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13 PRITHVI18 DEC THEATRE & NCPA
“Winter” settles in Mumbai, people bring out their sweaters and scarves, pretending they actually need them. Others realise that the warmth they’re looking for lies elsewhere. These people venture to Juhu, over to a little festival called Thespo. This “little” festival is over nine months of labour; of hundreds of people, from crew members to participants, from audience members to angels, all of whom gather in this “little” space called Prithvi Theatre for a week of theatre and belonging to a community. It’s the girl who travels from Kalyan to Versova, just to spend three hours working with us. It’s the boy who bends college rules to ensure that he is there for Thespo, year on year. It’s the volunteers who have come here from eight different cities (including Colombo!) to be with this team, which is now their family. This festival is actually part of a movement; a whole year of performances at Prithvi, publishing the e-zine Thespo Ink, organising numerous workshops across the country and whatever else that can be crammed in, in between the frequent trips to the chai-wala. The festival is a magnet. This year we attracted registrations from 21 cities (including a small town in Tripura) in 12 languages (including a dialect called Ahirani). So many first time performers, so much new writing, so many adaptations of classics that were re-interpreted beyond anything the screening panel had seen before. The festival this year is a celebration; of youth, of theatre, of community spirit. Our collaboration Wondering is a cultural exchange with artists from three countries interpreting poetry through music and dance. Mujer brings together six young women from different walks of life looking for answers and kinship. The wide range of workshops on offer are a series of opportunities for Indian participants to engage with skills they wouldn’t normally get to learn; therapy through theatre, scoring a scene, Japanese methods of theatre and much more. This year we also launch Directors’ Adda - a new programme that offers promising young directors an exposure to varied theatre practices, as well as an opportunity to interact with senior theatre practitioners. For an audience member, it’s the best thing to do with your time on a “winter’s” day. The festival is a warm, welcoming space, where you’re bound to find your perfect match, whether in a workshop, a performance in the open air, or sandwiched between fellow theatre lovers in the Prithvi Theatre. The festival also pays tribute to all the greats who came before us and forged a path for us to follow and learn from. This year, we celebrate the life and work of M S Sathyu; a legend in so many different fields of theatre and an inspiration to all. The festival is something we have fostered for a little less than a year, but now it’s all grown up, and ready to storm the stage. The magic of theatre, the joy of people who’ve found their tribe, the glory of talent celebrated: that is Thespo 18! Thank you for being part of it. -Meghana Telang, Spriha Nakhare, Srishti Ray, Suraj Subramanian Festival Managers
STORM WITHIN THE IS SET: THE STAGE Plays Jury Lifetime nt Award Achieveme Workshops ic Live Mus Fringe es erformanc Platform P S GATHER: THE CLOUD th The Jedi Pa nt e The Movem hespo T Friends of t Time s ir F Thespo M IN MEMORIA
2 13 14 19 23 24 27 28 30 34 60 40
AIN POUR: HEAR THE R ’s My Theatre 36 re Dude, Whe m of the 46 The Phanto e s u o 48 H Opera rd a B e th 51 Beat of rds o W ’s re a e Shakesp heatre 52 T in b o J y Wanted: An Kill the 56 Tech Didn’t r ta 58 S e Theatr ferent if D e th f o Survival STIRRERS: 65 THE STORM p, Bombay u ro 66 G e Theatr 68 QTP ts n e m e g d 72 Acknowle Credits
Ismat Chugtai's classic about how a simple blanket can be a doorway to another world.
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Tricycle Productions Written & Directed by Kartavya Anthwaal Sharma, Radhika Chopra, Rohit Mehra
A re-interpretation of Ismat Chugtai’s controversial piece, about a quarrelsome 11 year old girl who is sent off to be with her mysterious aunt, Begum jaan. Ismat enters a strange world, uncovering secrets she would rather have left tucked away. Ages: 12+
Cast Kartavya Anthwaal Sharma Radhika Chopra Rohit Mehra Crew Light - Adi Shastri Stage Manager - Dhaval Thakkar Special Thanks – Faezeh Jalali, Vikrant Dhote, Asif Ali Beg, Anita Mehra, Tarika Seth, Saumya Sethia
TUE, 13 DEC | 9PM Prithvi Theatre Hindustani, Bombay 60 mins (no interval)
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Theatron Entertainment Written & Directed by Virajas Kulkarni, Shivraj Waichal
Bhanvar Singh is a quirky night watchman. A migrant to the city, he is entrusted with the security of an abandoned factory. It is his last day at work, and yet, his shift never seems to end. As the night grows ever longer, he shares his hopes, dreams and reality with his invisible superior, often blurring the lines between truth and imagination.
Ages: 12+
Cast Bhanvar Singh - Shivraj Waichal Crew Light - Hemant Chaturya Sound – Akash Chaudhari Costume - Gaurangi Gokhale Set - Harsh Singh Special Thanks – Abhishek Deshmukh, Pradeep Vaidya, Prasad Vanarase & Aniruddha Khutwad
Wed, 14 Dec | 9PM Prithvi Theatre Hindi, Pune 85 mins (no interval)
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TE KAY ASTA? (Marathi, Pune)
It’s not a sex comedy. It’s a comedy about sex... education!
ka t ya e st a?
G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering and Management, Wagholi
Written & Directed by Rohit Devidas Salunke
A bold addition to the secondary school curriculum in rural Maharashtra leaves everyone tittering. One schoolmaster must negotiate his way through the ultimate taboo, and get his pupils to listen. This is not a sex comedy, but a comedy about sex... education. Ages: 12+
Cast Patil Sir - Alim Badashaha Shaikh Principal - Akshay Giri Shete Sir - Akash Swami Pawar Sir - Aniruddha Padvi Dudhane Madam - Aishwarya Jadhav Nayan - Kshitija Solanke Akka/Ajji - Rani Mohare Gotya - Aman Birari Ganya - Avinash Sasane Dapanya - Jaydeep Hate Zendya - Nibaran Dhara Student/ Maharaj - Abhijeet Padmawar Sadashiv - Laxman Gujar Pushpa - Akshata Sanyanshiv Shobha - Nalini Thorat Dapanya’s Father - Prasad Tiwde Gotya’s Father - Yogesh Sainkar
Babnya - Abdul Sayyad Sarpanch - Hrushikesh Kulkarni Students Smriti Jolad, Amruta Jadhav, Aishwarya Jagtap Ashwini Tayade, Astha Malokar Shreyas Rane, Nilesh Yadav Sumedh Kulkarni, Shubham Gosavi Pratik Kshirsaagar, Rahul Wagh Gajendra Muley Villagers Viraj Jagdale, Abhinav Jeurkar, Tejas Kukde, Niraj Lunavat Crew Sound – Pratik Kelkar Light - Omkar Kanetkar Special Thanks – Ramchandra Khatmode
Thurs, 15 Dec | 9 PM Prithvi Theatre Marathi, Pune 70 mins (no interval)
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ho w es th
Written & Directed by Ranjitha Sakleshpur
A sleepless night, a phone that does not ping, and a house with just one person in it. Who are we when we are truly alone? How do we behave? What do we become when we think we have nothing to show? Ages: 16+ Cast Ranjitha Sakleshpur Crew Adi Shastri Special Thanks – Ramya Shastry and Greeshma
Fri, 16 Dec | 9 PM Prithvi Theatre Kannada/English | Bangalore 70 mins (no interval)
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Vayam – The Theatre Society of Shivaji College Written & Directed by Aakash Bharadwaj
An author’s words are his creations. But what if these creations have the power to stretch beyond the page? How does he confront a reality written by himself? A seamless intertwining of Vijay Tendulkar’s plays ‘Gidhade’, ‘Kutte’ and ‘Sakharam Binder’, that tells the story of a novelist struggling with his fate. Ages: 16+
Cast Vijay – Nitesh Sharma Sarkar – Aakash Bharadwaj Publisher – Shubham Aggarwal Vijay 2 – Lakshay Arora Rama – Mansi Gupta Umakant – Ujwal Arora Ramakant – Akshay Tyagi Aurat – Sankhya Joshi
Crew Light – Shubham Kotwani Sound – Deepanshu Khandelwal Backstage – Rohit Yadav & Avijeet Newar Special Thanks – Keval Arora
Sat, 17 Dec | 9 PM Prithvi Theatre Hindi/English, Delhi 75 mins (no interval)
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JURY
Thespo is all about giving young talent a space to show the world what they’ve got. At the end of the festival, we celebrate those who have stood out among their peers. Four jury members spend every night of the festival watching the plays, making notes, and eventually selecting the awardees. We’re so grateful that they take their time out to give Thespo a hand!
Niloufer Sagar
Niloufer Sagar has worked in arts management in India and internationally for two decades. Her specializations are theatre productions, festival management and site-responsive work. She currently works with artists including Terence Lewis and his dance company, and theatre maker Yuki Ellias.
