In an age defined by speed, screens, and automation, gathering in a room to listen, rehearse, and create together can feel almost radical. Yet this is exactly the kind of work that Drama School Mumbai has been doing for more than a decade.
Based in Girgaum, Mumbai, Drama School Mumbai is a conservatory for performance and theatre making. The school approaches theatre not simply as entertainment but as a civic practice that helps people learn how to think, listen, collaborate, and imagine together. Its year long postgraduate programme is built on ensemble based training and sustained practice that prepares artists to work seriously in the field.
What follows reflects the point of view of Jehan Manekshaw, co founder of Drama School Mumbai, on why theatre matters today and why institutions like DSM exist.
Theatre as a Social Methodology
We are living through a period of deep social strain. Isolation has grown with public spaces for conversation being narrowed. As a result many societies are becoming more polarised.
At the same time, technology is advancing rapidly through artificial intelligence and automation. These tools are powerful and transformative. They can process information quickly and reshape the way we work. What they cannot teach us is how to be human with one another.
This is where theatre matters.
Theatre is not only about performance. It is a practice that trains people to listen carefully, respond thoughtfully, and act in relation to others. Rehearsal rooms require people to notice one another, negotiate differences, and build something collectively.
Through this process, imagination and collaboration become shared civic skills. Theatre allows disagreement without erasure and belonging without needing an enemy. It gives people a way to encounter difference without retreating into isolation.
Seen this way, theatre strengthens the social fabric. It prepares communities to face difficult conversations before those tensions harden into division. Theatre is not separate from social wellbeing. It is part of it.
Why an Ecosystem Matters
The impact of theatre does not come from isolated events. It grows when theatre exists as a living ecosystem.
A healthy cultural environment is one in which theatre going is part of everyday life. Schools use drama as a learning tool. Neighbourhoods gather through performance and storytelling. Cities support multiple stages and audiences.
When these elements exist together, theatre becomes part of the public imagination. It becomes a way for communities to think about themselves.
Every strong civil society places art at its centre. Theatre is not decoration within that society. It helps sustain it.
Why Institutions Matter
India has never lacked talent. What it has often lacked is structure.
Strong institutions create the conditions in which talent can grow. They establish standards, build continuity, and allow knowledge to pass from one generation to the next.
Drama School Mumbai was created to contribute to that structure within the theatre field. The goal is not only to train individual actors and theatre makers. The larger ambition is to strengthen the ecosystem that surrounds them.
Through training, alumni networks, collaborations, and public initiatives, the institution aims to anchor a long term culture of practice.
A Call for Champions
Arts and culture often sit near the bottom of the funding pyramid. Yet their role extends far beyond entertainment.
They shape education, communication, and civic life. They build empathy and collective imagination. In many ways they are part of how societies understand themselves.
Institutions working in culture require people who believe in that long term value. Not only donors but champions who see theatre as part of a healthy public life.
Supporting theatre is not simply supporting an art form. It is investing in the cultural and social infrastructure of a society.
Sugar in the Milk
There is a story that when the Parsis first arrived in India, they promised to become like sugar in milk. They would dissolve into the society they joined and make it sweeter.
That spirit shaped important contributions to Indian theatre and public life.
Today there is a similar hope for what theatre itself can do. Theatre can dissolve into communities and help people discover their best collective selves.
This is the direction that Drama School Mumbai is working toward. It is an ongoing project that depends on artists, institutions, and communities continuing to believe in the value of the work.
Engage with the Work
If this vision resonates with you as a student, parent, practitioner, or supporter, there are many ways to engage with the work of Drama School Mumbai.
You may choose to train, collaborate, or contribute to the broader effort of strengthening theatre in India.
