Abhilash Pillai (born 17 May 1969) is an Indian

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

director, both

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

and scholar of contemporary

Indian theatre Theatre of India is one of the most ancient forms of theatre and it features a detailed textual, sculptural, and dramatic effects which emerged in mid first millennium BC. Like in the areas of music and dance, the Indian theatre is also defin ...

Early life and education

Abhilash Pillai was born on 17 May 1969 at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

to S. R. K. Pillai and Sarada Pillai. In 1991, he completed his Bachelor of Theatre Arts from The School of Drama,

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

and secured third rank. He also completed a three-year Postgraduate Diploma in Dramatics with a specialization in Design and Direction from the National School of Drama, New Delhi, with distinction in 1994. He then obtained a two-year diploma in Theatre Production and Stage Management with honors from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London in 1998. He also did a one-year intensive training in advanced theatre direction in association with eminent directors in the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. Th ...

, United Kingdom during 1998 and 1999 and attained his PhD from

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

in 2012.

Career

Pillai began his career in theatre as an

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

at the Abhinaya Theatre and Research Centre,

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. He worked there from September 1999 to April 2001. Later, he was appointed as an assistant professor at

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

, New Delhi and rose to become the dean of academics from July 2008 to June 2011 and 2019 to 2021. In 2016 he became an associate professor at the National School of Drama. Presently, he is a visiting faculty/play director at many universities in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and abroad. He is also the chairman of Arnav Art Trust since 2011 and a committee member of ''Natrang Pratishtan'',

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. He works as a professor at

and he is also executive director of the Asia Theatre Education Center (ATEC) Central Academy Of Drama, Beijing, China.

Major directorial works

Awards

* 2003 – National Sanskriti Award 2002–03 (National Cultural Award) for achievements in theatre in December 2003 by Sanskriti Pratishtan, New Delhi * 2012 –

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

for Theatre Direction

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, Abhilash Indian theatre directors Living people Theatre practitioners Indian drama teachers National School of Drama alumni 1969 births Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award