Thespo 17 festival magazine 2015

contents At Thespo 17 Plays 5 Jury 16 Lifetime Achievement Award 17 Workshops 20 Bands 23 Fringe Performances 24 Platform Performances 27 Festival Schedule 38

Thespo: The Movement

Thespo At Prithvi 28 Thespo Screening 30 Friends of Thespo 32 Evolution of Thespo 43

They Said It Susannah Henry: In Conversation With A Creator 46 Arghya Lahiri: Light It Up! 59 Sid Vashi: That Sounds Great 65 Karl Alphonso: Of Productions and Prompt Books 70

Features

Limits of Dressing 49 Plays On Camera 53 a Writer Makes A Point 67 #NaatakBan 73

In Memoriam 35 Saeed Jaffrey Adi Roy

Behind the Scenes Theatre Group Bombay 62 QTP 56 Acknowledgements 36 Credits 76

IX V IG MW W

EX W XL PH# L ; SI LS H IV XX PI

1EVEXLM 4YRI

Chitthi tue, 08 DEC | 9PM | prithvi Theatre Marathi | Pune | 65 mins [no interval]

Theatre dilse | Written and Directed by Apurva Bhilare Chitthi is a light hearted and poignant story of Manisha, an illiterate married woman trying to catch her husband having an affair. Her only clue is a handwritten letter from another woman. Could the power of the alphabet push Manisha to overcome her insecurities and go beyond her accustomed ways?

Cast Manisha - Arpeeta Ghogardare Atmaram - Dnyanratna Ahiwale Viju - Rakesh Mali Akka - Pallavi Kale Masterji - Omkar Bhasme Madam - Apurva Bhilare Mauli - Shubham Gade Savi - Renuka Joshi Shanta - Anuja Mule Maushi - Radhika Kulkarni Naani - Saee Tamhankar Drunkard - Vikrant Khare Student - Vaishnav Ingole Painter - Ninad Phatak

Crew Light - Rahul Joglekar Sound - Vinit prabhune Costume - Renuka Joshi Set - Anand Thotange Production manager - Anand Thotange Production team - Anand Thotange, Sheethal Menon, Vaishnav Ingole, Vikrant Khare, Ninad Pathak, Saee Tamhankar, Radhika Kulkarni, Renuka Joshi, Nrupal Dingankar

Acknowledgements - Abhijeet Dhere, Bhushan Patil, Akshay Pawale

5

Lassanwala hind (khari boli/

ustani, Bombay)

an a m ore f o m ey are n r e jou at w l h u . t t rf we ering we ea o A p cov hat dis an w th

a lla a a w w n n a assssa LLa wed, 09 DEC | 9PM | prithvi Theatre khari boli/hindustani | Bombay 90 mins [no interval]

Little Creative Minds | Writer: Vidit Tripathi Director : Hemant Pandey Set in the present day rural North India, ‘Lassanwala’ tells the tale of Kallu bahman, a sixty–year-old garlic seller.

Being a staunch Brahmin, kallu himself refuses to eat garlic, yet continues to farm and sell it. The play traces the tragic-comic events that occur in his life that shake his firm belief in the SAME caste system that has defined of his existence.

Cast Kallu Bahman- Himanshu Talreja Rani – Namya Saxena Gullu – HIMANK gupta Phuliya/ Township Woman – Chhavi Vij Mataprasad Pandey - Rahul Mishra Bikki - Hemant Pandey Dhanua - Ved Prakash Doctor Chagoli/ Mama – Amarjeet Singh SHO Shahid Khan - Vidit Tripathi Villager 1/ Harmomium Player – Supavitra Mehrotra Villager 2/ Singer - Rahul villager 3 - mrinal pant female vocalist - jananta juri

Crew Light - jitendra nagar Sound - Supavitra Mehrotra Costume - Mrinal Pant Set - Mrinal Pant Production manager - Mrinal Pant Acknowledgements Nand Kishore Pant, Milind Trivedi

7

o ro heer h thur, 10 DEC | 9PM | prithvi Theatre sat, 12 DEC | 7PM | godrej Theatre, ncpa Marathi/hindi | Pune | 65 mins [no interval]

Ranga | Writer: Chinmay Kulkarni | Director: Ajinkya Mane Hero is a comic drama about a boy who is wooing a girl, but the girl wants to marry a man like Amitabh Bachchan. in order to win her love, he starts impersonating the ‘angry young man’ and becomes a star in his village. but soon he is faced with the dilemma of whether to be himself or follow his dreams.

Cast Sampat Patil / Bacchan Amey Barve Ustad Jadhav - Surendra Tekale Surekha Bhosle - Dnyanada Ramtirthakar Khandya - Hemant Shirke Rani - Tejal Hande Sampat father (Patil) Gaurav Pol School boy - Ajinkya Mane Major - Abhipray Kamthe Old woman - Indu Thatte School boy 2 - Shrirang

Aurangabadkar Villager 1- Sanket Dhere Villager 2 - Amey Mahajan Villager 3 - Rakshanda Sanghvi

Villager 4 - gayatri Shelke Villager 5 - Suresh Choudhary Villager 6 - Rohit Jadhav Crew Light - Rahul Joglekar Costume - Tejal Hande Set - Suresh Choudhary Production manager Suresh Choudhary Production team – Ranga Pune

9

liv a

A

vi

play g n nni who u t s y ium ll y a bo quar a a su out an b in es

Bengal i, Barasat, WB

y oy to t fri, 11 DEC | 9PM | prithvi Theatre bengali | barasat, wb | 70 mins [no interval]

BARASAT KALPIK | Writer: Himadri Sekhar Dey (adapted from a short story by Nabarun Bhattacharya) Director: Debobrata Banerjee Inspired by a short story by Nabarun Bhattacharya , Toy is a visually stunning play about a boy who creates a home for himself, in what he believes is the perfect world – an aquarium. Even though his family and friends continually try to pull him into reality, in his perspective, this is a way of oppressing him. Will Toy ever leave his real friends, the fish?

Cast Toy 1 - Pritam Chakraborty Toy 2 -Debobrata Banerjee Old Man - Rajesh Debnath Crowd - Ajoy Biswas Crowd - Payel Ghosh Crowd - Soutam Das Crowd - Suman Baidya Crowd - Sk. Samim Hossen Crowd - Pulak Hader Crowd - Surojit Mondal Crowd - Atanu Hosh

Crew Light - Arnab Kumar Roy, subhankar dey Sound - Subhadeep Guha, payel ghosh & tanmoy mondal Costume - Payel Ghosh Set - Debobrata Banerjee Production manager – Ajoy Biswas Production team - Barasat Kalpik

Acknowledgements - Late Nabarun Bhattacharya

11

E n a a t s Da

h k o Bho elhi)

D (Hindi,

A dark absurdist comedy about allconsuming hunger

--ee-n n a a a a t t s s a da d

h h k k o o o o h h b b

sat, 12 DEC | 6pm & 9PM | prithvi Theatre Hindi | delhi | 90 mins [no interval]

Third Space Collective | adapted by Rajesh Nirmal Director: Dhwani Vij the play is a dark comedy which explores the psyche of a suburban family. The hunger, ever present in the household, is a constant reminder of all that is missing in their lives.

Devoid of any real understanding of what has pushed them into this malfunction, the members of this family attempt to pull themselves out, mindlessly grabbing at whatever their persecutors throw at them. Will their quest for a plate full of food pull them together, or break them further apart?

Cast Taylor - Abhishek Basak Rachna (mother) - Anannya Tripathyi Balbir (son) - Kshitij Mervin Rachnika (Daughter) – Madhu Bhagat Pankaj Katiyal - Pranshu Shrimali Balraj - Rahul Tewari Chorus - Noel Sengupta Chorus - chiranjitdas Chorus - Abantica Das Music – Composed by – Ishu, manas rastogi Lyrics - Rajesh Nirmal Percussionist – Rajvir Raju

Harmonium - Tanya Ahuja Crew Light - Ankit Pandey and Gopal Verma Costume - Devised by the team Set - Devised by the team Production manager - Ishita Mehta Production Team - Ishita Mehta and Chiranjeet das Acknowledgements Tadpole Repertory, Raman Vij and Anuj Chopra.

13

Written and Directed by Daniele Bartolini Co-created with Aashay Mishra, Adnan Asif, Advait Kottary, Anastasia Hamolka, Anuj Rampal, Arundhati Misra, Arjun Satam, Riya Maurya, Ninad Sammadder, Dharmaj Joshi, Kalpak Bhave, Mikhail Sen, Moumita Roy, Prashant Kanaujia

9 to 12 Dec 0 pm 12 noon - 6.3 tre Prithvi Thea

UNIQUE. EXPERIENTIAL. INTERACTIVE. 10 performances a day.

One audience member only per show!

Made possible by

Abhishek Goel Chaturbhuj G. Kalro Terence Lewis Vijay Nair

Supported By

Venue Partner

an image a story a drop of ink

Directed by

all come to life

Performed by: Akshita Monga Mahima Monga Nikhil Agarwal Niketan Sharma Priyanka Sinha Priyanka Tendolkar Priyanshi Bahadur Surleen Kaur Zinnia Ranji

Glenn Hayden

stimulated voices sun, 13 dec|7pm|godrej theatre, ncpa Made possible by

Abhishek Goel, Chaturbhuj G. Kalro, Terence Lewis, Vijay Nair

Jury Thespo promises an array of brilliant performances at the festival each year. This makes the job of the Jury Members the toughest, because they are the ones who have to evaluate every detail and decide all the awards! We are lucky to have accomplished people willing to take out the time and agree to complete this task, year after year. Here is the Jury for Thespo 17.

Mohit Takalkar Mohit Takalkar is the artistic director of Aasakta, one of India’s finest theatre companies.He has been working for the past 16 years earning a reputation for himself and his group. His plays have been showcased all over India and have been invited to National and International Festivals.

His first play was Girish Karnad’s Yayati in 2000 after which he has directed various notable plays like Mein Huun Yusuf aur Ye Hai Mera Bhai, F-1/105, Uney Purey Shahar Ek, Comrade Kumbhakarna, Garbo, Tu and Kashmir Kashmir.

He has received notable awards like Shankar Nag Theatre Award, Sahitya Rangbhoomi Fellowship, Zee Gaurav Puraskar, Maharashtra State Award and various others.

Paromita Chatterjee Paromita Chatterjee is a renowned name in the fields of theatre, cinema and television. She is primarily known for her work with Yatri, one of the most prolific theatre groups in Mumbai. She has done over 1400 shows of 25 full length plays in the span of her career. She is also a coordinator of Yatri’s workshops and also conducts speech and diction classes in Hindi and English. She has also appeared in acclaimed films like Badlapur and Bombay Talkies. She is known for essaying different kind of roles on television and has also featured in popular plays like Chinta Chhod Chintamani, Chandu ki Chachi, Kaal-Chakra and Dilli Ooncha Sunti Hai.