Prof. Avinash Kolhe Prof. Avinash Kolhe teaches Political Science at D. G. Ruparel College, Mumbai. He regularly reviews nonMarathi plays in Marathi for the benefit of Marathi audiences. He has published over 300 such reviews, a collection of which was recently published, titled ‘Rangadevateche Aanglaroop’
Gopal Datt An alumnus of the National School of Drama, Gopal Datt is a man of many talents. As an actor, he has worked with many prominent theatre directors from across the globe. He is the cofounder of the theatre group Aarambh. He has been a part of plays like ‘Aaj Rang Hai’, ‘Ladies Sangeet’, ‘Tunni Ki Kahani’, ‘Park’ among many others. In addition to theatre, Gopal has acted in TV shows and feature films over the past decade. He has also written lyrics and composed music for films, television and theatre.
Kalyani Hiwale A graduate of the National School of Drama, New Delhi, with a specialization in direction, Kalyani Hiwale has extensive experience in theatre in education. Having taught drama to children for the past 12 years, she has come to the understanding that working with children is a purely magical and transforming process. She currently works with Theatre Professionals as a Drama Facilitator. 15
The annual IPTA Inter Collegiate Drama Competition (ICDC) is a hotly contested trophy. The Tejpal Auditorium is packed to capacity with students, theatre lovers, theatre veterans, and IPTA regulars. One man stands alone, watching the passing waves of youthful humanity, slightly amused. The scores of youngsters are too preoccupied with their day’s preparation to realise who that graceful apparition is. He,
meanwhile, stands, calmness personified. Flowing white beard, crisp white kurta and Nehru jacket. Yet, his eyes sparkle. MS Sathyu was not much older than these students when he decided to drop out of college in 1952. He had little interest towards the Science subjects he was studying, and even during the time he was enrolled, he would spend more time on the sports field or rehearsal room. It was a 17
risky decision, but one that would make a lasting impact on the Indian arts scene.
Dropping out of college was followed by years of
country at Hindustani Theatre, Okhla Theatre, Kannada Bharati and other venues. He directed his first play, ‘Amrapali’, in 1960, and from then on became a regular feature on the Bombay and Bangalore theatre circuits. At a time when India was struggling to build a national identity, this young man who grew up only
struggle as a freelance animator, and it was only four years later that he finally landed a consistent salaried job as assistant to filmmaker Chetan Anand. 1966: Filmfare Best Art Direction Award: Haqeeqat (for black-and-white film category)
After that there was no looking back; he’s had a seven decade career in cinema, documentaries, television, and of course, his first love, theatre. He began as a set designer for the play ‘Mitti ki Gaadi’ in 1958, and continued to design sets for plays in Gujarati for INT, and working across the 18
speaking Kannada, transcended the linguistic boundaries of the country by working in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Urdu. So prolific and instinctive was he, that legend has it, while sitting for the first reading of a play, he would have a set design ready in his hand by the last line. Back outside Tejpal, the ICDC had
Never shy to pick 2004: SACF (South Asian Cinema Foundation) up a hammer and Award, London – Lifetime achievement in build the set himself, Sathyu continues to Cinema work with youngsters and veterans alike. His come to an end. He greeted the hallmarks have been a simplicity winner of the Balraj Sahani Award of style, and yet breathtaking for Outstanding Performance, and execution. greeted the winner; apologising for not having the rose he had set 2015: Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow: aside for her. He Stagecraft praised her In his play on Amrita Pritam, the protagonist is often visited by a guardian angel called ‘Samay’, who is dressed in flowing white with a matching snowy beard and long hair.
performance calling it ‘one of the finest he had seen’, patted her head and walked away. The celebrating throng, were stunned in silence. The power of his words and what they meant lingered long after he had walked away. With over a hundred play credits, in a sixty year career, the Grand Old Man of Indian theatre has built a reputation for being very particular with his designs.
To most of the theatre fraternity Sathyu is a similar guardian angel: timeless. Forever shepherding new plays into vibrant productions. - Kalpak Bhave
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WORKSHOPS at prithvi house This year Thespo presents 8 different workshops for you to revamp the instrument of your choice be it rhythm, harmony, the body, the mind or even the funny bone for that matter alongside expert theatre practitioners to help you storm the stage!
The Rhythm of Shakespeare by Paul Goodwin
The beat, dear Brutus, lies not within words but in yourselves. Look for the clues in Shakespearian text; explore through the body, voice and rhythm and befriend the bard with this twoday workshop
13 and 14 Dec 10am-1pm
Harmony on Stage
by Wilfred Petherbridge Writers, directors, musicians, bathroom singers, performers, all aboard! Discover innovative tricks of using music to enrich your act. Croon your way to creativity.
13 Dec 2pm-5pm
Creating Compelling Stage Pictures by Sarah Punshon
Direct, design, play! Learn how to move, explore and stage scenes by contemporary British playwrights, all the while keeping it natural. Suited for directors, actors and writers.
14 Dec 2pm-5pm 21
The Suzuki Method by Josephine Joy
Preparing to be a performer? Josephine introduces the Suzuki Method for the lionhearted performer in you! With a physically and mentally intense form of actor training, unearth mechanisms of control, patience and stamina.
14 Dec 10am-1pm
The Therapy in Theatre by Timira Gupta
Ever thought of drama as a tool for therapy? Experience a range of exercises from the Theatre of the Oppressed and go on an expedition into the self!
15 Dec 2pm-5pm
Clowning Around by Trina Haldar
“You look at people, and normally after five seconds they are ridiculous.�- Philippe Gaulier Play the fool, tell stories, joke and discover your creativity! Be ridiculous and unleash the clown in you.
16 Dec 10am - 5pm
Expressing with Movement by Noah Jimmy
How does one foster bonds without a single word? The secret lies in grooving! Use techniques from classical ballet and contemporary dance to establish relationships onstage and off without verbal communication. (Not restricted to dancers.)
17 Dec 10am - 1pm 22
Meeting the Audience by Daniel Bye
Do you write? Do you slam? Do you perform? Lets engage the audience with a toolbox of creativity, clowning, storytelling and stand-up. Break the ice, break the fourth wall and break a leg!
17 Dec, 2pm-4pm 18 Dec, 10am - 3pm
Directors’ Adda This is a new programme initiated at Thespo 18 to bring young directors from around India together to interact and exchange ideas. The participants have been hand picked from the Thespo screenings. They will attend specific workshops at the festival that are geared towards direction, and also attend the festival plays, after which there will be a moderated discussion with an established theatre director. 2016 is the pilot programme, that we hope will develop into something more long term and intensive.
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Curls and Beards Tue, 13 Dec, 6pm Contemporary pop A duo who sing about love, who create beautiful covers of contemporary music. Tales from the Land of India Wed, 14 Dec, 6pm Semi-classical/Qissa Stories from around different parts of India told through words and songs. Legends come alive through this unique form of song and narrative, interspersed with love.
USIC LIVE M
Tap to the rhythm of musicians from across the country as they play their motley tunes live in the Prithvi Foyer!
Abhanga Repost Thurs, 15 Dec, 6pm Contemporary Folk Fusion A contemporary folk fusion band that performs spoken verses of saints like Sant Tukaram, Sant Dnyaneshwar in various musical genres. Maanuni Fri, 16 Dec, 6pm Contemporary Pop An 18-year-old who has a knack for blending different genres from classical Hindustani to R&B and Jazz to produce some catchy music.
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Chenda Wed, 14 Dec | 7PM Hindi, 45 min A folk artist realizes that his dead cow’s soul has come into his Chenda*, and he finds himself at the crossroads of Dharma and Karma. *a cylindrical drum, with both ends usually covered with skin from the abdomen of a cow (believed to give a better sound than other animal skins)
Mujer Thur, 15 Dec | 7PM Multilingual, 40 min The paths we walk, the choices we make, the conclusions we come to. What drives us to them? What have we learnt from the past? Six young women, a puppet, and a UK based director explore what makes us who we are.
You Shall Give Me Grandsons Fri, 16 Dec | 7PM English, 45 min You Shall Give Me Grandsons satirizes the clash of generations. A mother keen on having grandsons tries to force her son to marry, unknowing and uncaring of the fact that he is, in fact, a homosexual. Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai and Thespo continue to bring contemporary German writing to the Bombay stage. 26
Pa... Bha... Ka… Sat,17 Dec | 5PM Hindi, 45 min Three mad men, three stools, three intentions, and a waiting room. Adapted from Manav Kaul’s ‘Park’ , this play is a satire that deals with the human psychology of “the world is not enough”.
FRINGE AT PRITHVI HOUS E
Be a part of the intimate space that beco mes Prit hvi House to explore subjects left unexplored, appreciate form s of theatre which remain forgotten and experience feelings until now unex pressed.
Bhool Sat, 17 Dec | 7PM Gibberish, 45 min Mesmerising Bhil traditions of dance and drama are modernised in this story of a woman outcaste who must face her tribe, and ultimately herself.
