Introduction
Street Play is a very effective medium when it comes to spreading messages. The visual appeal and the dialogues spoken remain in the audience’s memory. This is especially useful while spreading messages to the public who cannot read as they cannot get their information from reading newspapers or books.
Street Plays are planned well in advance and are conducted in crowded areas after gathering a large number of people to watch the same. It is like giving medicine with a sugar coating as in the not so pleasant message is buried within a storyline and acted out by troupes to ensure that the message reaches out to everyone.
Four different troupes were used by MDACS for performing Street Plays.
This troupe performed a play called Raja Pradhan. Through this medium, they delivered to large audiences, key messages like modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS, misconceptions surrounding them and the services available such as ICTC, ART AND Saadhan Helpline.
The troupe leader was very particular about choosing the correct locations after discussing the same with MDACS personnel as they had to reach out to the right target audience.
The artistes wore colourful costumes while they used songs and music to attract the public. They chose strategic locations, mobilized a big audience and ensured that the crowd got engrossed in their performance. Comedy played a big part in the script, keeping the audiences interested till the end.
During the performance, the troupe members made sure that the audience got the message that a testing van was waiting nearby to help the public present. More than anything, the artistes maintained a great level of energy to keep the crowd entertained as well as be informed about the messages that they were imparting about HIV/AIDS.
With a good mix of young and older performers, troupe managed to give an effective performance. The troupe really focused on the issue and this was evident in their performance. They got people interested from the start and maintained their interest till the end. Even though respondents did not possess much technical knowledge on HIV/AIDS before the play, they seemed to recall correct facts about transmission after the play.
The troupe had a migrant oriented script “Budhiya”. This worked to their advantage as the target audience was migrants and the audience related to the main character and his life story. Language used was very fluid Hindi which worked very well with the target group i.e. Migrants.
Good use of instruments like harmonium and dhol accompanied with songs that build curiosity and gathered a lot of people all of their plays, an average of 45-60 people.
The troupe consisted of both youth and veterans alike. They managed to keep the audience hooked to the play till the very end.
EKTA GROUP
The theme used by this trip was to give the message of safety during blood donation. The public was quite aware of donating blood. But most of them have no idea of the importance of taking the right precautions. Ekta Group performed a street play that brought this message clearly to the public. They ensured that their audience were thorough with the knowledge of what they should take care of before, during and after blood donation.
Most of the artistes in this troupe are young with a lot of potential. They were very effective in imparting the message to their target audience. 40 units of blood were collected immediately after a performance.
The theme used by this troupe for their street play for Blood Donation. The troupe artistes were quite confident and gave a good performance, keeping their audiences interested till the end. They also managed to get the message across about the importance of blood donation and its after effects.
IMPACT
• The street plays performed by these troupes help get across a number of messages to the public. Most of the people from the audience managed to recall the key message imparted during the performance.
• The artistes’ interactions with the audience helped persuade the latter to get tested or donate blood as was possible after each performance.
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