Pragya Tiwari Pragya Tiwari is an editor and journalist writing about politics, policy and culture.

She was the editor-in-chief of a magazine on cinema and culture called The Big Indian Picture that has attempted to widen the conversation on cinema by attempting to look at it from myriad social, cultural and political lenses. She has also previously been an editor with one of India’s leading news and investigation magazine, Tehelka and continues to contribute to publications in India and abroad as a writer and editorial consultant. She divides her time between Delhi and London, where she is an executive student of public administration at the London School of Economics.

16

LIFETIME ACHVIEVEMENT AWARD

डॉ. लागू: अॅथलेट – िफलॉसॉफर

मराठी नाटकाने १९६० नंतर जी काही कात टाकली म्हणतात, जी काही क्रांती झाली, ती अगदी नाट्यलेखनापासून ते अभिनयापर्यंत. त्या काळात तेंडूलकरएलकुंचवार िलिहत होते, दुबे, िवजया मेहता िदग्दर्शन करीत होते, रंगायन, अिवष्कार, िथयेटर अकादमी, पीडीए ह्या संस्था एकामागून एक उत्तमोत्तम नाटकांची िनर्िमती करत होत्या आिण डॉ. श्रीराम लागू स्टेज वर अिभनय आिण िदग्दर्शनाच्या रुपात वादळासारखे घोंघावत होते. त्या काळातील कोणतीच कलाकृती प्रत्यक्षात पाहण्याची संधी न

िमळालेल्या आिण यापुढेही िमळण्याची शक्यता नसलेल्या पण तरीही या काळातील मराठी नाटकाला िमळालेल्या कलाटणीबद्दल संपूर्ण जाणीव असलेल्या, १९९० नंतर जन्मलेल्या िपढीतला मी एक नाटक करणारा मुलगा आहे. जेव्हा जेव्हा नाटकाशी संबंध आला, तेव्हा तेव्हा मला हे समजलं िक साठोत्तरी मराठी नाटकाला जी िझंग चढली होती ितचा hangover अजूनही माझ्यापर्यंत पोचत आहे. आिण ज्यांच्या कामात आिण रूपात ही िझंग अगदी ठसठशीतपणे आपल्यापुढे येते, जे या क्रांितकारी काळाचे साक्षीदार 17

आहेत अथवा क्रांतीकारीच आहेत, ते म्हणजे ज्येष्ठ अिभनेता-िदग्दर्शक डॉ. श्रीराम लागू.

त्यांना आता फार कमी गोष्टी आठवतात, ते बरेच वृद्ध झाले आहेत. आपल्या स्नेह्जनंाना सुद्धा वयामुळे ओळखत नाहीत. पुण्यात कोथरूड च्या टेकडी वर डॉक्टर लागू संध्याकाळी िफरायला येतात तेव्हा आिण एक दोन नाटकंाच्या प्रयोगंाच्या वेळी असं जेमतेम ३ वेळा मी त्यांना जवळून नुसतं पािहलं आहे. त्यांच्या शेजारी उभं रािहलं िक खरोखर एखादं नाट्य, ओतप्रोत भरलेलं पात्र जिवंत झालंय, ज्याने एकाच शरीराने विविध आयुष्य जगली आहेत असा हा एखादा साधुपुरुष आहे असं वाटतं. व्यावसाियक नाटकाशी त्यांचं कोणतंही वैर नसल्याने त्याही प्रेक्षकांशी ते पूर्वीपासून जोडलेले आहेत. सातत्याने लेखकप्रधान रािहलेल्या मराठी नाटकात लेखकाचं महत्व िकंिंचतही कमी न करता खरंतर लेखकाचं म्हणणं नीट पोचवतच त्यांनी नाट्य-अिभनय या गोष्टीला नवीन पिरमाण िदलं. अिभनयाचं सुद्धा काही शास्त्र आहे, तत्वद्ञान आहे हे लोकांच्या मनावर कळत-नकळत िंबंबवलं. कॉलेज मध्ये असताना नॉर्मली पुस्तकं न वाचणाऱ्या लोकांकडून आिण माझ्या िसिनयर्स कडून सुद्धा मला “तू लागूंचं लमाण वाच. त्यांचं वािचक अिभनयावरचं पुस्तक वाच” अशा सूचना 18 18

िमळालेल्या आहेत यावरून आजही त्यांचा नाटकाबद्दलचा अभ्यास िकती relevant आहे, िकती खोल आहे याची जाणीव होते. लागूंनी अगदी त्या काळच्या melodramatic, रंजन करणाऱ्या नाटकापासून सुरुवात करून व्यावसाियक, समांतर, प्रायोिगक ते आत्तापर्यंत अगदी absurd नाटकाशी नातं सांगणाऱ्या नाटकातही कामं केली. वसंत कानेटकर यांच्यापासून िशरवाडकर, तेंडूलकर, एलकुंचवार, प्रेमानंद गज्वी, मोहन राकेश, गो.पु. देशपांडे, मकरंद साठे, श्याम मनोहर या नाटककारांपर्यंत त्यांचं काम िवस्तृतपणे पसरलेलं आहे. डॉक्टरांनी िलिहलेल्या लेखांमधून, त्यांच्या मुलाखतीमधून एक-दोन गोष्टी वारंवार डोकावत रािहल्या त्यातील एक म्हणजे अिभनेत्याच्या बाबतीत अितशय दुर्िमळ, िववेकवादी, कणखर, पुरोगामी आिण सुधारणावादी तात्िवक अिधष्ठान असलेली भूिमका घेण्याची वृत्ती! अंधश्रद्धा िनर्मुलन, कर्मकांड, नाटकाला सेन्सॉरिशप हवी का, आिवष्कार स्वातंत्र्य, लैंिगकता, िनरीश्वरवाद, याबद्दल वेळोवेळी त्यांनी स्पष्ट आिण िवचारी भूिमका घेतलेली आहे. लागू मुळात डॉक्टर होते. नंतर अिभनेते झाले. कोणत्याही गोष्टीची वैद्ञािनक, बुद्धीिनष्ठ आिण naturalistic पद्धतीने िचिकत्सा कशी करावी याचे त्यांनी िशक्षणच घेतले होते त्यामुळे ते या गोष्टींबद्दल बोलले. आिण नुसते बोलले नाहीत तर त्यांनी त्याचा पाठपुरावा केला. गार्बो, िगधाडे या नाटकाच्या वेळेस सेन्सॉरिशप मुळे उद्भवलेल्या अडचणी त्यांनी स्वतः लक्ष घालून सोडवल्या. सामािजक कार्यात सहभाग घेतला. पुरोगामी चळवळीशी जोडले गेले. रूपवेध या पुस्तकातील आपल्या लेखांमधून ते बुद्धीिनष्ठतेचे महत्व वारंवार

पटवून देतात त्या वेळी असं वाटतं िक आत्ता आपल्या आजूबाजूला जी भयंकर अिववेकी, िहंसक, कर्मठ आिण अराजकवादी पिरस्िथती आहे त्याचा समाचार घ्यायला श्रीराम लागूंसारख्या माणसाचीच गरज आहे. डॉक्टर लागू कायम aristotle चं एक वाक्य quote करतात. “an actor should be an athlete – philosopher.” आिण लागूंच्या संपूर्ण कामाकडे, अिभनयाला िभडण्याच्या त्यांच्या पद्धतीकडे नजर टाकली तर हे लक्षात येतं िक या वाक्याचा अर्थ अक्षरशः जगून त्यांनी तो प्रत्यक्षात उतरवला देखील आहे. athlete म्हणजे जोरात पळणारा िकंवा six pack abs असलेला, gym मध्ये रोज ३ तास वर्कआउट करणारा नव्हे तर ज्याचं आपल्या शरीरावर, स्नायुंवर िनयंत्रण आहे, ज्याचं शरीर लविचक आहे असा माणूस. तसाच तो िवचारी आिण तात्िवक िचिकत्सा करणाराही असावा. अिभनय करण्याची ही पूर्वअट असावी, अिभनेत्याच्या आयुष्याचं हे भरतवाक्य असावं इतक्या गंभीरपणे लागूंनी हे वाक्य अंगीकारलं होतं. आणखी एक वाक्य ते quote करत- “You are the player, you are the instrument”. अिभनय हे एकमेव प्रोफेशन असं आहे ज्यात वाद्य आिण वादक हे दोन्ही एकच आहेत. व्यावसाियक आिण प्रायोिगक दोन्ही पद्धतीच्या नाटकात त्यांनी मुक्त संचार केला पण दोन्हीच्याही पलीकडे अिभनेत्याचा professionalism नावाची एक गोष्ट आहे िजचा आपल्या नाटकात अभाव आहे व ती साध्य करण प्रचंड

गरजेचं आहे असं त्यांचं मत होतं. डॉक्टर श्रीराम लागुंिवषयी तपशीलवार मािहती पुरवणं हे काही माझं काम नाही. आज पुण्यातून नाटक करताना, िकंवा जेव्हा नाटक करत नसतो तेव्हा ही माझी जी काही आतल्या आत फरपट होते, जे प्रश्न पडतात त्यांना उत्तर म्हणून, मला आधार म्हणून माझ्या मागे डॉक्टर लागू कुठे उभे आहेत िकंवा त्यांच्या परंपरेत मी कुठे उभा आहे हे पाहण्याचा हा प्रयत्न आहे. माझी हीच धडपड, हा त्रास जेन्युईन आहे हे समजून माझ्यासारख्या अनेक तरुणांना आपल्यात सामावून घेणाऱ्या आिण नाटकाच्या बाबतीत कोणतीही तडजोड न करणाऱ्या थेस्पोसारख्या उपक्रमाने डॉक्टर लागूंना यावर्षी जीवनगौरव पुरस्कार द्यावा याचं मला खूप कौतुक वाटतं आहे.

Anuj Deshpande has been part of Thespo plays like Patient and Kabadi-Uncut.

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WO

HOPS S K R

REE TR AT EEA H H T T I I V V H H T T I I R P PR VEE HIIV HEE H TH DT ND A AN

ried workshops! va nd a g in it c ex interactive, hod acting, we bring to you 12 yourself to masking it, meth sound, and From expressing breathing life into stories wit! devising theatre,magic of lights, we have it all the

Mask Atelier BY Shruti Mishra Can tangible material create palpable emotions? In this workshops participants will work with material to bring to life a character, understand its structure and form and how it takes shape in the dramatic space. Learning how to find hidden structures in things and bringing them to life through mask making are some of the many challenges that will come to the fore through the course of this workshop.

2 to 6 Dec | 10 am to 1 pm | THE HIVE Magic Hour - The Deryck Jeffereis Lighting Workshop by Arghya Lahiri What’s a stage without lights ? Come learn about the practice that not only makes the actors visible but also makes them come alive . The workshop will cover lighting theory, standard lamps and accessories, their uses and the range of their ability, lighting systems and rigs, and approaches to designing and executing light plans.

