on the lines of the Centre with its Ministry of Culture.