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Binder Te Samaj Via Tendulkar
Wed, 14 Dec | 8 PM Marathi, 25 min Tendulkar held up a mirror to Binder’s society, but what must have gone through his head? An imagined glimpse into the master’s mind.
Paanchavali
Thurs,15 Dec | 8PM Hindi, 20 min Draupadi, on her way to Swarga with her five husbands, finds herself alone. She takes the opportunity to invoke her mother ‘Agni’, to get a chance to speak freely with her.
As diverse and dynamic as it can get, the Prit hvi Foyer becomes the place to be with artists including dancers, poet s, musicians taking over the space reconceptualizing the classics, the myth s, the mundane and the obscure.
Wondering
Fri, 16 Dec | 8PM English, 25 min An Indian poet, a British music composer, an Australian dancer and five Indian artists join forces to wander through the wonderings of young minds.
Khouf
Sat, 17 Dec | 8PM Marathi, 16 min Our identity is considered the most important part of us; our different identities are what make the world diverse. But what happens when these identities clash when the identity you are given at birth is put above the humanity within you?
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Somewhere at the end of our 33-day long ‘theatre-thon’, we met these 3 rather earnest individuals, struggling to string together an hour-long performance. They fumbled, stumbled and sometimes even snapped at each other, trying to figure the set design halfway through each scene. But paying no heed to their own clumsiness, they continued to stride on! ———— It’s been dubbed as a ‘Haj’. A mega crosscountry pilgrimage of sorts to pick out the needles amongst forage. It also adds an adrenaline boost to the ego: “Maybe there’s enough of a skill set within me, to not just judge, but give feedback to the next generation of theatre hopefuls”. So I shrugged and nodded. “Sure, why not?” And my partner in crime was to be Vivek Madan; who has been associated with Thespo when the movement was still at its infancy. And together we would set about to ‘make’ Thespo 18. ---------The trio sat down in front of us; drenched in sweat and out of breath, but with eager eyes, waiting for us to give some feedback to their effort. After a moment’s silence, Vivek
“Have you ever watched a play?” They smiled and politely asked,
nodded and replied, “Yes, on YouTube.” What followed was a tale we have heard too often. Eager youngsters; struggling in Mumbai; hoping to crack it in the film and television industry. They have never been exposed to theatre, and heard somewhere that theatre is a good sandpaper to polish off their skills. The writer had finished his engineering degree, and wanted to pursue a career in writing – but he had never read a play. The three of them sat there looking at us with hopeful eyes that we would guide them. --------------The plays dealt with a wide variety of themes. From loneliness, to incest, to writers’ block, to incest, to murder mysteries, to biopics, to tales from the Mahabharata, to autism, to incest, to folktale musicals and even an absurdist alternate history of India. 30
Oh, and I forgot to mention: incest. ‘What drew you to these stories? Why did you choose this theme? What were you trying to say with this play?’ Our feedback session always started with these basic questions. More often than not it led to some stimulating and passionate discussions. And, this was possibly the best part of the entire process; for a couple of reasons. To start off, it gave an interesting insight into the sensibilities of today’s 20 year olds and where they draw their inspirations from. It showed us a different face of a generation, which is far more than just hashtags and pouted selfies. There were strong, albeit naive, socio-political voices with strong conviction and mostly, from an honest space (some were just trying to shock us). Secondly, and on a more personal note, it was great to let go of our personal baggage and guide them in the vision they had for their play. Sure, it didn’t start of like that, and unfortunately, the first half a dozen plays have faced the brunt of it. But as we eased into our understanding of our roles,
it was challenging to weld our thoughts accordingly. There were ideological differences; differences of opinions on adaptations, difference of opinions on treatments: but in the 5 minutes between the curtain call and the feedback session, we needed to learn to look past these differences, and figure out how our discussion would end up helping their ideas. This sparked a thought, which wouldn’t combust until the end of our tour, when three newcomers struggled to string together an hour-long performance of their play. ----------------
“Read a play! Watch a play! That’s the only way you can learn,” Vivek instructed. They nodded and seemed to agree. They desperately wanted to participate in theatre and entered into this screening process in a sponge like state:
our own evolution. It’s an amazingly freeing experience to go into an adventure with a clean slate and see what comes out at the other end. To let our minds subconsciously choose and engage in whatever it finds appealing. To just be unabashedly shameless in making mistakes and jump up to make a whole hearted effort again. Whether we will see those three boys again is anybody’s guess. But in their amateurish juvenile performance they imparted an important lesson, and might have made a bigger impact on me than I could on them. In the immortal words of the short, green, pointy-eared, grammatically challenged Jedi
“You must unlearn, what you have learned.” Master:
- Akash Mohimen
(Who along with Vivek Madan curated Thespo 18)
The Jedi Path “We just want to learn.” We invited them over to the festival, to watch the plays, to participate in the workshops. Their enthusiasm increased. Before they left, Vivek handed them an assignment asking them to give a report card on the first day of Thespo 18: “The number of plays read! The number of plays watched!” As they left, Vivek looked at me and said, “I miss this. The state of going into something with a clean slate!” The dots started to join. I had nestled myself in a comfort zone. Having been part of a theatre process for the better part of a decade, I forget that there is so much more to learn and experience. Somewhere long ago, I discarded the sponge and built this translucent wall, which would only observe, learn and appreciate things based on my own preconceived notions. As an artist that’s possibly the cruelest thing we can do to ourselves; limiting growth and understanding; thereby halting
THE MOVEMENT THESPO AT PRITHVI The ambience of Prithvi with its chestnut stage, its calming grey walls, the grand board studded with posters of the latest plays and even its apathetic cats always draws people back to it, eager for more theatre. Thespo, with its cheerful atmosphere, youthful energy and vast array of opportunities has people young and old, flocking back to it every year. This was a match made in heaven, and a new initiative, Thespo at Prithvi (or TAP, as we call it) was created.This extended the festival beyond just 7 days a year, allowing for plays and workshops to be conducted two days every month. For young theatre addicts, it’s one more chance to return to Prithvi Theatre, month after month, for an evening of quality youth theatre (plus, it fits a student budget!) For others, it means another opportunity to storm the Prithvi stage, and to participate in the workshops and train. Several of the plays that are showcased at TAP are festival plays performing again; others are those that screened for 32
Thespo, but just missed the cut. With a little more time to work on their show, they get a chance to perform at TAP. This year’s TAP opened in January with one such play; ‘With Love, Calcutta’, a pleasant blend of the several stories that make the city, put forth by M.A.D from Calcutta, which came back to the Prithvi stage after its premiere there in 2014. It was followed up in March by a Thespo 17 play, ‘Hero’, a heartwarming story about a man faced with the dilemma of either being himself or someone else, followed up by ‘Lassanwala’, a Khari Boli musical play about an old man forced to question his ways presented by the Thespian Theatre Company of Mumbai, in the month of May. Another non-festival play had its Prithvi premiere this year: the suspense thriller, ‘Veronica’s Room’, where no one really is who they claim to be, put forth by Verbum, a college group from Delhi. Our final TAP for the year, in the month of September, was a double-bill; on the first day, we had two shows of
‘Lassanwala’ followed by Thespo 15’s well-acclaimed play, ‘The E.Q.’, which delves into the wondrous mind of Einstein. On the same two days, a motley crew assembled in the Prithvi House for Shruti Sridharan’s workshop titled ‘Ways of Seeing’. Participants went through a range of exercises aimed at pushing the limits of our perspective when we watch and create art. It was attended by college students, a slam poet, an ex-engineer who wanted to know what all the fuss around theatre was about - truly many perspectives coming together, only to be further broadened by the workshop. Through the years, TAP has become a vital part of youth theatre, providing opportunities for participation and learning. The teams get an opportunity to build their skills as a theatre company, producing their show, away from the comfort of the festival. Moreover, the play they have prepared gets a longer run!