7 Dec | 10am - 8pm | Prithvi Theatre HIP HOP THEATRE : WRITING & RAPPING

BY SEBASTIEN HEINs & JAJUBE MANDIELA Love hip-hop? Love dancing? Love story-telling?

All three collide in The UNTWISTED Workshop Unit, an ensemble assembled for the purpose of creating a short, bold, urban performance, original to each participant involved. Participants will learn the tools and skills they need to harness Hip Hop (song writing, beat making, 20

rapping) and Vocal Masque (epic physical storytelling) to create their piece. Extensive theatre experience is not required. Be prepared to have fun, write, act, sing, move, dance and everything in between.

8-11 Dec | 10am - 1pm | THE HIVE

Sounds Alive

by Divya Bhatia Introduces participants to using and playing with sound for theatre. The workshop explores the meanings and possibilities of ‘live’ sound by working through processes that sift through listening, feeling and creating audio.

Using voice/ speech, body, objects, instruments and music, participants will get an opportunity to experiment with producing live sound for performance.

8 Dec | 10am - 5pm | Prithvi HOUSE Explore.. Devised Group THEATRE

by Alison Wong The workshop involves fusing the talent and creativity of each group member. Participants learn basic improvisatory skills through games and exercises, then work together to learn how to accept each other’s ideas and develop a friendly group dynamic that guides devised storytelling.

They will take part in devising and sharing their own original short scenes.

9-10 Dec | 10am - 2pm | Prithvi HOUSE DANCING TO YOUR OWN TUNE

BY ASTAD DEBOO He has broken convention and has taken the dancing world by storm. His style, described by him as ‘contemporary in vocabulary and traditional in restraints’ has left a legacy which offers innovative models for younger Indian artists to work with. Join us as we talk to him about his achievements, trials and tribulations and about how he managed to dance to his own tune.

9 Dec | 3:30pm - 6pm | Prithvi HOUSE 21

Go Fund Yourself!

Anshulika Dubey of Wishberry It’s time to crowdfund your theatre ideas! Wishberry, India’s largest crowdfunding platform brings to you an exclusive workshop on Crowdfunding for theatre. Wishberry boasts of over 250 projects, 5.5 crores and 11,000 worldwide backers across film, music, theatre. Learn the tricks of successful crowdfunding and your play could be next!

9 Dec | 6:30PM - 8pm | Prithvi HOUSE 12 Dec | 11AM - 1PM | THE HIVE Method Acting: An Introduction

by Sohrab Ardeshir The workshop, a tasting menu of Method Acting is a ground for the conductor and participants to discuss the meaning of the word and its techniques. It also aims at freeing the body and emotions through some acting exercises. Look at a few sample monologues, delve into sub-text, see how they can be ‘brought to life’ and broaden your horizons!

10-11 Dec | 1pm - 5PM | THE HIVE The Navaras

by Padma Damodaran The workshop is an exploration of poems and monologues using the notion of the ‘Navarasas’. Participants will be exposed to tools that help them discover the numerous layers of a simple piece of text that they can later apply to more complex texts. A completely practical workshop, it will happen entirely on the floor.

11 Dec | 10am - 5pm | Prithvi HOUSE The Art of Storytelling through Multimedia

by TIM SMITH, Rav Sanghera & Madeleine O’Riley This participative workshop will explore basic elements of storytelling common to a range of different media. Many of the skills needed to discover and tell stories are shared by writers, dramatists, photographers . The workshop facilitators will lead hands-on sessions to demonstrate how combined multi-media forms to produce compelling narratives.

12 Dec | 10am - 5pm | Prithvi HOUSE 22

S

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r yeer oy II ffo V V H H T T I I d R R P P t s t a a e’s Fu ion an m r e th , p Po ’s ere s fro

th er There’s Jazz, atch bands and perform s W . le there’s Rock ss different music sty wn. o acro laze at sund b a e n e c s e set th

Z ir y a b Indie/ Western/ Fusion Wed, 8 Dec | 6pm a group of young who performers from Pune iance bring to you the brill and of Western,Classical eer Indie genres & the sh awesomeness of fusion music.

R a d ia n c e

-n-Roll Old School Rock/ Rock fri, 10 Dec | 6pm o play a band from Pune wh Rock-n-Roll and Old School Rock. Their ve primary influences ha tists been classic rock ar Doors like the Beatles, The & Pink Floyd.

oshi Shubhangi J Acoustic/ Soul/ Jazz thur, 9 Dec | 6pm

writer she is a singer songlf taught based in Mumbai. A se style is guitarist, her musicaland soul, ic st ou a blend of ac . She with elements of jazz‘Talking released her debut EP 14, and has Away The Night’ in 20 Youtube at d me since perfor ries, Fanfest, VH1 Music Dia dies, In V Prithvi Festival, MT Godrej e, Zo Blue Frog, Cafe ival Documentary Film Fest and more.

Zahan Mehta Rock/ Pop Covers sat, 11 Dec | 6pm

has he is a performer who ol a knack of making a fo ainst of himself, usually ag nts his will, and he just wa Queen, to entertain. He loves d, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floy rs and Rush, but his cove of his are more on the side “guilty pleasure”.

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USSEEthe Political Scientific OU HO II H V V H H T T I I R R P P er t t ff di a ting stagings on topics as al ideneat ofas gender stereotypes,dua a

exhilara ehfil of ur d the soci e day and a m i House, and ctimization an hv concept of vi tween young writers of th it Pr ad to the be conversation uss protest in verse. So he sc ee! lovers who di t best for fr at its simples e tr ea th h tc ca

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Ur mehfil @ Prithvi du 8 Dec | 7 pm | Urdu | 90 Minutes PR

lit.

EST OT

Urdu literature has a vast library of Protest literature that address real socio-political issues and express objection against them The work of renowned poets such as Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Kaifi Azmi, Jan Nisar Akhtar has been potent at various junctures in history.

At Mehfil we will read and discuss such protest works.

ann Th e S t r a

r ge

9 to 12 Dec 11 am to 6pm

Italian director Daniele Bartolini of DopoLavre Teatrale was commissioned by Thespo to workshop an audience-specific piece with young Indian actors; thereby introducing them to this unique form. This will culminate into performances in and around the Juhu area. The project was made possible thanks to the support of the Italian and Canadian consulates, our Wishberry crowdfunding campaign and our venue partner The Space.

Br ot

Become the protagonist of an Urban Odyssey

The Hip hopera od: o By rh e b CURRENT h

10 Dec | 4 pm English | 20 mins This is a non-stop, high energy, one man show using original music and physical theatre to tell the parodied story of two brothers living the Hip Hop Life. SĂŠbastien Heins utilizes Hip Hop, R & B, Rap, Soul, Funk, and Gospel and take the audience on a touching journey of family and brotherly love that fast forwards and rewinds from the 1970 to all the way into the future.

Please note: The show will be an excerpt of the 90 minute performance.

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ho Magar P Dek ya

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By Caught in the Act 10 Dec | 7 pm English | 45 mins

What happens when you confront a 10 yearold boy who enjoys playing with dolls, kitchen sets and being the mother in house-house? Does he immediately let it go or do these supposedly “innocent transgressions� remain with him till he turns into an adult? A playful look at using and transforming stereotypes, this piece journeys through spaces of childhood, memory, queerness and hyper-masculinity.

pan A i n iA T

By Natyamay 11 Dec | 7 pm | Marathi | 45 mins

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l

Ti Ani Apan is a performance examining different shades of reality, aiming to reflect the varied kinds of reactions to an issue of victimization in society, where the victim is considered different from the self.

Youth Thea g tr in t e PEN @ Prithvi a r 11 Dec | 6:30 pm eb English, Hindi, Marathi 45 mins

This session promises to dig deeper into the psyche of young playwrights, what makes them tick, what are the stories they want to tell and why. Join us as we engage in conversation with minds with fresh ideas and young perspectives. The writers of three different Thespo Plays in conversation with Bhagirathi Raman.

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PERPLA F

RM O F T RMANCES O

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R OYYEER II FFO V V H H T T I I R R P P 17th year t t a a ormers in the citing rf pe r fo rm fo ex

s its plat for four Thespo expand ic and what not! Gear up dry at our ag ar m , iz w ry d with poet , verse an re ti sa d an s days of storie mances! or Platform Perf

wn 9 D Ka tow ec s n 30 | 8 pm h m i r Min ut | Hi Dow es | bndusta o thr ntown mbay ni o situ ug Kas atio h tr hmi ns ag r t Thr a b revo ic and ravel s l o o the ugh K y namving a comic ligh pla ash ed rou t o y at mir’ Kash nd s n t m a Jam nd m politi empts journ ir. mu ilita cs, to ey & K ncy dru she by uncoashmi prev g issud bre nv r to ale e akin ent da nt i g t iona y, in n he l m an fou ann r of th waer the ll atr e.

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ds ar y w n e r Compaarathi t A f Natak m | MPune p , by c | 8 tes | tiveh u e i n D s i n e it 10 30 M ee sinds. Wrms, r h fo he .T m riesyoung s and ore t y o t l bo ee s nd way exp Thr ious avidual ries irl & ational anxir indi rt ston a gn emo es e these shobetwe ugh a stori k, the ation d thro shortto bacte and rel resse These back ic, mu ree exp rney. lined g poetent thhe jouch arem beinrepress of t whi w fro and ective flo iloquy persphip. sol erent tions diff e rela sam t ke c Po y m i n Gopal lish ng ai ks i c by S pm | e mbay r T | 8 | bo ec utes D 12 Min It n 30 beeience. ur s o ay d alwthe aus with u s a o ic hng to d playu to y will g a i n h M igu g a yo hic ess intrxcitin invitehow w eechl yet is eds. Weagic snce spsimple min h a m audie th its sucve the ed wi lea stunnicks. andver tr cle 27

During one of those ‘dying of boredom’ detention hours in the college library, I came across a book called The Prithviwallas. The book features pictures of veterans like Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher performing on the Prithvi stage, and just the image of the chocolate brown floor in the background gave me goosebumps. Getting to perform at Prithvi Theatre is an experience most actors look forward to all the time and especially for an amateur performer, the feeling of just standing there is pure ecstasy.

Thespo’s quest to promote youth theatre has been greatly aided since Thespo began its collaboration with Prithvi Theatre in

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2007.

Thanks to this development, Thespo now curates performances by young theatre practitioners and workshops, which Prithvi lends us space for. ‘Thespo @ Prithvi’ or TAP thus also gives Thespo a chance to be a part of the theatre lover’s life all year round.

A major part of TAP is plays. Some of these are the plays that garner a great response at the festival.

