Rebirth in print
BIBHUTI MISHRA
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A reputed theatre journal is poised to make a comeback.
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Sudeshna Banerjee from Kolkata who has a background in editing, theatre archiving, music and cinema is going to edit the revamped STQ (Seagull Theatre Quarterly).
In the course of its involvement with the world of theatre, Seagull grew to realise that there appeared to be a crying need within the field for a national-level theatre journal that would fulfil a networking and developmental function, linking up theatre workers through the country who are not part of the commercial mainstream on which the media tends to focus almost exclusively; providing access to significant happenings; allowing information, ideas and experiences to travel freely in performance circles; and bringing theatre workers and audiences serious critique, theoretical analysis, responsible, informed reviewing and information dissemination. STQ grew out of the recognition of this need.
It was born in 1994 and ran for 9 years till it downed its shutters in 2003.
But now it is making a comeback. In a tête-à-tête, its editor Sudeshna Banerjee reveals all. Excerpts from the interview:
When is the STQ hitting the stands?
Hopefully in September this year. STQ approached theatre and performance as a social phenomenon, which is rooted in and grows out of specific cultural and historical contexts. In keeping with this, STQ placed a strong emphasis on generating original material and in retrieving and preserving oral histories of workers and performers, of indigenous performing traditions as well as `modern' theatre, through in-depth first-person accounts. All that will be retained in the revived journal now.
Why did it close down in 2003 and how are you going to make it viable now?
STQ is a non-profit venture, but it has to support itself. At its peak the subscriber base was around 700. What we are planning to do today is widen that base and make the magazine support itself. It will go to retail outlets too and we are planning to evolve a scheme whereby it covers the entire country and English reading theatre enthusiasts could access it. We have a dwindling fund from the IFA for 5 years.
Will it continue its emphasis on process documentation and interviews?
Oh yes. This issue would also have profiles of departed theatre persons. Some people had said that STQ was much too academic. So while retaining the essence we are bringing in certain sections like regional round-up, forum for debate with a central focus on themes, developments or areas. The areas of concern would continue to be archival documentation, critical analyses, cross genre experimentation, dialogue and discussion, networking, theatre activism, theatre for change, traditional performance forms, voices from the margins, women and theatre et al.
Who are the persons associated with the editorial?
There is an all-India editorial board comprising Sudhanva Deshpande (Delhi), Ramu Ramanathan (Mumbai), Sadanand Menon (Chennai), Akshara K.V. (Heggodu, Karnataka) and Sameera Iyengar (Mumbai). Anjum Katyal and Naveen Kishore from Kolkata are also there besides me.
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