Amateur Troupes in Kannada Theatre have played a major role in making the Kannada theatre popular among its people. These troupes have also spread the theatre culture in the neighbouring states. Various amateur Kannada troupes travelled across to states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to showcase their talent to the people of those states. Amateur troupes in Kannada theatre made its presence felt at various parts of the state.
Amateur Troupes of Mysore
Amateur Troupes of Mysore was, perhaps, the most skilled and influential groups of performing artists. The kind patronage of Mysore palace did help a lot towards growth of Amateur theatre in Karnataka. Amateur troupes of Mysore were divided into various groups, and one of the significant parts of the group was the Amateur Dramatic Association (A.D.A) which came into being 1909 owing to the enthusiastic efforts of some talented lawyers, teachers and merchants of Bengaluru. The A.D.A. sponsored Drama Competitions offering prizes to the best of plays received. In 1919, T. P. Kailasam, "the Father of the Modern Kannada Drama" wrote down his first play Tollu Gatti for the competition and was awarded the first prize. The success of the troupe in various centres of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and Mysore earned a great reputation for it and later brought continuous and munificent patronage from the Mysore palace, particularly after Yuvaraja Kantirava Narasaraja Wodeyar became a patron of the Association.
Amateur Troupes Bellary and Mangalore
Amateur Troupes Bellary and Mangalore contributed greatly to Kannada theatre. It experimented a great deal and helped in developing the tradition of the amateur stage of Mangalore. Later, Sarasa Vinodini Nataka Sabha, an amateur association started by the famed D. Krishnamacharlu of Bellary early in the eighties, staged its first plays in Kannada language before it switched over to Telugu language plays. A number of amateur associations like The Art Lover`s Association and Joladarashi Mitramandali frequently appeared in Bellary and strove to follow the great traditions of theatrical art established by D. Krishnamacharlu and Bellary Raghavachari.
Amateur Troupes of North Karnataka
Amateur Troupes of North Karnataka were very popular among the people of the state. They moved to neighbouring states and to length and breath of Karnataka enacting various types of plays. The seeds of the amateur stage of North Karnataka seem to have been sown by Prachya Kreeda Samvardhana Mandali of Madihal, a suburb of Dharwar. Slowly with time various troupes came into existence and performed brilliantly at various places. The Youngmen`s Football Club Amateurs of Gadag, the Vasudeva Amateurs of Bagalkot, the Bharat Sevak Samaj of Bijapur and the Karnataka College Amateurs, Kannada Natya Vilasigala Sangha and the Kalopasak Mandal of Dharwar are some of the significant troupes that came into existence in North Karnataka.