2015’s TAP kicked off with our Indo-British collaboration Falls 2-11 in January and was followed by Normal, a play that opened to a packed house earlier at the festival. Three of Thespo’s plays, older Natak Company’s Dalan and Geli 21 Varsha and AmyGo Productions’ The EQ which have previously had successful TAP shows also got another round of opportunities.

Plays that don’t make the cut at the festival also get an opportunity at TAP. In January 2016 another non festival play, With Love Calcutta by mad About Drama with feature. In 2015, Out of the Box Productions showcased their play Two Adorable Losers which wasn’t screened at the festival but was garnering an excellent response in the city.

Workshops are an indispensible part of TAP. This included four two day workshops ’I, Storyteller’, an assemble acting workshop by Puja Sarup in January

‘Of Course You Can Write’, a writing workshop by Shiv Subramanium in July ‘Captain of the Ship’, a direction worksop by Nipun Dharmadhikari in August ‘Wu Tao’, a body movement workshop by Shruti Mishra in September.

TAP acts as an opportunity for exposure, for learning and for preparing to participate in Thespo and other Theatre events in the future. As performers from TAP geared up for another round of Thespo in its 17th year, participants who attended the workshops were sure ready to take on the festival!

-Kalpak Bhave was once called a Thespo Enthu Cutlet and has sworn to never grow out of that description.

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g g n i n i n e n e e e r r c SS c o o p s p e s e h h t t Introduction: “Hi, I’m Prerna. I’m from Bangalore. I was part of Thespo in 2001. I’ve been part of professional theatre for 15 years. I run a school for children, in Bangalore. And Sananda and I are the screening panelists for Thespo this year. We’ve been touring India watching many talented people, like you, perform for us. We also spend time with each team after the performance, to have a small discussion and get to know you guys better, and also to give you some details about the festival. This play was a great effort but we do have some small suggestions on how to make your production even better.”

[Repeat, 120 times] Welcome to Thespo 17 screenings.

It all began when Gitanjali, an old friend called and asked me if I would like to be a part of Thespo! It did sound wonderful, so I said yes. I had been a part of Thespo once, how much could’ve changed through the years? However, the orientation meeting brought home many truths. Words like ‘Panelist’, ‘feedback’, ‘notes’, ‘paperwork’, ‘tickets’, ‘accommodation’, ‘11 cities’, ‘different languages’, ‘150 registrations’, began to fly around. I was rudely awoken to the fact that I wasn’t a starry eyed participant anymore, but on the other side of the fence this time. I have to say, it didn’t really sink in until that minute. I was kind of hoping I had to simply watch plays, spread the good word and be on my way, really.

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The 31-day Marriage: I was thankfully given a partner in crime and a well matched one at that. I don’t call myself a theatre person. That tag doesn’t fit me. So it helped to have someone like Sananda who is Thespo pedigree and came well prepped. She had markers, post-its and a dozen different things. I had…a pencil. For doodling. Hmm. Where she took notes and asked poignant questions, I made snide remarks and poor jokes. She was the Mary Poppins that magically carried everything in her bag (except for the flying umbrella) and I was the lost and cold Mr. Banks. It was a match made in heaven. As two women traveling across India looking for young talent, we were faced with many a pickle in our 31 day marriage. We laughed, (almost) cried, got lost, gagged, were sick, ate (a lot), drank (sadly, not enough), smoked,

107 Perfo r 12 Languamaces ges 1 Pantomim e 11 Cities slept, didn’t sleep, yawned, cursed and bickered like an old couple, but we had each other’s back, and we made it. At the end, like all good divorces, we just said, “It’s over” and that was that. I hear she has moved on to greener pastures, and a more normal life. Naturally.

The Youth: I can now conclude that the youth are an eclectic mix of volatile emotions.

Some have more swag, some have more questions. Some worry about the

world, while others worry only about their world. A few have breathtaking insights and few sadly need to keep alternate career options handy. I was faced with languages that I’d only heard of, so Greek and Latin were suddenly not so alien anymore. Regional theatre shone through in bright colours, but as an English enthusiast, I hope to find more of those on the list next year. Of course, the only thing that kept us going through those 11hr days was all the heart and soul with which the teams came to perform. I now have a deep insight into the youth of today and new found respect for anyone who says, “I’m in college”.

‘They are wiser than we were’, I would often tell Sananda.

She would lean over and whisper, ‘Thank God we were simpler’.

- Prerna Kaul, Screening Panelist, Thespo 17

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a unique crowd funding opportunity to support youth theatre In our twelfth year as Thespo geared up to finish an entire round on the clocks of theatre, a shortage of fund arose threatening to wind the time back. It was then that our friends came forward and helped us out, and thus Thespo struck back!.

So Friends Of Thespo was born, and with each year our circle of friends grows larger and stronger helping us keep the dream alive, the dream of a platform for young theatrewalas everywhere. Today, it is a community of theatre lovers, theatrepractitioners, ex-Thespoans and above all, people who genuinely want to back the effort to give the youth a platform to showcase and expand their skills.

In 2015, Friends of Thespo went online with Wishberry. Wishberry is a web based crowd funding platform that specialises in creative projects for film, music, theatre, dance, photography, art, design, comic and other publishing. It has successfully run campaigns for about 200 projects so far.

While Thespo creates a dhamaka in its 17th year, we remain grateful to all our friends who have unfailingly had our back and helped us spark the drama once again, and for the last five years of our theatrical journey.

OFFLINE: Amanda ‘Mandi’ Padamsee Anurag Khanna Astad Deboo Avantika Akerkar Divyesh Vijayakar Faezah Jalali Maia Katrak Pritesh Sodha Ravikiran Kantamneni Sameera Iyengar Sheetal Garg

on wishberry: Aarthi Balli Abhishek Goel 32

Abhishek Majumdar Aditi Ravi Aditya Kulkarni Advait Gupt Aishwarya Mahesh Akarsh Khurana Akash Mohimen Alan Tweedie Amatula Zakir Amanda Cardoz Anirudh Dhandhania Anselm Matyres Anthony Black Anu Wakhlu Anuja Parikh Aparna Andhare

Apurv Kulkarni Arvind Saxena Bhagirathi Raman Bhavna Pani Bijoy Idicheriah Chaturbhuj G. Kalro Darius Sunawala Dena Rosenberg Dinesh Mehta Divyang Thakkar Harishri Babuji JAGDISHWAR RAO SANGAM Jaina Kummar Jennifer Fornelli Kashin Shetty

Kavita Puri Arora Maharana Ray Maneesh Verma Meenakshi Thirukode Mehernosh Barucha Michelle Samuel Mithila Palkar Mohit Takalkar Narayanan Ramachandran Naseem Jauhar Neil Balthazar Neysa Mendes Niloufer Sagar Niranjan Kallamundkur Nirmala Rao Nishna Mehta Owais Lightwala padmanabh shetty Pooh Sayani Prabha Pandey Preetika Chawla Priscilla Roxburgh Priti Bakalkar Radhika Palkar

Rohit Sathe Roo Jhala Ruchira Das Sandeep Sanapuji Sanjay Goradia Sanket Mhatre Scherazade Kaikobad Shiv Kumar Shruti Shridharan Sneha Nair Sonal Gopujkar Suhaas Ahuja Sundaresan Srinivasan Sushmita Meka Tasneem Fatehi Terence Lewis Uday Shetty Vaishnavi Iyer Vijay Nair Vikas Meka Vikrant Dhote Viraaf Pocha

a unique crowd funding opportunity to support youth theatre

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In Memoriam Saeed Jaffrey (08.01.29 - 15.11.15) Saeed Jaffrey is still best remembered for his role of Sardar Vallabbhai Patel in Richard Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’.

With a career spanning over six decades, Saeed Jaffrey is an illustrious name in the mediums of theatre, cinema, radio and television. It is rare that an actor manages to leave an impact on the theatre scene of three continents.

His tryst with the theatre started when he discovered his penchant for mimicry, while studying at the Aligarh Muslim University. In 1951, he co-founded the ‘Unity Theatre’ in Delhi which would go on to produce numerous productions in the English language like Jean Cocteau’s play The Eagle Has Two Heads and T. S. Eliot’s The Cocktail Party. He formally studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, UK and at The Catholic University of America. He was one of the first non-white faces to emerge in British theatre and also the first Indian to take Shakespearean plays on a tour through the United States of America. His contribution to Indian films and theatre is invaluable.

Saeed Jaffrey’s passion for acting and his love for stage are remains an inspiration to young theatre practitioners.

Thespo pays a heartfelt tribute to the great actor.

Adi Roy (29.03.88 - 11.10.15) When you open the first page of the Thespo 13 Magazine, Adi Roy’s bright and smiling face looks back at you from amongst the Team Thespo photos. The face remains etched in our minds and hearts just as clearly.

Adi joined the team only a couple of months before the festival. Somebody who came across as a quiet guy until you got to know him, Adi quickly became an indispensable and a valued member of the team. Talk about him and words like regular and hardworking pop up; Adi was an integral part of the screening process. It wasn’t long before we discovered his creative pursuits and he was promptly assigned duties to design the décor for the festival venues.

However, the most lasting memory of him remains his love for chocolates and his penchant for sniffing out even the hidden stashes! Also, his love for dahi.

The Thespo family has lost a truly gifted person. His contribution has helped make the festival what it is today.

And we hope to make you proud in the years to come.

Adi – Thank you for sharing your passion with us 35

s s t t n n e e m m e e g g d d e e l l w ow no kn ck ac a Theatre Group Bombay, for being the flint that sparked Thespo.

Anshulika Dubey, Shourya Bajpai, Dhruvi Narsaria from Wishberry who have fanned the creative fire we lit.

Kunal Kapoor, Lalit Sathe, Ranjeet, Sanjay Pawar at Prithvi Theatre for giving us the home without which Thespo remains incomplete.

Deepa Gahlot, Binaifar Bhesania and everybody who is a part of our other home, NCPA Sudeip Nair, Rafael Pereira & Yugandhar Deshpande at Culture Shoq & The HIVE, for giving us newer spaces to explore.

Gigi and Nazneen Bedi at The Space for hosting ‘The Stanger’.

Anthony & Harshvardhan Samor from He Said, She Said (Bombay), BMCCPittie Hall (Pune), PD Sathish from Kala Soudha (Bangalore), Pranava Singhal of Dramatic Circle (Hyderabad), Dr. Ambedkar Hall & Guru Nanak Bhavan (Nagpur), Padatik Theatre & Raktim Goswami from Impulse Studio (Kolkata), Shivaji College (Delhi), Ravindra Manch (Jaipur), MICA college (Ahmedabad), Kabir Thakore from Rangmandal (Ahmedabad), Applause Vadodara & Bright School (Vadodara) for giving us the spaces and bases of our pilgrimage.

Devika Kale (Pune), Ashwini Dikholkar (Nagpur), Abhishek Mudgal (Jaipur), Ratna Saha (Baroda) for welcoming us into your homes!