THESPO INK Around the 15 th of every second month, from the Thespo office, a bottle is tossed into the ocean of the internet. The message inside it, if put in the most concise words would be, “Hey, we are here to ‘Colour it Theatre!’” This makes the second place to connect to Thespo especially for those of us unable to get to Prithvi for the TAP shows. With the vision of nurturing youth theatre and making an accessible platform for contributing to the literature on theatre, Thespo initiated a bimonthly online magazine called Thespo Ink. Now, a year since its inception and 7 issues strong, we explore youth theatre through different segments in the magazine. ‘Dialogue’, include conversations with theatre practitioners. So if you want to be pepped to start your own theatre group, take notes from our dialogue with M.A.D in our first edition. ‘Budding Artists’ introduces young theatre artists and their stories to the readers. So if you don’t know about the existence of geeky, soulful, pop-cultured themed musicals by the Bay Area Zeta Players, head on over to the latest edition of Ink. ‘Quick 8’ are short, fun interviews with theatre artists where we ask them all sorts of questions with the weirdest answers, including instances of performing on stage in boxers and no, not out of choice. ‘Recommendations’ are plays that you can read suggested by theatre-smart people to keep busy during the weekends and to be more theatre aware. We also include in every issue a segment ‘What’s on at Thespo’ to keep readers updated on the recent happenings of the movement - shows, workshops and the like. If you ever want to walk down memory lane with us, you can read the recap of Thespo 17 in the third edition and try not to tear up. Go on over to the website www.issuu.com to read, experience, and enjoy the spirit of youth theatre. This bottle in the ocean may just be the one you were looking for! 33
Thespo is a youth theatre festival, but school timings, exams and the pressures of having to go to three tuitions for maths keeps school-going kids away from the Thespo stage. So we came up with the perfect solution to bring theatre to young(er) thespians! Our Dramabaazi programme has kids as young as 8 and 9 going through a rigorous month long workshop process where they help create the piece, and then eventually stage it! The last time we had an edition of Dramabaazi was in 2012, and we’re back after a sabbatical, in January 2017. This January, a group comprising four young children, 2 “adult” children (Thespo crew members), an exThespoan director (Abhishek Saha) and one of our screening panellists as the writer (Akash Mohimen) who will come together to create magic on the NCPA stage. Join us on the 5th of January, 2017 for an evening of magic and celebration of young talent!
NatyaKala Theatre Professionals Private Ltd have, for a long time, been the go-to company for quality round-the-year theatre workshops in the city. In 2013, they took their efforts of theatre education one step further, and founded The Drama School Mumbai. This year, Thespo and DSM have decided to join hands to conduct a series of workshops called ‘Natyakala’. Spanning 5 cities (Bombay, Delhi, Jaipur, Nagpur, and Pune) over the months of January to April 2017, this series of workshops plans to engage the youth across the country, spreading the love for theatre, and nurturing the passion that they already hold within. More details will soon be uploaded on www.thedramaschoolmumbai.in and www.thespo.org
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With every year, Thespo grows a little more. With several international collaborations, participation from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, teams registering from across the country, volunteers working from far-flung places, and actually coming all the way to Bombay for the week of the festival – it’s a lot! Every year, some wonderful people pull a little magic out of their pockets, and put it into Thespo, to make sure that the festival can actually run! We call these wonderful people our ‘Friends of Thespo’ ‘Friends of Thespo’ is much more than a crowdfunding initiative. It’s a thriving community of people who believe in the power of theatre, and want the wonders of the arts to be experienced by as many as possible. On behalf of everyone who has ever been a part of an m a R Thespo, whether as volunteer, participant or . A. P u y n a audience member, we thank these speM i Abh oel G k e cial friends who have helped us h Abhis akar h b a r dream out loud. P kash
A eedie Alan Tw damsee Pa Alyque Zakir a Amatull ardoz C a d msee Aman di Pada n a M a Amand ane R Ananya pta Anil Gu nkar ha Pata Anirudd e Anita D uja h A Anmol an Jha Anshum ewis L Antoine kerkar aA Avantik alavalli M Avinash i Raman h t a Bhagir ani P Bhavna eriah ich Bijoy Id uj Kalro h Chaturb tur as D Cyrus unawala S Darius hah S Darpan unha D’c Deepti mith Denzil S Hambardikar tta Devadu 36
Dhairya Sanghvi Diivit Kumar Divya Bhatia Divyang Thakka r Divyesh Vijayaka r Diya Kottadial Dolly Thakore Esmie Jacobs Faezeh Jalali Falak Jalali Farah & Gulrukh Bala Girish Anantha narayana Goldwin Fonsec a Harishri.B Harriet Roy Harsha Khorana Jaina Kumar Jayati Bhatia Jazz Shastri Jennifer Fornel li Jessica Saxena
Julianna James Kaizad Gherda Karan Bhanush ali Kashin Shetty Khatija Ferhy Krishna Khand elwal Leena Tawate Deshpande Maharana Ray Maia Katrak Maria Tendle Meghna Sethy Meher Acharia Mithila Palkar Mohan Telang Mohit Takalkar Namrata Varth ak Nandini Mehra Naseem Jauhar Natascha Cha dha Navroz Seervai Neil Balthazar Nicola Clark Niloufer Sagar Nipun Kedia Niral Shah Nishna Mehta Onkar Ghare Owais Lightwal a Pia Dastur Pooh Sayani Pradeep Vaidd ya Priti Bakalkar Rajen Shah Rati Tripathi Ratnabali Bhatt acharjee Ravikiran Kanta mneni Rohan Kawley Ruchira Das Ruth Crishna Saatvika Kanta mneni
Samoti Mazumdar Sandeep Sanapuji Sanj Anderson Scherazade Kaikobad Shaili Sathyu Shanta Gokhale Shantilal Shah Shaun Williams Sheena Sitlani Sheetal Garg Shonali Mani Shreya Mhatre Shruti Sridharan Shubham Jejani Shweta Bhangale Siddharth Rao Simona Terron Smriti Sangam Sonal Gopujkar Sonal Trivedi Malkan Suhaas Ahuja Sukanya Venkatraghvan Sunil Shanbag Sunipa Samadder Trina Haldar Tushar Khetan Varun Olimattel Vidisha Kanchan Vikram Kamat Viraaf Pocha Virendra Shah Vishal Dhandhia Vivin Mathew Easo Warren D’Sylva Zcyphher Studio Zia Parakh
(As of 7th December) 37
A theatre: makes you think of a proscenium stage, with several upright seats, a complex light rig, and swanky green room. But what of those plays that want to perform for a small audience; an intimate group of people, just a few feet away? What of performances that are more experimental? What of the fact that the demand for quality theatre is always growing, but property rates grow at a greater pace? We have to be innovative; think smart and create a performance venue from what we’ve got! Here are some people who have made the strangest of theatre venues.
CUTTY SARK, LONDON
The Cutty Sark, among the last tea clippers to be built, that once used to transport one of the intimate necessities of the English has now been transformed into an intimate theatre! The whole set up provides a glimpse of an 18th century cargo ship. Now docked in a harbour, the ship has been raised with a glass basement, for visitors to see the underside of this magnificent ship! Not only is the ship’s crafting art in its own way, but it also hosts performances, like comedy, smallscale dramas, lectures and even films. As of now, only the tea parlour is being used, but the creators are trying to use the entire ship for theatre performances. 38
Kala Factory, Delhi
A factory lies in a state of disuse; with no major visible enhancements or touch-ups, it looks like any old abandoned factory. Until the music starts to play, and the lights hidden in the rafters light up, and all of a sudden, the factory is a stage! Kala Factory is an off-beat venue in Delhi, where its name is most literal; wonderful theatre is produced here, and no attempt is made to hide its industrial interiors! It’s still a factory - it just produces art.
TRAMWAY, GLASGOW
An age old tram depot in Glasgow, Scotland, where trams would come to rest after a hard day’s work of transporting people around the city, is now a place where people come after a hard day’s work, to be transported to another world, through art. This contemporary visual and arts performing center is a wonderful venue, with a history of its own to offer, which now hosts artists and audiences from around the world, all amused and excited to perform in such a unique space.
Theatre of Small conveniences, Malvern
This tiny stone building has been a great place of relief for people since its construction in Victorian times. Originally intended to provide bladder relief for men, this building is now being used to relieve people from the affairs of the world into a space of intermission and entertainment. It took two years to be transformed and now holds two minute puppet shows, seating twelve audience members.
G5A, Bombay The mills of Parel, once the cotton hub of the country shut down many many years ago, leaving silent, empty spaces. Enterprising people turned these age-old centres of commerce into new-age centres of commerce; shopping malls, and corporate empires filled the mills. But one group strayed off the beaten path. G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture is a not-forprofit started in Laxmi Mills, where residents can catch a film screening, live performances, musical gigs, open mics, and yes: several wonderful plays. A thick large iron pole stands tall near the entrance - found during the rebuilding, this piece of the original structure reminds visitors of what the space once housed. From lavatories to factories, these places prove that art can be found anywhere! With a little creativity and effort, magic can be created all over the place. All you need is a willing hand and an artful eye and anything can be transformed into a time machine. 39
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IN MEMORIUM
2016 has been a year of great loss for the arts community. From David Bowie to Alan Rickman, the world has a lot to miss. The Indian theatre community has also been dealt the blow of the passing of several theatre greats. We spoke to their colleagues, peers, or admirers, so that their contribution never be forgotten.
