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Ode to Shakespeare
THE STAGE is their world. It is also their platform to reach out to people. Started in 1994, Thespian-en, a group of die-hard theatre enthusiasts, has played an active role in promoting theatre in the city. The artistes took the stage for the first time with a performance of Frederich Duren Matt's "Visit". It was followed by Camus' work "Caligula" and then by Sartre's "Kean". However, it was with "Caligula" that Thespian truly arrived on the Chennai theatre scene.
Public shows apart, Thespian also believes in widening its ambit and drawing in more actors, be they young or old, into its fold. This it does through word of mouth or by visiting colleges or other happening places in the city. And from 2001 it has been organising a series of rehearsed performances for budding talent. It has put up as many as 11 such shows with newcomers comprising the cast. Thespian's founder Ajit Chitturi says, "It's amazing to see the interest we have generated in theatre over the past nine years. We had 35 new faces in the group last year and the number is growing. Just as Mumbai and Delhi have their culture clubs and drama societies, we too would like to carve a niche for ourselves as Chennai's very own theatre club."
Besides enacting plays with props, sets and costumes et al, what keeps us going are the play-reading sessions we organise on a smaller scale in the homes of well-known theatre personalities such as Chetan Shah or at venues like Amethyst or the Ashvita Art Gallery.
"I was overwhelmed with the appreciation we received for the readings from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", the first of a 12-part series titled "An Ode to the Great Bard - 1", which was held at Ashvita sometime in September.
Part 2 of the series will feature excerpts from "Romeo and Juliet". The venue is again Ashvita. The participants include Rohit Prasad, Smitha, Varun Acharya, Rishi, Geo Joseph, Lakshmi Jayaraman, Giridhar, Meenakshi P.R., and, of course, Ajit himself.
So, come November 29, 7 p.m. Chennai's theatre-loving crowd can look forward to a fascinating evening when one of the Bard's best-loved works will be presented by a young and talented team.
Thespian-en also works with children and is organising a Christmas show in December involving differently abled children at the Young Women's Christian Association.
M.M.
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