Our screening panel and festival curators, Sananda Mukhopadhyaya & Prerna Kaul -a match made in heaven- for going on the long journey and bringing the finest of young theatre back.

Paromita Chatterjee, Pragya Tiwari, Mohit Takalkar for taking time out to 36

watch the festival and being a part of the Jury.

Vikram Iyengar, Nipun Dharmadhikari and Gopal Dutt for helping and mentoring the plays at the festival.

Shruti Mishra, Arghya Lahiri, Divya Bhatia, Padma Damodaran, Sohrab Ardeshir, Astad Deboo, Bhagirathi Raman, Daniele Bartolini (Italy), Glenn Hayden (Australia), Alison Wong, Jajube Mandiela, Sebastein Heinz (Canada), Tim Smith, Madeleine O’Reilly, Rav Sanghera (UK) for gifting young minds the theatrical guidance they so fervently seek.

Shruti Sridharan, Abhishek Saha, Shaun Williams, Kishore Acharya for being enthusiastic torchbearers of the festival.

Deepa Lagoo, Vijaya Mehta, Arun Kakade, Makrand Sathe, Atul Pete and Ramdas Bhatkal for giving us profound insights into the life of Dr. Lagoo.

Rehana Munir for bringing to us the opportunity to be a part of the show Deal or No Deal. Vaishali Bhatia, Aparna Khera at Endemol for the fantastic deal they got us.

Ayushmann Khurrana for his energy, enthusiasm and faith in us and for leading us to victory on the show.

Nayoni Desai, Seema Chourasiya, Kuldeep Ojha, Anurag Pandarkar, Vishwajeet Devrukhkar, Kaushik Trivedi, Shruti More, Kishore Rawool, Ganesh Gurav, Pratap Ghodke, Pooja Yadv, Chandani Dandwani for representing Thespo at Deal or No Deal.

Patrizia Gambarotta (The Italian Embassy Cultural Centre - Mumbai Section, or Istituto Italiano di Cultura-IIC), Shivangi Ambani (British Council), Ritika Nandkeolyar & Elaine DSouza (Canadian Consulate) for helping bring our overseas faculty to the festival.

Nitesh Shahani at Furtados for lending us equipment for our live music performances.

Dolly Thakore, because these seventeen years of Thespo have been seventeen years of you looking after us.

Arghya, Christopher & Nadir, for being the originals Thespoans, who we still look up to and get inspired from.

Mehernosh Bharucha because you are the wind beneath our wings.

Ramesh, Kamlesh for the cups and cups of tea everyday.

37

tue, 08 DEC

11am to

6pm

Prithvi Theatre

wed, 09 DEC

The Stranger A specially designed experiential promenade show for one audience member at a time.

Brotherhood

4pm

Canadian SĂŠbastienHeins performs excerpts from his Hip Hopera.

to

4.30pm

6pm

Ziryab

6.30pm

Western, Classical and Indie

7pm

Mehfil@ prithvi

8pm

9pm

Shubhangi Joshi

acoustic and jazz Go Fund Yourself!

Radiance

Rock-n-Roll

By Anshulika Dubey of Wishberry

Dekho Magar Pyar Se

A guide on how to successfully crowd fund your own arts project.

Why is it okay for only one gender to play with a kitchen set?

Lassanwala

Hero

Readings and discussion around Downtown Afterwards hard hitting Kashmir socio-political Three short Urdu literature. What if Kashmir stories exploring the anxious was not a place, relationship but a human between a girl being? and a boy.

Chitthi (Marathi, Pune) What secret does this letter hold?

38

thur, 10 DEC

(Khari Boli/ Hindustani, (Marathi | Pune) Bombay) A powerful Who doesn't want journey of a man to become discovering that Amitabh Bachchan? we are more than what we eat.

fri, 11 DEC

sat, 12 DEC

workshops

7 to 12 DEC - prithvi house, juhu 8 t0 12 DEC - the hive, bandra to register, Contact: Manavi on +91 7506025456 email us on thespo17@thespo.org

godrej theatre,ncpa sat, 12 DEC

Zahan

Dastaan -e-

rock/pop

Bhookh

sun, 13 DEC

(Hindi, Delhi) Ti Ani Apan

Watch the people watching TV...in December 2013.

Nakli Chehre

What are the different masks we wear... each day?

Toy

PEN@prithvi

Hero

Stimulated

Celebrating Youth Voices (Marathi | Pune) Theatre: A devised A conversation dramatization of with the Who doesn't want poetry and prose, playwrights to become directed by of Thespo 17, Amitabh Bachchan?

Glenn Hayden followed by Tricks in my pocket

Thespo 17 Awards Night

It's no trick.

It's magic!

Dastaan -e-

(Bengali, Barasat, Bhookh West Bengal) (Hindi, Delhi) A visually A dark absurdist stunning story comedy about about a boy who all-consuming lives in an hunger. aquarium.

A celebration of the future of theatre.

BAND FRINGE PLATFORM PERFORMANCE FULL-LENGTH PLAY

39

D ir e c t e d by

W r it t e n by Yas m i n a R e z a

Na di r Kh a n

CasT

Shernaz Patel sOHRAB ARDESHIR ANU MENON ZAFAR KARACHIWALA

Sat, 30 Jan 2016 st andrew auditorium, bandra thur, 10 & Fri, 11 March 2016 Prithvi theatre A p ro d u ct i o n by

By special arrangement with Samuel French Ltd.

Translated by Christopher Hampton Originally produced for Initiative Aadyam - an Aditya Birla Group

EEv vo ollu ut tio ion no off

thespo

Remember Pokemon? How once in a while, or at regular intervals your favourite Pokemon would evolve into a stronger, better, more ‘awesome’ pokemon? For those born before 1990, Pokemons were fictional Japanese adorable monsters that would change their form, learn new moves and new powers when they ‘evolved’.

So all these strengths and powers that Thespo has, when in its evolution did Thespo imbibe them? Let’s have a look at all of things that set Thespo apart and at the journey of how they developed:

The Thespo Orientation Meeting Usually referred to as the Thespo OM (and once misinterpreted as an Annual Religious Ritual because it sounds like Aum), the Orientation Meeting is now a grand affair that kick starts the festival. In its first year, the OM had some 20 people in attendance. These were the dark ages, when our daily necessities like Twitter and Facebook were completely unheard of and hence a press release, posters and an actual physical meeting were the only ways of getting through to interested participants. Of course while the Internet and Technology has expanded Thespo’s reach, it has only increased the opportunities we get to continue live interactions with our young Thespo Enthusiasts.

length of those descriptions put together can still never match the length of the actual tours. If in Thespo 9, superhumans Kshitee Jog and Akarsh Khurana travelled for a month watching plays, in Thespo 10 Toral Shah and Ram Ganesh Kamatham have been historically noted to have completed a Thespo Haj in a month and a half. The number of plays screened now regularly cross a 100 and it is always a huge feat on part of the Screening Panel to drop everything for four weeks or so but as Toral rightly points out - ‘Theatre people hardly need to be convinced to watch plays.’ True to its name, Thespo Haj is like a pilgrimage for the lovers of all things theatre.

Thespo Haj

The fun-filled, memorable, tiring journeys of the Screening Panel have often been written about in length. The 43

Thespo Magazine

For a half-baked mind (like the writer of this article) a Theatre Festival having a magazine sounds really fancy. But the actual idea is as simple as a brochure distributed before a play or a Ganesh Utsav Mandal Annual Pamphlet! The magazine in itself underwent plenty of changes in its size, shape, content like the addition of articles in Thespo 5 and themes in certain issues.

my Theatre is Thespo 11: ’s festival it is Thespo a stage hespo, it’s T : 12 po s e Th rough I’m going th Thespo ve I can’t I ha nd All for Thespo Thespo 13: ,a ll a r One fo po Thespo 14: ad to Thes le s d l roa Al : 15 po po s s e e h Th or T I’m wired f Thespo 16:

Bands and Platforms

Live Music and Platform performances have always been a part of Thespo’s history. Like any other Historical Gathering, the first Thespo (which had three plays and three intervals) was replete with poetry, that of Sultan Padamsee and Tenzin Tsundue. Since then, Platform Performances in Thespo have been a vibrant mix of music, dance, street plays and many other arts.

Since its inception, Thespo has gone from a one day festival to an all year round celebration of Theatre and friendships. It has had more than hundreds of volunteers and helpers and

44

Lines T-SHIRT religion,

like every Pokemon Master knows, a Pokemon is nothing without the young trainers on their journeys. Every year there’s been a new milestone, a new move acquired like including multilingual plays, the mentorship program and the international collaborations to name a few. Now in its 17th year, Thespo remains keen on growing bigger and better and acquiring even newer features.

Like a fine young trainer once said, ‘Gotta Catch Them All!’ -Kalpak Bhave was once called a Thespo enthu cutlet and has sworn to never grow out of that description.

s e h s i w o Thesp

s u o i r Akva

. y a d h t r i 15th B

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(Mel wo

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In Conversation

with a

Creator Susannah Henry is a set and costume designer trained in theatre design from the Wimbledon School of Art and Central Saint Martin’s College, UK. She has designed for productions at the West End, Bristol Old Vic, Lyric Hammersmith amongst others. She is currently freelancing as a Design Lecturer at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Here, she shares some snippets from her world and work with Saatvika Kantamneni.

Was there a moment when you were young, that you decided you wanted to become a designer or was it a more organic process of discovering your interests and talents?

My mother took me to see a production of Tosca at Earls Court Theatre in London when I was 11 years old. I remember wondering how it was that the enormous set came to be there.

My mother explained that there were people responsible for creating what I was seeing, and this planted a seed.

I was taken to see a lot of theatre as I was growing up, and this coupled with the fact that I liked art and design (and reading) meant that I naturally started to think about theatre design as something I might be involved in.

Who is your favourite costume designer and why?

I don’t have one. Mostly because I tend not to focus exclusively on costume and look more generally at the whole picture.

So it’s easier for me to say I like particular theatre makers or choreographers – 46

Pina Bausch, Katie Mitchell and Tim Crouch are favourites.

What was the first play that you designed for?

Outside of a college environment, it was a production of Oedipus Rex for a private school, and then The Days of the Commune for Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. My first work was designing within education – the professional engagements came slightly later.

What is the one most memorable thing from that experience that you still keep with you?

I had an art school training, which was very focused on concepts and the artistry of design, but less practical. So the things I learned in my first paid work were largely about budgeting, theatre process and making environments out of found objects.

How did the opportunity come your way?

It came as a result of participating in my degree show.

When you started out, did you have

any person/ people to go to, look up to? How did you find your way around the jungle that is design, as a young person?

By meeting people along the way.

I assisted Howard Barker (British playwright) for a time, and he taught me a great deal about stage design, particularly about the power of a limited palette of materials, texture or colour. I also assisted a designer called Libby Watson who honed my modelmaking skills and acted as a sort of mentor for me as my career grew.

