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Stage entrepreneurs
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`The Magic If Creations' is Hyderabad's first theatre company launched by an enthusiastic group, writes SUMANASPATI
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To grasp the full significance of life is the actor's duty, to interpret it is his problem, and to express it his dedication
- Marlon Brando
HUDDLED IN the central courtyard of the Parsi High School in the busy Parklane, they are busy rehearsing every evening a play that tells the story of mathematics. It's called The Crest of the Peacock. And with this sure entertainer - "that will appeal to anyone remotely interested in mathematics" - they intend not only to storm the educational institutions in the twin cities, but also kick-start a revival of theatre.
The actors are all a cheery lot. "Without any false humility I can tell you I am brilliant at mathematics," declares Anjali Parvati Koda, selected this year's Miss Fresher's at St. Francis College. "But one day while on the sets with my father (Mohan Koda) when he was shooting the film Yellamma, I felt this is life - making films, doing theatre. I love the academics, but this I guess is like marriage. You can't escape it!"
Sixteen-year old Tameem ("meaning perfect, complete man") is the baby ("please, don't call me that") of the group. This wiry fan of Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai has a single aim in life: "Star hee banna hai, sir!" Talib Hussain, who plays the role of Serious Prompter and partners with Anjali and Tameem in the play, freaks out on Kamal Hasan and Amitabh Bachchan. "I was very happy when they selected me, because I have no previous experience although I have always dreamt of becoming an actor," says this well-built 19-year old shy guy.
A little senior than this trio are Archana Soni (doing her post-graduation in child psychology, and hit by the acting bug from agefive), Anchan Kumar Pillai (a cricketer who finds theatre and emoting a refreshingly contrasting experience) and Nrupendranath Roy (with Fardeen-like looks who wants to make it big in Mumbai). They form the second castfor the play.
Talking to them, it's difficult to imagine that the directors and producer of the play had a tough time finding actors. Joly, the gregarious and corpulent artistic director, comes out in his amiably sardonic form: "For more than a month, in March and April, we were only searching for actors. And we found that there were no people, or we were meeting the same set of people. But then we said we were wrong, it can't be this. There were lot of people, lot of people like these." He waves his hand as if indicating the assembly, and the whole group bursts out in merriment.
Ratna Shekar Reddy, his lanky pal intervenes: "We realised (that)after we put an ad in the newspaper and people started responding. Starting from children in their IV standard to 60 year olds."
Joly Puthuserry, Ratna, Rama Rao Peddi and Suresh Samala are the gutsy guys who have just launched a theatre company in Hyderabad. A `company', mark it, not a theatre group with a gloriously odd sounding name, `The Magic If Creations'.
Go back to Stanislavsky to understand what it means. The magic of theatre, according to this venerable theorist, happens when an actor asks himself the question "What if?" That is, when the actor imagines for himself that the character and the situation are real and portrays it as such, it becomes equally real to the spectator too. The four young men - they all did theatre studies from the University of Hyderabad - have also been running, since 1999, and against great odds, Yavanika, a `group' and forum for alternate theatre in Andhra Pradesh.
Yavanika has done two highly successful National Theatre Festivals in 2000 and 2002, couple of theatre workshops and has been bringing out a theatre journal in Telugu. "We may find a sponsor, or the school or college where we perform might pay us part of our expenses. But we also expect that each student pays a nominal amount to see it."
The promising young actors they discovered through the auditions has given them cause for hope. Eighteen out of 170 applicants were chosen followed by a two-week long orientation session."We plan to do such auditions, training and productions at least for the next five years so that a core group of 10 to 15 young people emerge.And maybe they'll do good work on their own once they are into this for two or three years," says Ratna cautiously. "That's the idea. First create more people working in theatre, and (for) theatre. New people doing theatre and getting new audiences!"
The company has roped in Dr. Bhaskaer Shewalker, well-known theatre practitioner and academician to direct the play. This is a re-run for him, for it was he who produced the play for the first time in 2000 with his students (Ratna was one of the actors) at University of Hyderabad to coincide with an international seminar on mathematics.
The reception to the three shows of this innovative educational play (it has lots of slides) at that time makes Dr. Shewalker feel it would be tremendously popular this time too. "I think it's a very good example of Theatre in Education. It's interactive, has music, dance andhumour. We also use some 80 slides. And we have designed the play in such a way that the actors have a lot of opportunity to improvise. Moreover now, we have two sets of very good actors to do any number of shows that schools and colleges may ask us to do."
"But no more of `free' business," butts in Joly, "It's alright that we have got used to working in theatre without payment, but I don't want this new generation to go out and say - `that bugger never paid me!'. We must pay the actors and the assistants something, and we will not compromise on that." Beginning of an entrepreneurial spirit in theatre? And professionalism and quality. But now, look out for the dates!
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