Shweta Mishra

Shweta believes theatre is not just a fallback for actors; it's a dedicated profession that can bring meaningful change to society. Starting her theatre journey in 2018, Shweta initially focused on screen work, unaware of the true magic of theatre. Her perspective shifted after watching Piya Behrupiya by Atul Kumar. The play made her realise that theatre is much more than a small stage—it's a space where entire worlds can be created, provoking real-time reactions, understanding, and emotions from the audience. 

She was captivated by the thought that we can create that world of words on stage, turning scripts into reality with emotions, creativity, characters, and design. Motivated by this, Shweta began working with various theatre groups and took on roles beyond acting, such as a music operator in 'Endgame' at the Bharangam Festival.

She met friends from diverse theatre backgrounds, including some who had studied at ITI in Singapore, who introduced her to different forms of Performance Theatre. Through this, she realised there are numerous theatre forms that are either unknown or underutilised creatively in mainstream practices.

Shweta has since acted in plays like 'Can't Pay? Won't Pay!' by Dario Fo and 'Art' by Yasmina Reza, and she directed and acted in 'Ashes to Ashes' by Harold Pinter. Learning about DSM's approach to teaching new theatre forms with dedication, she was inspired by their methodology.

Shweta aspires to revolutionise theatre, use it to raise societal awareness, and establish it as a respected profession, not just an option for actors. She believes theatre, when done with passion and purpose, can truly create impactful change.

Mangesh Ingole

Mangesh hails from a place where very few people have ever seen a theatre performance, let alone aspired to be a thespian. He studied in Beed, his hometown, until the 12th grade before moving to Pune for further studies. It was in Pune that he discovered his passion for theatre. Mesmerised by the experience, Mangesh immersed himself in every aspect of theatre, from backstage work to writing, eventually finding his true calling in acting.

During his college days, Mangesh was involved in multiple plays and won several accolades. However, it was his performance at the Firodia Karandak in 2020, where he played the character of Naroba, a patriarch of a tribe, that earned him the third prize for Best Actor. This achievement gave him the confidence to pursue acting as a career.

Since then, Mangesh has collaborated with some of the best practitioners of Marathi experimental theatre, including Niranjan Pedanekar and Mohit Takalkar. Recently, he spent a year touring the country with the theatre group Aasakta, performing in a play named Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta, which was also nominated at META 2024.

Mangesh believes that a performance should fully engage not just the voice, but the entire body. He is committed to bringing versatility to each role by learning how to incorporate a variety of physical traits into his performances. This aspiration led him to find the Drama School Mumbai as the perfect fit for his further training.

As Mangesh delves deeper into his craft, he recognizes how art shapes both the artist and the human being, as these identities are interconnected. He also understands the impact art can have on society, and he no longer views his work as just a hobby, but also as a responsibility. Mangesh aims to provoke people to think differently through his craft, encouraging them to see life from perspectives other than their own.

Janhavi Pawar

Janhavi is an actor, dancer, choreographer and conceptualizer practising performance arts for over 15 years. She has been creating theatre and related work for over 10 years, exploring within a range of theatre forms with a diverse set of people, both in the experimental and commercial zone. She has been embodying and practising styles like Bharatnatyam, Hip hop, Latin American, Contemporary, Bachata and Freestyle. She has also been teaching dance and choreographing professionally for stage, screen, corporates, studio batches, NGOs etc. for 15 years now. She has also done a few ad films, short films, print shoots, forum theatre and voiceover projects.

After doing 12 productions of traditional text plays, she went on to explore movement- based theatre more. To her, theatre is transforming herself, with the underlying layers of being in existence helping in pushing her own boundaries and notions of human behaviour. She learnt inclusivity and working in an ensemble. To her, it is a place to grow as a human being, also giving an opportunity to tell stories where art makes the comfortable uncomfortable and gives the uncomfortable some comfort. Janhavi believes theatre sparks thought-provoking insights in interesting ways. It has a massive impact on the development of society as it questions ‘the state of being’.

 At DSM, she looks forward to receiving in-depth training and developing specificity, with resilience shaping her senses and vision to curate work with a variety of artists. She also looks forward to building a community and a network. Janhavi looks forward to studying there, making new mistakes and developing as an artist and person.