What is the best advice that you received when you were under 25?

That you shouldn’t focus on being original, you should just be yourself.

That there is room for everyone in theatre.

What is the process you follow when designing costumes for a show?

They ‘arrive’ slightly after the design of the set or world – I find it easier to imagine characters if I know the context in which they’re presented. I research the period (if that seems crucial to the text) and after that it’s a mixture of instinct and being driven by character. Colour is always a high priority for me too – it’s potentially the most important part of my design process. It also depends on

how much the directors bring to the table. I try to honour and respond to the initial brief set down by them.

What is an ideal director to work with, for a costume designer?

Someone who gives you complete freedom or someone with a very specific brief?

I enjoy parameters and a bit of a theme to wrestle with, so I’d always rather that to a completely open playing field. Much more interesting. An opening discussion with a director always leads you to places you’d never expect. I regard my job as being to take that initial starting point and reciprocate in an intelligent, creative way. Perhaps you’ll develop things in direction the director wasn’t expecting – that’s always exciting.

Do you think formal education in design is important or advantageous for becoming a costume designer in the UK?

I think it’s a hugely valuable experience, and gives you all the skills you need. A qualification in your field is important in the UK. There will always be people who arrive in their role in other ways, but I sense they’re in the minority.

Do you have a style or preference for certain materials or treatments?

How important is personal style for a designer? Is it a way to brand your work?

I think it’s potentially a bit dangerous (dare I even say lazy?!) to find a ‘style’ and stick to it. I’d prefer to be known as versatile and with the ability to work within as wide a range as possible. It’s fun to surprise people with something they might not have expected from you.

I suppose it’s equivalent of not wishing to be typecast.

- Saatvika Kantamneni and her mind palace is one large excel sheet.

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48

A surprising trend that emerged out of the plays that screened for Thespo this year, was the recurrence of young men dressing up as women.

However unlike the clichéd slapstick or Comedy Nights with Kapil versions, each play seemed to be making a strong social or dramatic comment.

Dushyantpriya, for example, was a play about a play. A situation arises where the actresses have abandoned a production of Shakuntala, and now the male actors have to perform all the female parts. The male character that has to play Shakuntala, develops feelings for his male co-actor. He realises this and questions whether this is now his preference or is it just a circumstance. Director Sarang Bhakre has also been inspired

by Marathi theatre tradition of a “nachya”. In the early and mid Twentieth Century, Narayan Shripad Rajhans, (better known as Bal Gandharva) became famous for his portrayal of female characters, since women were not allowed to act on stage. Cross-dressing was considered to be the only solution.

Bal Gandharva’s roles were so famous that there were many women that would want to imitate his style of make-up or dressing.

In the Marathi adaptation of Ionesco’s The Lesson the domestic help, which is actually a female character, is

Limits of

Dressing Why should girls have all the dresses?

49

performed by a boy. Playmakers Prasad Kulkarni and Priyanka Tendolkar stated that their idea was not to create a cross-dresser or male or female, but more of a “human” character. They set out to retain the surprise an audience feels when seeing a man dressed as a woman, while suppressing the usual comic effect. For them, the clothes of a person shouldn’t be what matters, but the attribute of the character.

female behaves or what characteristic defines who a man is exactly. With their portrayals, these plays seem to draw a powerful conclusion. All humans have traits of both genders; and shouldn’t we celebrate that rather than reduce people to stereotypes.

- Saniya Saxena.

Saniya is always curious.

Should the portrayal of a certain personality be restricted or bound by gender? Or should the ability to carry off what the character asks for be dominant? A role then perhaps, should not merely be represented by that particular subsystem of humanity.

Vikrant Dhote’s Dekho Magar Pyar Se (Thespo 17 Fringe) is a solo piece on cross-dressing and gender bending and challenges the idea of “masculinity”. The play emerged as a personal account of Dhote’s experiences and views on the topic. He was always fascinated by the idea of clothing and why there were any limits to what he wears and what he is “allowed to wear”. He recently took part in a project called “Walk Like A Woman” organised by the Why Loiter? Group.

The project featured a group of people, which included men in skirts, walking around Juhu as a mark of respect to womanhood. The experience triggered something within Vikrant. It begged the question why are there restrictions on clothing for males, whereas women are okay with wearing formal shirts and trousers. Similarly, even though 70% of the world’s chefs are male, we are judgemental about a man cooking in the household.

These plays, in their own way challenge the perceptions of how an ‘ideal’ 50

Photo credit: Puneet Reddy 50

51

Plays on

Camera Video killed the radio star.

Video killed the radio star.

In my mind and in my car, we can’t rewind we’ve gone too far.

sometimes, new writing and stories you haven’t come across before.

In 2014, Nandita Das and Subodh Maskara launched CinePlay.

This initiative films a “The theater is the only institution in performance of a play, the world which has been dying for four specially staged for this thousand years and has never succumbed. It recording, and makes this accessible online, as well as requires tough and devoted people in art centres and venues across various cities in to keep it alive.” - John Steinbeck India. It has now gained a global reach through Since the use of existing technology screenings at film festivals and partner to create the moving image aka films, venues in other parts of the world. Over Theatre has been waiting for doomsday. the next few years, the initiative hopes Ironically, we have now forayed into the to broadcast subtitled Indian plays to as ‘filming’ of plays. At first, something many places and people as possible, and that sounds like a paradox, and at screen plays from all across the globe second glance, offers lovely insight into with subtitles, in India. the experience generated from, and language of both.

Recently, Zee TV launched a vertical called “Zee Theatre” that will partner In 2009, The National Theatre in London, with renowned playwrights and theatre took a leaf out of New York’s Met Opera’s stalwarts to produce over 100 plays book and launched NT Live. They over the next three years. The initiative broadcast live performances of certain will make theatrical content available National Theatre productions across the on multiple platforms, including world. If you’re in the same time zone as online, on-air, on-ground and in-transit London, you watch these performances for audiences to consume at their at the very same time as people within convenience. the National Theatre. If not, that exact same show has been recorded and In all, while the intentions differ to shipped to a partner theatre, where you some degree, at their very base is the can watch it at another date and time. idea of expanding reach, and increasing But thanks to some pretty nifty and well audiences. Here, I’d like to draw a bit planned camera work, it is the recording of a parallel, with the Kindle. Between of a live show. the avid reader who might grudgingly It’s incredible. For Rs.500, you get to see purchase a Kindle but swears by the feel some pretty fabulous productions, and and smell of real pages, and those that 53

read simply to consume information, is a vast majority of the population, that might not have veered towards “offline books”, but are discovering, and enjoying the many advantages the Kindle offers.

NT Live and CinePlay will bring to your doorstep stories and performances from across the globe, and even within India, from places you’ve never been to and might not venture to. Zee Theatre will work with theatre folk to create multiplatform theatrical content. In the very act of its filming though one as a live performance, and the other as a play specially performed to be recorded - the perspective automatically changes from your eyes, to what the camera wants you to see.

It becomes different from film, because the medium of film is used to capture live performance. But what remains similar is that it is still the camera’s perspective and despite being as close as possible to a live performance, it isn’t. To hark back to the Kindle example, between the avid play watcher who will catch screenings to explore the medium, but know that it will never be a replacement, and the person who will never watch a play in her life, is a vast majority of the population that can now discover and watch plays from the comfort of their homes, a cinema close by, on their phones while traveling, or as in-flight entertainment.

Play screenings won’t dilute the audiences that are charmed by live performance, ‘we’ know it is irreplaceable. But it does have the potential to reach out to audiences as yet unfamiliar or uncomfortable with live performance, but drawn in 54

by other aspects of a play, that a film cannot touch upon. It is this intangible intersection of film and theatre that is most exciting about play screenings.

They can also facilitate accessibility and the discovering of stories and performances from cultures and languages different from one’s own.

What remains to be addressed, which to me is the most important aspect, is not asking if play screenings are the right way forward or not, but asking how technology, which by itself is

ethically neutral, can be used to treat all stakeholders, especially theatre makers, in a manner that is fair, just, and viable.

-Bhagirathi Raman Sparked at Thespo, Bhagi works with the arts, culture, and creative industries in whatever capacities she can.

16 years ago in a dusty classroom

of St. Xavier’s college a bunch of students fell in love with theatre and haven’t looked back since. The astounding thing is that most of that original gang are still working together, and more importantly still talking to each other.

Today QTP is a theatre and arts management company with projects as diverse as the individuals who work on them. Dedicated to creating unique theatre experiences for audiences, their work has encompassed staging numerous productions, managing tours of international shows, converting odd city spaces into performance venues, and numerous theatre initiatives designed to keep theatre at the forefront of the public’s consciousness.

They were instrumental in building internationally acclaimed shows like The Merchants of Bollywood, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Nirbhaya, all of which have toured extensively.

They pioneered the youth theatre movement Thespo which is now in its 17th edition, and culminates in a massive festival each December that celebrates the next generation

of theatre talent. They also manage Tata Literature Live! The

Mumbai International LitFest which is held annually at NCPA and Prithvi. Other long term initiatives have also been exceedingly successful whether it The River Runs Deep: Rhythm Divine II at Tata Literature Live!

56

All The Rage

by Martin Moran

is the monthly theatre e-zine The Script or informal reading group Great Texts, or the regular workshops that are held across the city.

The God of Carnage

Their productions have always tried to reflect the world we live in. Their recent productions include The God of Carnage, A Peasant of El Salvador, Project S.T.R.I.P., Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace, The President is Coming, and Nostalgia Brand Chewing Gum. In keeping with the promise of bringing interesting theatre to audiences, QTP have also orchestrated Indian tours of international shows. HeLa, Iceland, The Tricky Part, and All The Rage are just some examples of the that has toured recently.

Future plans include the building of a theatre centre just outside of Bombay, which will provide a haven for the theatre community to access the two things that the city denies them – time and space.

At present, QTP is helmed by Arghya Lahiri, Christopher Samuel, Nadir Khan, Toral Shah, Quasar Thakore Padamsee and Vivek Rao; along with scores of theatre enthusiasts who all believe in the credo

“We love that it’s live.”

57

Light it up!

Arghya Lahiri is one of the oldest Thespoans. He says there are only a three and a half light designers in the city and describes himself as the ‘half’.

But all those who have seen him work and have been a part of the various workshops conducted by him, agree that he’s a superstar when it comes to his work. Also an actor, director and a writer among other things, he is an iconic figure in the art of stage lighting.

What is the first play that you lit?

Were you also the lighting designer or just the operator? How did the opportunity come your way?

The first play I lit was Ava’s Bridge – for the Xavier’s Literature Festival, Ithaka, in 1998.

I’d already had a little experience with lighting. Growing up, I was lucky enough to go to a really great school in Kenya.

We had a strong ballet program and I was a spotlight operator at the age of 12.

