The Creative Node

With technology advancing at a high pace and entertainment accessible a few fingertips away the survival of professional theatre these days is at stake and is celebrated only in a few cities. In the era where Netflix, Disney+, YouTube etc. have brought various entertainment options to one in their homes comfort zone why would someone buy a ticket and take the pain of going to a theatre to watch a drama? This raises another question that do these online platforms really showcase the true essence of theatre? The most powerful thing about watching a live performance is that it directly connects the audience and the performer which influences the two to a great extent. However, in Ahmedabad, many artists feel that the city audience is a dedicated and vibrant theatre-going one and hence they have always enjoyed performing here. With a wide range of genres like dance, drama, music and more the city is the homeland of almost 50 performing theatres. As part of this studios design proposal, I have tried exploring various strategies to establish a performance space that offers more to its surroundings and the people of the city by interweaving various functions that keep the building active during any day night. The main focus was to design a place for people of all age groups and all backgrounds.