‘For the 1st Time, I Was Paid To Do Theatre’: These Friends Are Paying Artists Rs 15000/Month To Learn Theatre

Bargad is a theatre fellowship created to challenge the financial and social barriers that keep many people from professional training. It asks who gets to pursue theatre when classes cost money and regular work cannot be given up. The programme also questions whose stories and artistic voices are valued.

Participants receive free training and a monthly stipend. The first two cohorts receive ₹10,000 per month, while the third cohort, beginning in January 2027, will receive ₹15,000. Classes run from 4 pm to 8.30 pm, six days a week. This schedule leaves some time for fellows to earn during the day.

The fellowship began its first cohort in January 2025 with 14 fellows. Applicants may apply in English or Hindi through written or video submissions. Bargad is designed not only to teach performance, but also to make theatre training financially possible for people who support themselves or their families.

Bargad’s first cohort selected 14 fellows. The article describes a six-month point at which participants revisited their goals, indicating the fellowship’s six-month training framework. Classes meet six days a week, from 4 pm to 8.30 pm, so fellows can potentially work during the day.

Money is central to the model. The first two cohorts receive ₹10,000 each month. The third cohort, which begins in January 2027, will receive ₹15,000 per month. This payment recognises the income fellows may lose while attending intensive training and helps them manage daily expenses.

The scale is deliberately small because the programme includes rigorous training and auditions. Its first cohort began in January 2025. The stipend also helps fellows explain the choice to their families, especially when they contribute financially at home. Bargad therefore treats access as both an artistic and economic question.

Bargad is open to applicants who may not have formal theatre training. This challenges the idea that a lack of certificates means a lack of ability. Candidates can apply in English or Hindi, using either written submissions or videos. The article does not describe a narrow educational or professional eligibility requirement.

Selection begins with an independent online jury. It shortlists around 30 applicants for three rigorous, in-person audition rounds. After those rounds, candidates take part in a group audition. The article identifies listening as one skill tested in that group stage, though the provided text ends before describing the full process.

Applications increased from around 75 in the first year to about 200 in the second. The process therefore combines broad entry routes with demanding selection. Bargad seeks people with potential and commitment, not only people who already possess access to recognised theatre schools or formal qualifications.

When theatre training is free and paid, aspiring artists gain more than a place in class. They gain time, financial independence and a stronger chance to remain in the programme. This matters because many applicants contribute money to their families and cannot easily stop working to train.

Lalit had previously paid for theatre training and sometimes depended on his siblings. Bargad’s stipend was the first time he was paid to do theatre. He used the money for travel, books and personal necessities. The payment helped him afford an activity he valued without asking his brother or sister for support.

The stipend can also make families more willing to accept theatre as a serious path. Bargad’s classes run in the evening, allowing fellows to earn during the day. The result is not a guaranteed career, but a practical opportunity to discover whether theatre can become sustainable work while building skills and confidence.

The hidden cost is time. Even when classes charge no fee, attending them can mean giving up paid work, transport time or family responsibilities. For people who contribute financially at home, several hours of training can directly reduce the money available for rent, food or other needs.

Bargad’s classes run from 4 pm to 8.30 pm, six days a week. That is an intensive schedule, but it leaves fellows the possibility of earning during the day. The monthly stipend provides another layer of support. Anirudh describes the lost earning time as the high opportunity cost of training in the arts.

This matters because access depends on more than removing tuition fees. A person may be talented and motivated but still unable to attend unpaid classes. Bargad’s model addresses both barriers by paying fellows and organising training around daytime work. It also helps families see participation as financially possible rather than purely risky.

The article presents theatre access as an unequal system. Training and professional opportunities often require money, time, education and social confidence. Amba says gatekeeping in the performing arts is heavily shaped by caste and privilege, described as an accident of birth. This affects both entry into institutions and the stories those institutions value.

Amba’s own experience led her to question who gets through the door and who has historically been told that the door belongs to them. Anirudh describes a similar shift while working on a play about the Criminal Tribes Act. His privileged caste and class background had protected him from seeing inequalities until he encountered caste realities and Ambedkar’s writings.

Bargad responds by making training free, paying fellows and accepting applications without requiring formal training. Its founders are trying to widen access and change the conditions of entry, not simply invite new people into existing systems. The fellowship also creates space for different stories, imaginations and artistic voices.

In theatre, devising means creating an original performance collectively. Performers, directors and other artists develop material through exercises, improvisation, discussion, research and experimentation. The group may begin with an idea, question, personal experience or source material rather than a completed script.

The key mechanism is shared creation. Participants generate scenes, characters, movement, text and structure, then test and revise them. A director may guide the process, but the final work grows from the group’s contributions. This differs from simply receiving and performing a script written elsewhere, although devised work can still use written text.

The provided article does not mention devising or describe how Bargad teaches it. The definition above uses established theatre knowledge rather than a claim from the source. In Bargad’s wider context, collaborative creation could support the fellowship’s interest in whose stories, imaginations and artistic voices are valued, but the article does not state that connection directly.