Sulabha Deshpande 1937-2016
“I met Sulu Maushi at the audition for ‘Durga Jhaali Gauri’. She didn’t have to teach us how to act. All she did was tell us a story, but just the way she told it, made us imbibe the art of acting. Having been a teacher herself, she also taught us the importance of education and studying. As kids, we were expected to study in the wings until the time of our entry. This actually taught us the art of switching on and off as an actor. “She would tell us to always stay real and faithful as actors, even if the art required pretense. Just her face said so much. Even in her final days, she never looked tired or sad. Kind, mischievous and jabbing at us playfully - that was Sulu Maushi.” -Sukanya Mone 42
Veteran actress Sulabha Deshpande, was one of the leading figures of the experimental theatre movement in the 60s. She had a long association with Rangayan and personalities like Satyadev Dubey, Vijaya Mehta and Vijay Tendulkar. She co-founded the legendary theatre group ‘Awishkar’ and later its children’s wing ‘Chandrashala’ - some of whose proteges would go on to become eminent personalities in the world of performing arts. She is best remembered for her portrayal of Ms. Benare in Tendulkar’s ‘Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe’. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, among various other honours for her contribution to theatre.
plays, Panikkar started off as a lawyer and went on to become the secretary of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy, Thrissur. He was also the founder-director of the theatre group ‘Sopanam’ which led to the foundation of the ‘Bhasabharati Centre for Performing Arts, Training and Research’, in Trivandrum. Panikkar’s work in Sanskrit drama led to his work in Greece and the creation of ‘Illyayana’, a fusion of the Illiad and Ramayana. Panikkar is also a published author and has penned three books on the folklore of Kerala. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Direction in 1983, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Lifetime Achievement in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007.
Kavalam Narayan Panikkar
Heisnam Kanhailal
1928-2016 “I recall a production of Kavalam Sir’s ‘Malavikagnimitram’ which I had seen. This play by Mahakavi Kalidasa dealt with a ruler who is torn by two strong emotions; love and war. The modern theme in the play was the relationship between the ruler and the ruled. But for me what was most interesting was the state of the country, symbolically presented through an Ashoka tree. After the show when I wandered onto the stage, I walked over to the Ashoka tree. There were termites on the frame and fungus on the bamboo structure. That was the state of the nation: termites and fungus!” -Ramu Ramanathan Kavalam Narayan Panikkar was a dramatist, director and poet. Especially known for his work with Sanskrit
1941-2016
“My friends and I spent a few days with Kanhailal, and mentioned to him that we’d never seen ‘Pebet’. Kanhailal agreed to host a demonstration of the play for us but did not actually hold a rehearsal of any sort, beforehand. After the performance, I met the actor who played the Cat, an important role. On enquiry, the actor revealed that the last time he had performed the play was 20 years ago. Yet, he needed no rehearsals. All he did was sit, talk about the play and start the performance. The lines came to him naturally. What I believe it was a comment on, was the Kanhailal way of doing theatre. It focuses on the body, the rhythm and the music way more than it does on the text. Theatre becomes a part of your procedural memory, 43
like cycling or swimming.� -Sudhanva Deshpande
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Heisnam Kanhailal, was a part of the theatre community for 40 years as a director, playwright and actor. He employed a very endemic viewpoint of the Manipuri culture. His famous political play Pebet, styled to the tune of oral Manipuri folklore, is considered a revolutionary production. He’s most known for Draupadi, a play only staged in 2000. The play is based on a story by the renowned Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi and stunned its audience by its bold political take! Kanhailal was the founder-director of Kalakshetra Manipur, a theatre laboratory established in 1969. Kanhailal has been the recipient of some of the highest honours for Indian artists including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction in 1985, the Padma
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Shri in 2004, the SNA Ratna Award in 2011 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016.
Rehmatali Tobaccowala 1932-2016 “He never said no. He always said ‘Saab, bohot mushkil hai, bohot mushkil magar main karunga.’ and that’s what I loved about him.” -Alyque Padamsee A magnificent set designer, Rehmatali’s tryst with theatre started in 1974 with Alyque Padamsee’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ which had a rather ambitious set - a massive cross that ran through the auditorium. Rehmatali stepped in, built a cross-ramp that could bear the weight of 70 actors and even persuaded the manager to set up a new light bar. His genius was further presented with plays like ‘Evita’ and its sequel where he built a lift and a floating stage with the technology available in the early 80s. Starting from scratch and a tiny office, Ali went on to work on plays with Hosi Vasunia, Ruby and Burjor Patel, fashion shows, dance shows with Shiamak Dawar, TV shows for UTV, and sets for advertisements. He was fearless, persuasive, knew how to get work done, extremely kind to those who worked for him, always up for experimentation and ended up creating magic on stage.
Ajit Shah 1950-2016 “One of my most enduring memories of Ajit dates back to some four years ago, when somebody told me that the best way to keep flies away from one’s home was to hang or drape a string of mirror cut-outs like a garland outside your window or balcony. I was told I could source that at Bhuleshwar. But I always take short cuts. Imagine my surprise when, some months later, at Jennifer Kapoor’s annual anniversary concert by Zakir Hussain at the Prithvi Theatre, the black backdrop was a curtain of mirrored glass strings suspended from the ceiling to the floor of the Prithvi stage. After the show I promptly approached Ajit Bhai and shared my dilemma with him. Unhesitatingly he plucked three long strings and gave them to me. Those strings adorn my windows and balconies in my home -- and are an unforgettable reminder of the generosity, kindness, and affection that was Ajit Shah.” Ajit Shah was the go-to man for theatre in the Gujarati fraternity. He started from nothing and initially worked as a light and sound operator for plays. He later went on to produce his own projects. Besides theatre, his work in sets and catering through the company he founded, Popular Decorators, is expansive and relied upon by theatre and performance arts companies across the country.
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Butoh Performer The Phantom was bored. Nobody came to the Opera House anymore. Almost like the city didn’t care about theatre anymore. There was nobody to write letters to, no one to kidnap. The phantom felt old. Really really old. So one day, the 100 year old gathered his masks, stuffed them in an old knapsack and set off. At first, he had no clue which direction he was flying in. But soon he realised that he was edging closer to the equator and a little away from the sea. A welcome sign on a highway informed him that he had arrived in Karnataka! So the Phantom decided to pay an old friend a visit. The Haunt of Heggodu hadn’t really been expecting the Phantom but was happy to see him nonetheless. The Haunt was much younger than the Phantom, at just 67 years. And the Haunt’s haunt had changed plenty. Ninasam, in the village of Heggodu, Karnataka had started off as a little group of culture enthusiasts from surrounding villages who would finish their agricultural work in the day and meet in the evenings to discuss current events, put up an occasional theatrical production or to listen to a person of renown visiting the neighbourhood. Over time, a cultural troupe was formed, initially named Nilakanteshwara Natyaseva Samgha . Ninasam took up holding of theatre workshops, publication of books related to theatre and literary works. The Phantom spent a week in this pilgrimage spot of theatre-walas, now home to one of India’s best theatre schools. Surrounded by young energy, listening to them practice music in the mornings, looking at their installations, and relishing the delicious sambhar and filter coffee in the Ninasam Mess, the week flew by. Then he bid adieu to his younger 48
friend and travelled northwards, to the assymetric planes of Assam. And that’s how the Phantom met the Poltergeist of Pathsala. Now, the Phantom wasn’t sure what to expect in Pathsala, a town often referred to as the “Hollywood of Assam”. In a state where native cinema is dying, theatre has continued to hold its ground. The mobile theatre groups of Assam have carved their niche as the mass entertainers in Northeast India. Popularly known as Bhramyaman Theatre, these groups arrange shows throughout Assam and neighbouring regions. The troupe travels with huge teams that set up pandols or makeshift theatres, wherever it travels. This suited the 40 year young Poltergeist just fine too. He would move around happily all day, shouting and unloading things from trucks, even helping the technicians work. The productions the Phantom saw were magnificent. The troupes are known to have successfully recreated Hollywood films like Titanic, Jurassic Park and even desi blockbusters like Sholay (right down to the motorbike dance!). Not just existing popular scripts; the mobile theatres also stage plays which depict the current socio-political issues, from Princess Diana’s death, search for Osama Bin Laden, to the problems of witch hunting, and insurgency. From all walks of life, locals and tourist flock to see these troupes perform. So popular is the form, that this indigenous industry has a turnover of over 10 crores! The troupes tour from mid-August till April. Come April, it was time for the Phantom to leave. He drifted along, letting the wind
carry him across the Northern plains, until he tired of the thin air, and descended on a hill station. He found himself in Dharamsala, a Himalayan town known for being the home of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Government-in-exile. At a distance, he could see a young boyt dancing under a tree. His face and body were painted white. He moved like he was possessed and lost. The Phantom was a little scared of this boy being a ghost, until he realised he was one himself. He hesitantly approached the boy but didn’t have the will to interrupt him. The boy stopped and looked at the Phantom. “This is called the Butoh.” said the boy, “It’s a Japanese form of dance. There’s a school here that teaches this form. And they call me the Boy of Butoh.” he added. The Boy told Phantom all about Subbody Resonance Butoh Himalaya the dance academy started in 2005 by Rhizome Lee. After having travelled to various places, Lee chose this quiet place in Jogibara village to set up the school. Now, it offers long-term courses and workshops. “It is like meditation. We research inside, bring out our weaknesses, stop thinking and enter a subconscious world. The essence of butoh is resonance. In classical meditation, you don’t move, and try to detach yourself. Here, we achieve detachment by moving our body. We take off the superficial mask we wear for the world and dance for anything in the universe.” explained Lee, in an interview to Indian Express, which the Boy proudly showed to Phantom. “Why don’t you dance with me?” The boy asked. “I can’t”, said the Phantom. “I’m too old.”