The next year, I was the senior spotlight operator. We sat around while the show was being programmed [saved onto a 5 ¼ inch floppy disk in 1993!] and I started making a bunch of fairly infuriating suggestions. I don’t know how I’d have dealt with it if I’d been the designer.

Probably thrown my twelve year old self out of the room. But the director

[my headmistress and head of History, Mrs. Massie Blomfield] and the designer actually took some of those suggestions seriously.

As a consequence, the first play I actually lit was in 1993, at Cavina School, Nairobi, Kenya. A Form V [that’d be Standard 6], full-length production of A Sound of Music, run off a gigantic switchboard that had plugs, switches and regulators - homemade and the size of a sinking boat.

Who is your favourite lighting designer and why?

My favourite would have to be Dhanendra Kawade. He’s a designer and a director and a fine actor and you can see all of it. It’s a combination of rigour, and a wonderful sense of aesthetic and rhythm, an eye for detail and being able to work under the conditions we work under with grace and a sense of humour.

He deals in small miracles. And I believe that is the true currency for theatre in this country: Small miracles.

Was there a ‘moment’ that made you realise that you wanted to be a lighting designer?

Not really. I would’ve done anything to be in and around the theatre. I was just lucky that what I fell into married some nascent ability [mostly hand/eye

59

co-ordination and being finicky] with my interests [film, and wanting to be a director], and my insecurities [of needing to be wanted] with an always-available job [because no one wants it.]

The ‘moment’, if at all, would have to be a Thespo play, a neo-noir called My Funny Valentine in 2000. I barely saw a full rehearsal. But I was chasing a feeling and the director and the writers turned me loose. That was the first time I set out to get something very specific, an image I saw in my head, and got about a quarter of the way there.

What is your favourite light design of a play that you haven’t worked on? Why?

Paul Lim’s design for Nirbhaya. He cracked open the Tata, made me look at it in a way that I hadn’t before, made me look at it in a way that I hadn’t thought possible. It’s a magnificent, exquisitely detailed light plan. Serves the text and the actors, but also elevates and counterpoints the design. It was exhilarating to watch.

What has been the most challenging play to design for? Why so? How did you overcome the challenges?

None of them are easy. Even if they felt it, particularly with the rosy afterglow of hindsight. The problematic ones stick though. Both Tukra’s Dream [for Jaimini

60

Pathak] and Bombay Black [for Anahita Uberoi, co-designing with Pushan Kripalani] caused me no end of grief. I just wasn’t happy with them. I stopped worrying about the perfect show or the perfect design a long time ago – those are mythical beasts, they don’t exist. But there is a satisfaction in being presented a problem, wrestling with it and finding a workable solution. It’s the satisfaction of a fight, of walking away saying ‘I didn’t leave anything on the table’, of being physically tired but content. But those two took a long, long time, and not for any lack of trying. Again, I don’t know why. Tukra had no set and Bombay Black had a pretty imposing one, a modern kothi. There were sections that worked nicely, but they both felt inorganic, like ideas had been force-fitted onto form and wouldn’t quite sit right. You just keep tinkering, every single show. They finally got to acceptable places, I suppose. Tukra was very good at Ranga Shakara, and lighting it from wing to wing, from the sides [the ‘cuts’] seemed to really help because we could isolate different depths and it seemed to really help the dreamlike nature of the show. In direct contrast to the shows at Prithvi where, regardless of everything I tried, you could see quite a lot of the stage most of the time. And Bombay Black swung between fantasy and grim reality and we always got either/or right, very rarely both.

Describe the creative relationship you share with a director of a play when you’re designing for them.

They’re the boss. The final call’s theirs.

Which is fair. Because it’s their name on the playbill.

I’ve had a number of long-term relationships [almost everyone I’ve worked with once, I worked with again, if not severally]. Which is really what these are. You may not be best friends, but you’re

in a relationship. That means respect, and trust and communication. And latitude.

Sometimes you see work that’s not very good. But that could be work-inprogress. Or it could be opening night.

And sometimes your technical rehearsal is appalling and your lighting choices haven’t amounted to anything at all.

Listening is key. Give ideas a chance.

Don’t jump to any conclusions off the bat.

Apart from that, personalities, and the kinds of directors people are, will dictate your working relationships.

Some people are very hands-on, lots of discussion, arguments, colour choices, justification, diagrams and multiple cups of coffee. Other people will leave you be, but be very alert when you’re showing them ‘states’, or when you’re running a tech. And some people just let you do what you want.

I’ve had successes and disasters working with all kinds.

It’s my personal belief [and I cannot stress this enough; this is what I believe] that my first duty is to the text and then to the director. The order is easily interchangeable. But I think you’re the director’s first audience in the way he or she is the show’s first audience. And sometimes you need to fight them, bring them back to the text they might have lost sight of because of their proximity to it, or the amount of time they’ve spent on it.

Do you like to revisit your plans and change things once the show has opened? In that sense, is the light design of a show an evolving entity?

Yes, absolutely. If a performance evolves, then shouldn’t the light plan? Early on, it used to seem like a real pain. You also have to understand that lighting for the theatre, in the way we work in this

country, is an inefficient machine. You put in a lot of work – get in at ten in the morning for a show at nine that night.

And do it again and again and again. It can get wearying.

But I realised very quickly that it was a chance to get reps in. You’re still onstage at the Prithvi and it’s an opportunity to try out every little idea you have. It was the only way to get better. Try a slightly different angle. Try a different gel. Try another fixture. Defocus the profile. If I have to redo it, then I might as well redo

it properly.

If you actually watch the performances, then there are always things to improve.

Sometimes it’s the accidents that catch your eye: a light catching someone in an interesting way because the fixture’s slipped, or because they’re standing in the wrong place, or someone else is casting a shadow. Sometimes you know you have to punch in a light, and then you’re juggling your inventory and your rig.

- Saatvika Kantamneni and her mind palace is one large excel sheet.

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I have to write an article about TG What is TG? Too Good?

Theatre Group Whose theatre group?

Sultan Bobby Padamsee’s Oh yeah ‘Theatre Group, Bombay!’.

So say that na

You’ve heard of TG?

Of course. Didn’t they do a production of MacBeth in India during World War II? Sultan Padamsee did, yep.

Then in 1944, he was joined by Deryck Jeffereis, Jean Bhownagary and Adi Marzban TG - The Three Greats!

Ikr. But it wasn’t just them. There were legends like Pearl Padamsee, Gerson da Cunha, Vijay Crishna and Sabira Merchant They were TG- Too Good True that! Amazing theatre for five decades, man!

Such great English Productions...like Equus!

Candida Jesus Christ Superstar!

Don’t forget, plays by Indian writers... like Mahesh Dattani’s Tara Partap Sharma’s A Touch of Brightness Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq How do you know all of this?

Fyi, I’m a TG myself. A Theatre Geek.

Good one Must have been like theatre ka Golden Age 62

They also did a ‘Remembering Pearl’ festival sort of thing this year.

Oh yeah! Ronnie Screwvala did a reading Alyque Padamsee, Karla Singh performed too!

Look at you fangirling about the Theatre Group I’ll beat you at the fanmania any day You wish When was the Sultan Padamsee Award instituted?

1966.You tell me...Why was it instituted?

To promote playwriting. Name a few winners...

Gurucharan Das for Larins Saheb, Geive Patel for Princes Dina Mehta for The Myth Make Hasn’t Ram Ganesh Kamatham won it too?

Yep, for his play Ultimate Kurukshetra YOU KNOW EVERYTHING!!!!! :O I do I’m doing the article on TG for the Thespo bro I know these things like the back of my hand Thespo also came out of TG, didn’t it?

Thespo carries the torch handed down to it by the Theatre Group. So Thespo is like TG’s TG Torch Getter That’s not a thing. Don’t even try. But yeah Thespo continues to uphold TG’s mantra of delivering quality theatre.

‘T’hank ‘G’od for TG

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That

Sounds Great Music and theatre go a long way back in time. The modern age of technology and the growing impact of world music has opened up plenty of new avenues for sound designing in theatre. 23 year old Sid Vashi is an up-and-coming musician and sound designer who worked on Thespo’s Falls 2-11 last year. All prepped to perform at the NH7 WeeKenDer, Sid talks to Kalpak Bhave about music and the stage.

How do you decide between ambience sounds and background music?

The choice between the two is usually in context to the play. When the play is realistic, atmospheric sound works best. If the play is leaning more towards Absurdism, it encourages background music. Some realistic plays also use background music, but if you think about it background sounds exists in real life too. It could be as simple as somebody playing music in a car nearby.

Do you think using music to underline an action enhances the performance?

Background music always has the risk of sounding cheesy. For example, there is fine line between proper coordinated action and something that unintentionally looks like a pantomime.

When you are working on a comedy play or an actual pantomime, you can experiment with background sound. These are all aesthetic choices.

Sometimes music can be used to underline the disconnect between the reality and the representation.

Tell us about your experience on Falls 2-11 since it was an IndoBritish collaboration?

Falls 2-11 was a devised play. It had a girl sitting on top of building, so we used stuff like wind sounds. I used Indian samples in some places. There wasn’t much difference because Music is universal.

How do you create sound in a basic home studio set-up?

I have been working on a home studio set-up since I was fourteen. In fact, the first time I entered a studio was two months ago. I guess a basic monitor is all that you need. I use certain softwares and plugins. Personally, I like using this software called ‘LOGIC’ for composing.

For live music and live triggering, I think ‘Ableton’ is the best option. When I worked for Falls 2-11, I used Rootstation which is a hardware. I still prefer hardware over software, I haven’t gotten around to trusting technology so much yet. I use online samples a lot when I use ambiance sounds. I have a personal sound bank of 10 GB, all created and compiled by myself. I prefer instrumental music over synthetic, I think it sounds more natural.

Which direction is the field of sound designing and lighting going?

I saw a staging of the play ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ in Mumbai last year and it made some wonderful use of sound.

We are developing more touch based instruments. There is also more widespread use of surround sound now which actually puts your audience in the atmosphere you want them to be in. There is a great deal of inventions happening in both sound designing and music right now and that excites me.

Kalpak Bhave 65

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An artwork of ‘Binkamache Samvad’

Dharmakirti Sumant has a point of view and he is not afraid to say it. In the short while that I talk to him on phone, he has spoken about how language these days has turned into garbage, how he believes the meaning of the word depression has changed because of its overuse, about concepts like representational politics, post-structuralism and alternate realities. The expanse of his knowledge is certainly vast. Having grown up with a Political Science genius for a father and a mother who works for the lower strata of the society, Dharmakirti has learned to form an opinion and express it.

For the uninitiated, Dharmakirti Sumant is one of the most prolific young writers in the industry today. Writing mainly in Marathi with an occasional blend of Hindi and English, he has already gotten stupendous recognition on Indian and International platforms at a very young age. With a Sahitya Akademi Youth Award to his credit and his popular play Geli 21 Varsha getting showcased at an Italian Theatre Festival, he has already made a place for himself on the theatre scene. Awards however don’t mean much to Dharmakirti. ‘I didn’t think much of it when I received the award’, he tells me ‘So I don’t think it is important enough for me to return it in protest.

