The Oasis English Press sat down with Suryaansh Krishna, the Coordinator of the Department of Theatre (DoT), to get some insight into the work undertaken by them for Oasis ‘24. 

He began by explaining that DoT was responsible for seven kernel competition events that span dance, music, fashion, and singing, as well as a semi-professional show. He started with the two dance events, Choreo and Street Dance.  The latter is an ‘underground hip-hop battle’ between individuals or teams that takes place at the Rotunda, while the former, Choreo, features classical and contemporary dancers competing in the Main Auditorium. 

He elaborated on Stage Play and Street Play, the two theatre events. The former is a nukkad-natak style event, similar to the old-fashioned plays held on the roads of Delhi. On the other hand, he highlighted that Stage Play focuses on a ‘more professional manner’ of storytelling in the Main Auditorium. He added that Fash-P is a fashion parade held at Rotunda that they aim to align with the theme of Oasis.

Suryaansh further stated that there are two music events — Tarang and Pitch Perfect. He explained that Tarang is a battle of the bands where contestants perform Indian rock fusion, and Pitch Perfect, inspired by its namesake, is an acappella event. The semi-professional show is performed by a Delhi-based theatre company called Sukhmanch which has been a regular at Oasis for several years. 

The Coordinator remarked that the department also managed a rulebook that outlined the guidelines for the events.  Adjustments are made to the rulebook annually based on lessons learnt from the previous year. Suryaansh stated that work on the rulebook started over the summer this year.

Suryaansh mentioned that due to budget cuts this year, the funds allocated for the judges’ fees had been reduced. He revealed that they are instead being compensated through exposure by promotion of their projects. He added that DoT had faced some challenges along the way, with several colleges backing out at the last minute because the fest dates were too close to Diwali. He expressed dismay at the same since it led to work being done in a less organised manner.

Suryaansh said that even though the work had been hectic, especially in the weeks leading up to Oasis, the overall experience had been fun. As a parting note, he urged BITSians and outsiders to attend the events organised by DoT, emphasising that they take place 24/7.