Indian actor training and theatre education
Life, work and teaching
Ebrahim Alkazi shaped Indian theatre education through his leadership of the National School of Drama and Asian Theatre Institute from 1962 to 1977. Earlier, his work with Theatre Unit in Mumbai developed his practice as a director.
At the National School of Drama, he brought training methods, academic study, technical discipline, and production into a broad theatrical education. The curriculum embraced classical Sanskrit drama, traditional and folk forms, contemporary Indian plays in regional languages, and Western drama.
The actor's study
Alkazi founded the school's repertory company, connecting training with the work of a performing ensemble. Its productions travelled across India. His contribution therefore includes the formation of actors and the institutions through which their work reached audiences.
For your study, this history gives Indian actor training a substantial place in the international account. Follow the relationship between repertoire, classroom work, technical craft, and performance. The breadth of the curriculum also keeps different theatrical traditions visible within one educational institution.