“If I can, so can you.” Boy. “But you’re young! You must be 11.” But he wasn’t. The Boy was actually approaching 60 himself. Butoh, or the dance of darkness, was first performed in 1959 by Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo. It was their response to Westernised, overly stylised movements of Japanese dance. The grotesque gestures, unpolished movements, shaven heads and white body paint was a shock to the otherwise refined Japanese aesthetics.
The Phantom was awestruck. He started dancing with the Boy and soon could feel the blood pumping in his veins. He felt like his body was liquid, flowing everywhere. He felt younger, way younger: way more alive. At last, the Phantom returned to Bombay. His Opera House no longer looked like it used to. It was housing its first show in 20 years. It had a new life breathed into it, much like it’s Phantom. But the Phantom no longer wanted to stay inside. He heard there was a youth theatre festival happening in the city that December. “After all the work with the Boy of Butoh, maybe, I can give this festival a try too.” he thought. - Kalpak Bhave
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To celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary, Thespo talks about the Bard with Paul Goodwin, the Course Director of MA Acting at Drama Centre London. He is also the Artistic Director of ‘Here And There Theatre’. As a director, his latest project is, “Brave New World”, a five act play of scenes from Shakespeare’s late plays. As an artistic director, actor, and tutor, your contribution to theatre has often revolved around the works of Shakespeare. Why have you picked Shakespeare in particular among numerous other playwrights? To that I’d like to say that, I didn’t choose Shakespeare. Shakespeare chose me. Another reason is that while his works have proven to be difficult, challenging, and extraordinary, at the same time, I felt a connection to the work. In Shakespeare’s time all the female roles were played by men. In fact, only 16% of the roles in Shakespeare’s works are for women. How then, can women of the theatre world be encouraged to pursue Shakespearean drama? 50
This is a very good question. Shakespeare writes extraordinary women in his plays. In ‘Twelfth Night’, you’ve got Viola and Olivia, Hermione and Paulina in ‘The Winter’s Tale’, Imogen in ‘Cymbeline’, and Lady Macbeth, of course. Shakespeare seems to have a great understanding of women. The women aren’t there to make the men look good but in themselves are strong characters. The nature of the characters, situations and relationships should encourage women to pursue these roles We hear quite a lot of buzz being generated by cross-gender casting of several of Shakespeare’s protagonists. While it does provide a wider range of roles for women, do you think it affects the integrity of the piece? There’s a trilogy of plays now, in London, ‘Julius Caesar’, ‘Henry IV’ and ‘The Tempest’, which has a cast composed entirely of women but it is set in a women’s prison and they are acting as men. It’s an attempt by a female director to work with a lot of women with Shakespeare and that’s to be commended. When I work with my groups, I often switch the parts around. So, I don’t have a
problem with that. Does it affect the integrity? Well, I think Shakespeare is so muscular that he can survive alterations. As long as it’s good, it doesn’t matter who plays it. Shakespeare’s works have a reputation to ‘transcend time and space’. How does your recent project ‘Brave New World’ fit into this category? Well, we wanted to do something extraordinary for Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary. We have a group of 20 students (12 women and 8 men). I took four plays: ‘The Tempest’, ‘The Winter’s Tale’, ‘Cymbeline’ and ‘Pericles’, and cut scenes which didn’t have women in it and what was left was a story that went from the unnamed and abused silent daughter in Pericles, to Miranda in The Tempest, a young woman, uncorrupted by the ways of the world, who is delighted in the discovery of men and love-“O brave new world that has such people in it”. Shakespeare can thus be interpreted in many ways and can speak for today. The idea of blending multiple plays into one is quite popular now, particularly in Europe - an alternative to yet another production of Midsummer Night’s Dream or Julius Caesar. So, the company that I am the artistic director of, tries to look at plays from a different angle. Does performing and directing a play written almost 400 years ago prove to be too challenging, especially to novice actors? While there are challenges in any classical play, I agree that it may be difficult working in verse. A Shakespearean play, like any other play demands that you be believable in any given circumstance. I see Shakespeare as a living playwright. It is also necessary to embody the ideas and the relationships contained within the play to be a great actor. While many theatre enthusiasts believe that the use of Shakespearean language in the 21st century is redundant, others argue that the essence of his plays lies in his mastery over the language. What do you think of the integrity of the text in such cases? To me, he writes in modern English. Yes, since some of the words aren’t in common usage, some of the ideas might be difficult to interpret. For instance, in my recent endeavour, I came across the word “obloquy”. Since, nobody has any idea what it means, I simply changed the word to disgrace. However, I do believe that Shakespeare needs to be cut in length because he wrote for a different time, and a different theatre experience, and personally I always try to tell the story in two hours. - Interviewed by Preity Bhandary 51
Wanted:
Any Job In Theatre
Ah, the magic of theatre! The thrill of being on stage, the joy in watching your script come to life, the anticipation as you await the exact moment you have to cue sound; we’re all addicted to it. We love the theatre, nothing can keep us away, except… it doesn’t pay. So if you’re looking to get into theatre and you need to comfort yourself (and your parents) that you can somehow make money and be an independent adult: worry not! We are here to tell you some avenues you can pursue.
MARGARET THATCHER HITS THE RIGHT NOTE
THE RE-ELECTION OF CALVIN COOLIDGE
Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of America, was a man who, during his first term of presidency, only ever afforded himself the one stoic expression. When he wanted to stand for re-election, he discovered that the general masses wanted someone with a more expressive face. So, he employed the services of Mr. Edward Bernays, a man known today as the father of Public Relations. Bernays’ idea was that the President and his wife invite the who’s who of Broadway to breakfast. As this drama unfolded, photographers clamoured for a snap of the stars socializing with the first couple. The paper ran the story with the caption, “President nearly laughs”. And that single event was enough to get him re-elected for a second term. Mark the day in your calendars, actor hopefuls: some day, you might get paid just to eat (a free) breakfast with a political candidate, and history will remember you for the role you played!
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If you ever thought that only a level head and strong heart made for a good leader, you would be dead wrong. The real difference between election and rejection is an octave’s width. Any theatre professional worth their salt needs to be able to project and modulate their voice. To this end there are vocal training courses where one might expect to find aspiring actors, singers, or voice artists busy honing their tools. But what one lucky vocal coach at the National Theatre in England probably never expected was that he’d play a major role in the re-election of Margaret Thatcher. At that time, many believed that any argument made in the high C6 of a soprano, was obviously wrong, and anything said in the slightly lower alto range was at best questionable. But if one spoke in tones that matched a tenor’s or a baritone’s, then obviously the speaker was speaking the truth. The Iron Lady therefore realized that if she were to have any hope of being elected she would need to speak in a lower register. And whatever the coach did must’ve worked – she was elected Prime Minister for 2 consecutive terms. Perhaps we can expect a Hollywood spin-off on this; a mash up of ‘The Iron Lady’ and ‘The King’s Speech’.
PLATTER PEOPLE
There is a certain type of restaurant where it isn’t enough to cook delicious food. No, the delicious food must be served on human platters. In order to do this, restaurants can’t use just any model. The actors hired for these jobs require months of training, for they must be absolutely still, as customers pick the choicest meats from the “plate” before them. (I am assuming they have some system in place for gravy and soup). Remember that time your friends ridiculed you for your breakout role as a tree? Well, all those hours of rehearsal, standing perfectly still, will definitely come in handy if you apply for this job!
DR. DRAMA
“Dig deeper!” shouts the director, “What is the character really thinking?!” Anyone who’s ever sat in a rehearsal room has heard these words. Digging deep into the psyche of a character, trying to figure out their motives, why they are the way they are - I may as well be talking about a therapist. It isn’t just an ideal flight of fancy; there do exist professionals whose job is to use theatre tricks as therapy tools! Sometimes it to “dig deeper” into one’s own character. Sometimes it’s to learn how to deal with the world around us, sometimes it’s to help children with developmental disabilities; who knows! If you have a love for theatre and a love for psychology and above all: a love for making money, this is the way to go.
FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE
It’s been years since you got a theatre gig. You’ve been rejected at every audition you’ve been to, and producers promise to read your script, but ignore your emails. You’re sick of it all. This “great” institution that has closed its doors to you. Well, we’ve got a job for you as well: a job where you are paid to burn sets down. Regulations in New York are such that every item on stage - drapery, props, set, costumes - must all be covered in fireretardant material. They’re very strict on this; so strict, in fact, that the night before a show’s opening, an inspector (who could be you, if you apply for this job) will head on over to the stage, where the props and set that have been painstakingly made are laid out; and throw a lit match at them. If the crew has done its job well, you will fail, but hey! production heads work long hours and – fingers crossed – you may just get paid to burn a hole through their negligence. So fear not, young theatre geeks! Your day in the spotlight will come! Perhaps it may not be quite what you imagined, but hey! At least you’re not just doing it for the “experience”. - Keith Sequeira 55
Art should never be a popularity contest. And yet, as science and technology came to be integrated with art, cynics thought stage theatre would get left behind as digitalization took the “world by storm”. Cinema and television’s smooth pick-up lines had the youth enthralled, and it looked like people would “swipe left” on theatre. With every step technology takes, there’s one more avenue for art to explore – the growth of technology has actually made art so much more accessible! So many video games, ridiculed for being simplistic by many, have the most complex and detailed story lines, with the most updated of special effects, not to mention, the fact that you can access all of this without ever leaving your home. How wonderful to watch a performance while lounging in your favourite chair, without having to venture out into the big bad world. As wonderful as that is, there’s a whole other magic to a live performance. The way a single moment can catch your breath, the way you feel when you hear the actual sound of a slap, when you see a writer’s story come alive in front of you! But can a theatre performance, with a small budget and a big hall to fill truly compete with an entire film available for free on Pirate Bay? People forgetting theatre is a scary thought. However, as a wise professor remarked “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”. Of course, now since that world is become digital, you can simply say ‘Lumos’ to the Technology God, Google, who says “Let there be light” and the stage is lit up again. Embracing technology may just be the way forward. Theatre has always been popular for the live experience that it provides and modern theatre makers are using technology to augment these experiences further and connect the audience much more closely to the action with immersive theatre. In little bits and pieces, the technology wave is transforming modern theatre. The magical Harry Potter world was brought to the stage, in the J.K. Rowling authored sequel ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, without losing the authenticity or charm you found in the movies. Broomsticks hop into their owners’ hands, people vanish into Platform 93/4, ears shoot steam on eating Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes sweets – all live. In film, there is a screen between you and the action, but watching 58
it as a stage play means you are part of the wizarding world right there. That makes you less of a muggle, doesn’t it? (don’t tell me otherwise) That’s the power of live interaction! Engaging an audience to make them feel that they are part of the show is the experience that most people look for. At the Edinburgh International Festival this year, the production ‘Leaving Planet Earth’ effectively used technology to put audiences in the shoes of displaced refugees of a dystopian future of Earth. Theatre isn’t just bringing technology to the theatre space; it’s stepping into the tech world too, by making it possible to participate in theatre via the internet. A prime example of this is ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by Royal Shakespeare Company which integrated 700 amateur actors with 18 professionals from the company using Skype-style technology to rehearse with all the different amateur drama companies in different regions in UK at the same time. Back in India as well, technology is being integrated with this art form, albeit on a smaller scale than in foreign countries. In particular, projectors have been used to enhance Indian theatre productions. International plays such as ‘.h.g.’ (Hansel and Gretel) by Trickster-p, and the Corinne Maier-directed Past is Present, that were both brought to Bengaluru by Sandbox Collective, raised the bar in blending theatre and technology. While ‘.h.g.’ was a performance installation, where the spectator walked through nine sensory rooms to experience the world of Hansel and Gretel, Past is Present had documentary filmmaker, Shaheen 3/4 Dill-Riaz, depict his relationships with his family members spread across different countries, through Skype.
“Broomsticks hop into their owners’ hands, people vanish into Platform 9 ... “
In the future, as technology will begin to blend more seamlessly into work, it will leave audiences with a heightened theatrical experience. Maybe then, we won’t see a world divided into tech freaks and theatre lovers. - Rohan Kawley 59
The process of adapting or re-staging a play is perplexing – there could be hundreds of interpretations of a particular text, but they might all be forgotten, in favour of a single one that outdid the rest. Perhaps it’s in the timing; just a perfect coincidence, a suggestion from a friend, an accidental collaboration, or even a voice on the radio. A great example of this was with the production of the play ‘War Horse’. Some time in the mid 2000s The National Theatre in London wanted to collaborate with the Handspring Puppet Company in South Africa. Things just weren’t working out, in part because they couldn’t find the right script. One day, director Tom Morris’s mother, heard of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, ‘War Horse’ on the radio. It is a story of World. War II, told from the point of view of the horse. The author thought they were ‘mad’ to try and turn it into a play, and so did everybody else. However, Morris was adamant, so he and playwright Nick Stafford began working on it, hoping that it would last at least one season. It’s been nine years since the play premiered and the show is still running strong. What makes ‘War Horse’ such a huge success? It definitely has something to do with the ingenuity of the puppets, so well articulated and fleshed out that the audience forgets that the horses are manually operated, and begins to treat them like real ones. The puppets, the bare stage, the director’s vision, the puppeteers all fit seamlessly together. ‘Rent’, the famous Jonathan Larson Broadway production about a bunch of 60
young artists struggling to survive in New York City, set against the backdrop of AIDS. However, the original didn’t even include Larson. He was called on to compose music for an adaptation of Puccini’s Opera ‘La Boheme’ by playwright Billy Aronson. Aronson wanted to set Puccini’s Opera “amidst the coarseness and noise of modern New York,” whereas Larson wanted to set it in the reality that surrounded him, with real struggles, drag queens, AIDS and punk. Larson’s aim to bring “musical theatre to the MTV generation”, was revolutionary; Broadway’s current favourite, ‘Hamilton’, a pop-culture sensation, proves that his brand of reinvention is here to stay. Larson spent three years in workshop with actors working through the plot-holes and in April 1996 ‘Rent’ finally officially opened off-Broadway. The most re-interpretations are those of the epics, of which there must be millions. Each version of the epic is a little different - even the details in the stories we hear as children will be different for each of us! Perhaps the most staged play in India would be the Ramayana; a local Ram Leela once a year, and a thousand other adaptations. The popularity of the text prompted The Royal Shakespeare Company to invite Jalabala Vaidya and the late Gopal Sharman to do an adaptation of the Ramayana for their World Theatre season. It was all going pretty well until at the last minute the actors refused to do the show. With very few options left, a friend suggested that Jalabala Vaidya perform the script katha style
with her playing all the characters, including the narrator. It wasn’t what the Royal Shakespeare Theatre had asked for, but they allowed them to perform at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in the UK and at the Barbizon-Plaza Theatre in New York, among other performing arts venues. The play did so well the ticket sales from it as well as other gigs, gave them enough money to buy a Volkswagen Beetle, cruise through Europe and return to build the Akshara Theatre back home in Delhi. These are of course very few of the many great adaptations to have been staged across the world that have influenced us, here at Thespo. This year’s plays prove exactly that! With ‘Syaahi’s’ seamless blend of three Vijay Tendulkar plays, to the re-interpretation of ‘Lihaaf’, existing texts have been re-created by the youth of India. And it’s not just stories that are referred to: the idea for ‘Te Kay Asta’ popped up after reading a newspaper article! Inspiration is everywhere; you just need to look up. So what are you waiting for? Find it, go forth, and storm the stage! - Gaurangi Dang
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Let’s take you back to Bombay of the 1940s; with British pressure forcing many “natak companies” to shut down, the onus of carrying on a theatre legacy fell to the universities and the students within, and they certainly rose to the occasion. A spirited group of youngsters came together and Theatre Group was born. The founder, Sultan Padamsee, newly returned from Oxford had been exposed to international theatre companies such as Group Theatre. Inspired by the name and philosophy, the Theatre Group (or TG as it is fondly called) was set up in Bombay aiming to be a dedicated group of amateurs working as a community/ensemble, dramatizing the life of their times, and thereby hoping to bring about social change. At the time of its initiation, the group comprised largely of young collegegoing theatre enthusiasts. Over time, the group grew, and some of the most legendary theatre performers of our time joined became members. From E. Alkazi, to Derryck Jefferies, Alyque Padamsee, Farrokh Mehta, Sabrina Merchant, and so many more theatre stalwarts have all been a part of TG. Over time, the Theatre Group got bigger and more ambitious. There were several productions through the year, but beyond just making their own work, they set out to better the infrastructure for theatre in the city. Dissatisfied with the lack of theatre venues, they began to build “terrace theatres” designed specially to be performance spaces. At present, TG looks out for theatre groups on the rise, looking to mentor and support young talent, which happens through Thespo and the Sultan Padamsee Award for Playwriting. This award, initiated in 1966, has been given to writers like Gurcharan Das, Gieve Patel, and Ram Ganesh Kamatham. This year there was an overwhelming response, with more than 64 entries, several from overseas! The award was shared by Ramneek Singh (for ‘Parvati’s Dark Children’) and Vikas Bhalla (for ‘A Farming Story’). Going forward, the Award will be a bi-annual event. With Thespo, TG returns to the space of enthusiastic college students; only this time, they’re the mentors! From creating their own theatres, to creating multiple legacies, TG’s done it all. With them as our role models, Thespo knows we’ve got a high bar to aspire to. 67
Nearly
two decades ago, a group of young theatre lovers formed a bond in a rehearsal room of St. Xavier’s College. Their excitement for the performing arts lingered after graduation, and QTP was born; a company dedicated to doing bold new work, but even more so to promote theatre arts in general. The early years resulted in numerous breakthrough productions, and activities. Regular workshops, an e-zine called ‘The Script’, and an informal reading group called ‘Great Texts’ are all still part of the annual activities. However, Thespo is the group’s largest and longest running initiative. Normally the company nurtures and stimulates Thespo. This year however it feels like the relationship has been inverted. QTP has taken the ‘Storm The Stage’ credo to heart and managed to have their most prolific year ever. They premiered three brand new productions in 2016: Arghya Lahiri’s delicate ‘Wildtrack’, Nassim Soleimanpour’s revolutionary ‘White Rabbit Red Rabbit’ and later, the same writer’s follow up “story-machine play”, ‘Blank’. In fact the ‘White Rabbit Red Rabbit’ run has been so successful, that it’s been produced in collaboration with Naatak Company, Pune in Marathi and with Jan Natya Manch, Delhi in Hindi.