Also, I don’t think I am important enough to return an award. It will just look like a stunt.’

a writer makes a point

Dharmakirti has a stand against the right-wing politics in India and his latest offering Binkamache Samvad (loosely translated as ‘Useless Conversations’) clearly manifests it. The play was launched about a year ago, much before the nationwide chaos and the debate on intolerance happened. Dharmakirti has found like-minded individuals who believe in him and his point of view in Natak Company, a young theatre group from Pune and a Thespo regular. But given that we are living in sensitive and reactive times, isn’t it risky to have your productions display such an upfront opinion? ‘There’s certainly a lot of pressure, a lot of tension.’

Natak Company co-founder Nipun Dharmadhikari tells me ‘But I am sure that if a testing situation were to arrive, the group would stand by Dharmakirti.’

It is unnecessary to point out, that Dharmakirti’s point of view and his way of expressing it doesn’t come without extensive reading. Dharmakirti tells me that he didn’t read much all through school and only started in college. His childhood friend and director Alok Rajwade has a different story. ‘His house is full of books, it has always been. He has always been very well-informed.

All through school, he would be our primary source on topics ranging from world issues to sex-education.’ laughs Alok ‘If he says he doesn’t read much, 67

he definitely has the power to grasp and educate himself. He is also a good listener, he can listen to other people for hours.’

listen. And that he does, is probably why his writing has been so widely read and enacted already.

‘Don’t simplify it.’ he says. ‘The minute you try to simplify it, you digress from His plays have garnered very extreme what you actually mean. A simpler reactions. If some of his audience sentence could have a lot of variant absolutely loves his writing, another interpretations. Instead say it exactly like group of viewers completely rejects it. you want to, make it neither simpler nor With an abstract way of making points, more complex.’ a strong impact of absurdism, there has often been a complaint from the viewers For somebody with a strong standpoint, of not having understood the play completely. ‘I think that if you talk about does it reflect in his personality?

Apparently not at what you haven’t all. ‘He is sensitive, understood, you have poignant. He is already understood stubborn when it it.’ Dharmakirti states. comes to his writing; He tells me about his as a person, he is friend’s father who understanding and said he did not like very caring.’ says Alok and found a play of his Rajwade. hard to understand Nipun Dharmadhikari and then spent about agrees to this. ‘He is an hour discussing an emotional person, what he didn’t get. ‘He he feels a lot for other basically said what we people.’ Nipun also were trying to say. If has a different take we are aware of what though. ‘His humour is we don’t know, we are extremely dark, he can aware of its existence. find pressure in the If we submit to most light situations.’ the knowledge of Discussing Natak Nako ‘Toh veda aahe’ he its being, we have understood it.’ He further adds ‘like post- says and his madness is his forte. Alok structuralism’ and his explanation leaves Rajwade perfectly sums it up. ‘People often ask, why is he so frustrated? But me awestruck. the rage that emerges from his writing, ‘There’s a sequence in Binkamache is actually a part of his journey towards Samvad which people found repetitive and got bored. But isn’t boredom also an an escalated sense of empathy.’ experience? It is basically the absence of ecstasy and I wanted to give people that By the end of my conversation with Dharmakirti Sumant I find myself experience.’ wondering if this is the same guy who started with ‘Language has turned into Dharmakirti is a huge fan of Rap Battles garbage.’ But one thing I know for sure. and the influence of it can easily be With writers like him around language, seen in his play, Natak Nako. When writing and the art of expressing is talking about democracy he says, ‘A definitely here to stay and grow. pro-education leader still isn’t a good choice if he is homophobic.’ As I smile at what he’s trying to convey, I ask him how -Kalpak Bhave he manages to make people sit up and 68

Of Productions and Prompt Books

Karl Aphonso has been a festival director at Thespo 2001. With a degree in Theatre Arts, Karl currently works as a Stage Manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in USA. As he takes us on a tour into his world, Namrata Iyer takes notes.

Do you have an essentials kit for your rehearsals? If yes, what does it consist of?

I haven’t had a proper kit for a while but things I always have on me (or have access to) include but are not limited to: pens, pencils, sharpies, adhesive tabs, binder rings, glow, spike & gaff tape, measuring tape, scale ruler, post-it notes, ibuprofen, multi-tool, flashlight, extra batteries, first aid supplies, SM blocking template, 3-hole punch and stapler. I’m sure there are more but that’s all I can remember at this time.

What is the education you require in order to become a Stage Manager?

I went to the US to do an MFA in theatre arts (with emphasis in Stage Management), which gave me the opportunity to continue to hone my craft while also opening me up to a host of new experiences. It was an incredible opportunity but certainly not a prerequisite for becoming a stage 70

manager. I truly feel that there’s no substitute for actually working in the theatre. Much of what I learned was from working with other professionals and I would not be the stage manager and person I am today without those experiences.

Personally, what was your best show to stage manage? Why? I don’t think I can point to a favorite show. Each production is its own experience and journey so what I take away is always different too. It’s also what I love about the theatre – it’s never the same.

The prompt book is your bible.

How do you organise it?

As immaculately as possible - although that’s sometimes easier said than done.

I have a large 3-ring binder in which I put my script and blocking pages. The binder will also hold all documents and notes pertaining to the show so it can be easily referenced as needed. It will usually include a copy of every rehearsal reports I send out and include any information pertaining to scenery, props, costumes, lights, sound, video, automation, etc.

It can also get pretty bulky, especially when the play is a new work.

Is a musical tougher to manage than a regular play? How? What are the added responsibilities?

Yes and no. Generally speaking, musicals do present a bigger and more challenging puzzle but I’ve done musicals that were relatively easy to put up compared to other new plays.

In terms of added SM responsibilities, one of the biggest is being able to read or at least understand music. As a stage manager, being able to understand tempo and pace is very important especially when you’re trying to give an acting or musicrelated note. Musicals can also be heavy on scenery, props, have many costume changes and involve choreography.

There may be more mics involved and more responsibilities for the sound board operator too. Everything’s just a bit larger.

As an ASM, I will also create a prop list and information regarding costumes, weapons (if needed), blood (if needed) and any special effects or other needs that might be mentioned. I extract information that is mentioned directly in the script and make notes regarding items that I need clarification about.

I will then address any questions with my director, designers or production team as necessary. Looking at the play from both perspectives helps with understanding the project in its entirety.

“As a stage manager,

being able to understand tempo and pace is very important especially when you’re trying to give an acting or music-related note. ”

Namrata Iyer is a 16 year old student with a passion for drama, photography, fashion and learning.

What do you like the best about your job?

It’s never boring! That being said, experiencing someone be moved by a play I’m working on is very gratifying.

Also, every now-and-then you have a show where you have the audience eating out of your hand which is a really awesome feeling.

How do you approach the script when you read it for the first time?

When I get a script I am about to work on, I start by reading the play. My next step is to re-read it and analyze it. During this process I will create a scene breakdown, which helps identify locations and actor entrances and exits.

71

n

a B k a t a a N # The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.

-Tommy Smothers In the last few months, censorship is an issue that has been tossed into public debates repeatedly. The notorious AIB Knockout faced police complaints and the accusation of not getting the script

for their public stage act censored by authority. While censorship in films remains somewhat a fluctuating barrier, the issue has now also started affecting theatrical performances. Agnes of God, directed by Kaizad Kotwal has faced the danger of being banned after complaints from the Christian community. But is the act of censorship in theatrical performances really that new? Not really.

Censorship goes way back, right to the Colonial times! Dramatics were often used to speak out against the oppression of the colonial ruler. This is when The British Raj introduced The Dramatics

Performances Act, a tool for censorship to keep a check on the thus exercised freedom of expression. For example, Krushnaji Khadilkar wrote a Marathi play in 1907 called KichakVadh. The play narrates a story from the Mahabharata, that of the damsel Draupadi who is being harassed by the tyrant Kichaka. The play also displays the conflict between Draupadi’s two husbandsYudhishthira, who chooses to react to the situation calmly and Bheema who assassinates Kichaka in vengeance.

The representations in the play are clear. Draupadi stands for an India in distress, Kichaka is the despotic oppressor. Yudhishthira takes the despicable Moderate stand while the Hero of the play is an extremist in action. The Queen’s government didn’t take long to see through the play and it was soon banned.

National Theatre’s Nil Darpan by Dinbandhu Mitra met with the same fate.

The play, which was a scathing exposure on the oppression of Indigo farmers soon faced the wrath of the rulers and the shows had to be stopped. There are also accounts of the police storming in at a performance of the play Sati Ki Kalankini at Great National Theatre in Bengal in 1876. They arrested the director Upendra Nath Das and 9 other on the charges of immorality. The charges however, were for a completely different play, an earlier one by the same group and not even for the one that was being performed!

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The story doesn’t change much post independance either. In 1953, a Malayalam play called Ningalenne Communistakki (The name directly translates to ‘You made me a Communist’) was banned in the state of Kerala under the accusation that the play directly provoked people to revolt against the government. But this didn’t hamper the determination of the actors.

They went on the perform the play post the ban which resulted in immediate arrest. The irony is, that all of them were released after pressure from the Communist Party!

In the western part of the nation, playwright Vijay Tendulkar has come under the scanner for plenty of his plays. Tendulkar’s play Gidhade which showcased a morally corrupt family and explored the theme of violence faced severe backlash in the state of Maharashtra. Two of his most controversial and most popular plays have withstood bans in the state as well. These plays are: Sakharam Binder which makes strong and unorthodox statements against the institution of marriage and morality and Ghashiram Kotwal which was accused of misrepresenting the Brahmin Community. The censor board asked for some 35 cuts in Sakharam Binder which Tendulkar famously refused to do, stating that all the cuts wouldn’t let Sakharam Binder remain Sakharam Binder!

Maharashtra’s tryst with the banning of plays doesn’t end with Tendulkar. In 1997, Pradip Dalvi’s Mi Nathuram Godse Boltoy was banned by the government.

The play was a dramatized narration of the live events of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin and was described as something 74

‘trying to create martyrs out of the murderers’. However after a trial in the court, the play reopened in 2001 and this time with police protection. In a more recent example, the Indian adaptation of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues which has run successfully all over the country was banned in Chennai in 2004.

Here’s the funny part of the story. The

Dramatics Performance Act constructed 140 years ago, which provides for the banning for plays, has still not been repealed!

With more than a century of strict censorship behind us, there is one thing that we can be sure of though.

Regardless of the hurdles, Theatre has managed to grow bolder, more honest and more expressive day by day.

-Kalpak Bhave was once called a Thespo Enthu Cutlet and has sworn to never grow out of that description.