What Happens After Theatre School?

What is the Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant?
The Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant (NSAPG), under the Drama School Foundation, recently hosted a week-long showcase at Rangshila Theatre in Aram Nagar, Mumbai. The event featured five diverse, original plays by Drama School Mumbai (DSM) alumni, addressing themes ranging from climate change and agrarian crises to regional folklore and the absurdity of war.

As part of the Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant, a grant instituted in memory of Niloufer Sagar by her family, under the aegis of the Drama School Foundation since 2021, we organized a showcase of all five plays supported this year at Rangshila Theatre in Aram Nagar, Versova. Created by the Drama School Mumbai Alumni, these plays were in different languages, explored different theatrical forms and dealt with themes – some which were personal, some rooted in culture and some were about the times we live in – while being universally resonant.

The objective of this grant showcase was three-fold:

To share the work supported by NSAPG over an entire week to the theatre going community
To widen the network and audience outreach for the institution and the work of the grantees.
To build towards the long-term positioning of the grant as a benchmark of professional excellence.

Featured Plays in the Niloufer Sagar Alumni Grant Showcase

Play Title	Language / Style	NSAPG Grantee/s	Core Themes
Aada Aada Lakhav Hai	Hindi & Haryanvi Drama	Medha Kapoor, Dhwani Singh, Arunima Tiwari, Shwetha Mishra	Female agency, Ragini performance, male gaze
Goodbye Birdie	Clown Piece	Sumit Bishnoi	Absurdity of war, survival, reflection
Inqilaab ki Aakhiri Kisht	Dastangoi / Solo	Sikandar Khan	Coming of age, autobiography, speaking out
Bhirrr….	Marathi / Devised	Mayuri Ravindra	Agrarian crisis, Ovis folk songs, women’s empowerment
Maai ki Aakhri Chhath	Musical Ensemble	Mithil Ray, Garvit Ahuja, Rupesh Sharma, Hemank Soni	Climate change, water scarcity, caste discrimination

Aada Aada Lakhav Hai

The play to open the showcase event is about three women who sneak out from their house to secretly watch a Ragini performance, which is only reserved for men. Enamoured by the charisma and zest of Renu Choudhary, a seasoned Ragini performer, the play explores the brief journey of three women from a village in Haryana who fulfill their desire to watch her while navigating the dominant male gaze. The play is in Hindi with a Haryanvi dialect. The grantees are Medha Kapoor, Dhwani Singh, Shweta Mishra and Arunima Tiwari.

Goodbye Birdie

The second play to perform at the showcase is a two-hander clown piece performed by Sumit Bishnoi and Prerna Joshi and directed by Piyush Kumar. Sumit received the grant to develop this piece which looks at the absurdity of war and what it means to live through it exploring complex themes through laughter and quiet reflection. The play consists of a series of sketches about characters stuck in a war torn situation.

Inqilaab ki Aakhiri Kisht

The third play to perform at the showcase is a solo performance by Sikandar Khan and directed by Abhishek Goswami. Sikandar received the grant to develop a performance blending dastangoi, theatre and storytelling. The play is autobiographical and is about snippets from his growing up years as the youngest child in a family. The play explores the themes of coming of age, finding one’s voice to express oneself and speak out against injustice and abuse.

Bhirrr….

The fourth play is a two-actor play in Marathi, devised and performed by Mayuri

Ravindra and Jahnvi Marathe. Mayuri received the grant to develop this play based on the Ovis songs sung by women in rural Maharashtra across generations. Through these songs we get an insight into the wisdom, wit and intelligence of women while also framing the entire performance through the past and present narrative of a woman farmer and her life after her husband (a farmer) took his life. The play revolves around themes of women empowerment, power of everyday songs and the agrarian crisis which has caused distress among farmers leading to several deaths by suicide.

Maai ki Aakhri Chhath

The fifth play is which is again rooted in the cultural context of UP and Bihar. The play is an ensemble musical piece and is about a 50 year old mother and her wish to perform Chhath puja at her home while there’s no water left in the village. The play revolves around the themes of climate change and caste discrimination and explores these two themes through the lens of the Chhath puja. It is written and directed by Mithil Ray. The grantees are Mithil Ray, Rupesh Sharma, Garvit Ahuja and Hemank Soni.

