Debleena Tripathi

Munia Debleena Tripathi is an independent theatre-maker and a PhD candidate at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Toronto. Her research interests include contemporary Indian theatre, applied theatre, political theatre, audience research and practice-as-research. She has completed MA, Applied and Participatory Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London (2014-15) and MA, Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University (2012-14).

Munia writes in both Bangla and English. The first play written by her, Hariye Jete Nei Mana, was premiered at the International Nandikar Theatre Festival, 2009, Kolkata. Plays directed by her include Ichchhamoti (2018), Dil Ki Duniya (2017) and Naatok (2015). 

Munia designed the MA, Applied Theatre syllabi for the Department of Drama, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, which was the first public university in India to introduce this course. She taught there as a part-time lecturer (2017-2019). She has worked as a theatre-trainer in several schools and led theatre workshops for both children and adults, focussing on playwriting, direction and devising. 
 

Selected works

“Losing and Finding Community in Drama: A Methodology-in-Motion for Pandemic Times” in LEARNing Landscapes. Ed. Butler Kisber, Lynn. Co-authors: Kathleen Gallagher, Nancy Cardwell. 2022. https://www.learninglandscapes.ca/index.php/learnland/article/view/1069

“Alternative Living Theatre”. The Companion to Applied Performance, Vol II. Ed. Ananda Breed and Tim Prentki. Routledge. 2021.

“Applied Theatre, Ekti Prathomik Dharona” [Applied Theatre: An Introduction] in Anorto, ed. Rahman Raju; Published by Theatre Department, University of Rajshahi, 2019. Bangladesh (Bangla) 

“Chetana” at Sahapedia, 2018. https://www.sahapedia.org/tags_content/Chetana

Awards

Jackman Junior Fellowship (2019-2024)

Research Travel Grant (2022-23) awarded by SGS, UofT

Centre for South Asian Civilizations Writing Fellowship (Summer, 2022)

Saddlemyer-Parker Award (2021-22) 

Sahapedia-UNESCO Fellowship (2017-18)

National Young Artists’ Scholarship in the field of Theatre, India (2011-13)