QTP also manages tours of international shows in India, bringing down unique and memorable performances that audiences don’t often get an opportunity to witness. Two plays of British writer-performer Daniel Bye were taken to eight cities across the country. Besides this, two non-theatre Australian performances were brought to Bombay — the dance-music project ‘Chi Udaka’, and the sleight of hand magic performance, ‘Mada’s Marvels’. Earlier plays of the company have also toured this year. ‘The God of Carnage’ played in Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Calcutta, QTP ‘Wildtrack’ in Delhi, and ‘Khatijabai’ in Hyderabad. has In addition to all this, QTP also manages ‘Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai International Litfest’, which is held taken the annually at NCPA and Prithvi Theatre; and have helped ‘Storm The it grow from strength to strength each year. This year Stage’ credo to the four-day festival was spread across nine venues and played host to over 120 authors. heart and managed Not to be left out of anything related to theatre, to have their most the group also provided support to the prolific year ever. massive Alkazi exhibit that was housed at the National Gallery of Modern Art for 6 weeks. 2017 promises to keep up the frenetic pace, with the possible tour of three international shows, building a theatre centre just outside Bombay, premiering a new production, managing a brand new festival, and other such arts based projects. All of QTP’s activities are aimed at keeping theatre at the forefront of This the public’s consciousness and ensuring exciting and imaginative live audience experiences. year the four-
day festival was spread across nine venues and played host to over 120 authors. 69
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Our gratitude goes out to: Theatre Group for being an inspiration, and storming the stage back when few dared to. Kunal Kapoor, Lalit Sathe, Sanjay Pawar at Prithvi Theatre; the team behind the stage that 143 Thespo Teams aspired to this year. Binaifar Bhesania, Deepa Gahlot and everybody at NCPA, the stuff weekends are made of. Hardik of Five Senses, for being our home-base for screening in Mumbai, as well as the space where our international collaborations came to life. Akash Mohimen and Vivek Madan, whose keen eyes and incredible patience sculpted the line-up this year. Mahatma Gandhi International School (Ahmedabad), Christ College (Bangalore), Jay Merchant and Splatter Studio (Baroda), Ramjas College (Delhi), Tata Institute of Social Science (Guwahati), Aditi Khandelwal (Jaipur), Jadavpur University (Kolkata), Presidency University (Kolkata), Prof. Ananda Lal (Kolkata), Manipal University (Manipal), Pashangh Lavangia (Manipal), Chitnavis Centre (Nagpur), Sudarshan Rangmanch (Pune) where we got the chance to spread the word about Thespo. MICA (Ahmedabad), Olivier Normandin of Lahe Lahe (Bangalore), Pittie Hall (BMCC), Rachana Shah (Baroda), Rajiv Krishnan (Chennai), Shivaji College (Delhi), Jyoti (Hyderabad), Lokeshwari Dasgupta (Kolkata), Masto Josh (Bewajah Cafe, Lucknow), N.V. Sarma (Nagpur) which hosted mini-Thespos that our screening panel could attend. Hari Chakyar (Bangalore), Ratna Saha (Baroda), Ratnabali Bhattacharjee (Bombay), Niren Saldhana (Chennai), Rajiv Krishnan (Chennai), Nazes Afroze (Delhi), Ruchika Chanana (Delhi), Priyanka Vir (Hyderabad), Zarina Begum (Kolkata), Ruchira Das (Kolkata), Geeta masi (Lucknow), Mohan Khetan (Nagpur), Anish Menon (Pune), Dhruv Anand (Pune) for opening their hearts and doors to our panel members Our jury members, Avinash Kohle, Gopal Datt, Kalyani Hiwale, and Niloufar Sagar, for taking time out every night of the festival to recognize the outstanding talent on display. Abhishek Saha, Akash Mohimen, Alok Rajwade, Annie Zaidi, Gurleen Judge,
Ruchika Chanana, Vivek Madan for adding their strength to the storm that will rain on the Prithvi Stage Daniel Bye (UK), Josephine Joy (UK), Noah Jimmy (Australia), Paul Goodwin (UK), Sarah Punshon (UK), Timira Gupta, Trina Haldar (UK), Wilfred Petherbridge (UK), who, through their engaging workshops, ensured that the participants take back a piece of theatre with them Kaizad Gherda, for keeping an ear out for good music for Thespo. Abhishek Saha, Shruti Sridharan, Sudeep Modak and Trupti Khamkar for representing Thespo at other youth festivals and connecting with young talent across the country. Noah Jimmy (Australia), Wilfred Petherbridge (UK) and Trina Haldar (UK) for making Thespo a truly global village in spirit and letter and allowing the audience to forge new bonds. Aanjjan Srivastav, Janak Toprani, Masood Akhtar, Ramesh Talwar, Shaili Sathyu and Shama Zaidi without whose inputs and feedback, the tribute to M.S.Sathyu would have not been possible. Alyque Padamsee, Dolly Thakore, Ramu Ramanathan, Sudhanva Deshpande, and Sukanya More, whose anecdotes helped us feel closer to those who have passed. Anthony G. and Nitesh Shahani (Furtado’s), for providing us equipment for our live music performances. Gigi (The Space) for always keeping their doors open. Vivek Mansukhani and Cathy Gomez (British Council), Bhagirathi Raman (Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai), Arts Council, England for helping make our collaborations and workshops come to life. Arghya Lahiri, Akarsh Khurana, Nadir Khan, and Trishla Patel for mentoring the first ever Directors’ Adda. Dolly Thakore, for being there throughout, seeing Thespo through its childhood, and now to its adulthood. Arghya, Christopher, Nadir, the original Thespoans who set the stage for us to follow. Mehernosh Bharucha, without whom we’d never be able to stir up a storm. Anna for providing the fuel we need to get through the day, and Raju bhaiyya for making our office a home. 71
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FESTIVAL CREDITS:
Supported By
Venue Partners
0nline Partner
Gear Partner
Orientation Meeting Aangi, Adi, Aditi, Akshay, Amogh, Anusha, Arun, Avinash, Dharmaj, Hiba, Isha, Ishita, Kalpak, Kavyaja, Kishore, Kuldeep, Laina, Mati, Meet, Mekhala, Nilesh, Omkar, Prashant, Riya, Robbin, Sagar, Saniya, Sanskriti, Sarthak, Shakshi, Smreti, Smriti, Snigdha, Susruto, Vidit, Yash. Screening Aangi, Aditya, Anuja, Arun, Ashish, Hitesh, Isha, Nishant, Rachit, Revati, Robin, Rohan, Saniya, Srija, Threka. Wishberry Video Credits Aadil, Ajinkya, Anastasiya, Ankit, Gaurangi, Matthew, Prashant, Prathamesh, Roshan, Saniya, Sanmik, Shauna, Swati, Vikrant. Festival: Team Thespo Bombay: Aangi, Adi, Aditi, Aditi, Apeksha, Arun, Bhagyesh, Devi, Hiba, Isha, Isha, Kalpak, Kuhu, Manavi, Mati, Meghana, Murtuza, Puneet, Quasar, Riya, Reema, Sagar, Sahithya, Saniya, Shivam, Shraddha, Snigdha, Spriha, Srishti, Suraj,Surbhi Swati, Toral, Vivek. Rest of India: Ashish, Hitesh, Julianna, Kajol, Kavyaja, Lehry, Ninad, Nishant, Prassanna, Pemanthi, Rachit, Rohan, Shradha, Srija, Tarun, Vignesh. Festival Design: Gitanjali Magazine Team Content Editor: Meghana Contributors: Gaurangi, Kalpak, Keith, Naomi, Preity, Rohan, Sahithya. 74
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