Why are theatre grants important?

The grant exists to support alumni in creating new work, but its significance extends well beyond individual productions.

For many young theatre-makers, the years immediately after graduation are often the most uncertain. While acting and theatre education provides artistic skills, artists also need opportunities to experiment, collaborate and present original work. People often ask how to become an artist, but the answer lies not only in training but also in having sustained platforms that allow artistic voices to develop.

Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant aims to offer such a platform for the alumni of DSM. It enables them to continue making work professionally after completing their theatre training and encourages the creation of new work.

In the long run, the impact of the grant can be seen in multiple ways:

It can lead to more alumni-led productions and theatre groups committed to creating original work.
It encourages current and future students to continue engaging with theatre professionally after graduation.
It demonstrates how institutional support can nurture sustainable artistic practice and may inspire similar initiatives across the wider theatre ecosystem.

What happens after the NSAPG Showcase?

The showcase is not the final destination for these productions. Rather, it is intended to act as a springboard for them to think about future performances, collaborations, festivals and touring in their own capacities.

What impact has NSAPG had?

More than 250 audience members attended the showcase over the course of the week, and we are deeply grateful for their support. Perhaps, one of the most rewarding parts of watching theatre is when the conversation continues after the performance has ended in the theatre foyer. These discussions at the showcase sparked curiosity, questions and varied perspectives not only about the plays but also about the role of the grant in supporting new work. All of this strengthens the conversation around development led grant-making in theatre and helps us keep an ear to the ground.

Quick Facts

Founded: 2021
Renamed: 2023
Named after: Niloufer Sagar
Organised by: Drama School Foundation
Supports: DSM alumni
Focus: Original theatre productions
Showcase Venue 2026: Rangshila Theatre, Mumbai

Key Takeaways

The Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant (NSAPG) is an initiative under the aegis of Drama School Mumbai that supports alumni in developing and presenting original theatre productions. The grant helps emerging theatre-makers continue creating work beyond their formal training by providing financial support, mentorship, and opportunities to present their productions to audiences.

Drama School Mumbai believes that artistic development continues beyond formal training. Through initiatives such as the Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant (NSAPG), alumni receive support to develop original theatre productions, work with mentors, and present their work to audiences, helping them build sustainable artistic practices after graduation.

NSAPG is open to Drama School Mumbai alumni with original theatre projects they wish to develop and produce. Applications are invited periodically, and proposals are evaluated based on artistic merit, feasibility, originality, and the potential of the work to contribute to contemporary theatre practice.

NSAPG supports theatre-makers by providing financial assistance, mentorship, and a platform to develop and present new work. The grant enables DSM alumni to move from an initial idea to a full production while continuing their artistic practice beyond graduation. It also connects artists with audiences, industry professionals, and the wider theatre community through the annual showcase.

In 2023, the grant was renamed the Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant in honour of Niloufer Sagar, whose contribution to Drama School Mumbai and the wider theatre ecosystem was profound. As a member of the Managing Committee and Board, she played a key role in strengthening the institution, supporting its growth through the pandemic, and helping establish initiatives such as Ekalavya.art. The grant continues in her memory, instituted by her family to nurture future generations of theatre-makers.

NSAPG supports original theatre productions developed by Drama School Mumbai alumni. Projects may explore different theatrical forms, languages, and performance traditions, ranging from solo performances and devised work to ensemble productions, musical theatre, storytelling, clowning, and interdisciplinary performance. The grant encourages diverse artistic voices and contemporary perspectives.

The NSAPG Showcase 2026 was held at Rangshila Theatre in Aram Nagar, Versova, Mumbai. The showcase brought together all five grant-supported productions over one week, providing artists with an opportunity to present their work to audiences, theatre practitioners, and the wider arts community.

Theatre grants help artists develop new work that may not be commercially viable in its early stages. They provide time, resources, mentorship, and production support, enabling emerging theatre-makers to experiment, collaborate, and present original work to audiences. Grants like NSAPG strengthen the wider theatre ecosystem by ensuring new voices and diverse stories continue to reach the stage.