Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
From street to screen
|
Despite lack of patronage, street theatre still has a lot of following in the State, theatre artiste Pralayan tells M. ALLIRAJAN
|
You have to select an appropriate place, go there well in advance and plan things
THOSE WHO watched the film Anbe Sivam could not have possibly missed this group.
The song sequence based on street theatre was a `testing ground' for members of the Chennai Kalai Kuzhu, and it earned recognition (that was hard to come by in theatre) for its director and playwright Pralayan.
"The song was in story format and Kamal Hassan insisted that we do the entire sequence.
So, we composed a street play. It jelled well with the film," he says.
Pralayan, who was in the city to inaugurate the `theatre club' of the Department of Visual Communication of Dr. G.R. Damodaran College of Science, spoke about the evolution of street theatre to students.
The artiste, who also penned some lyrics for the film says it provided "a big exposure for their activities."
"In street theatre, you have to attract the attention of people through your performance. You will have to reach out to them. The biggest advantage is that you don't have to depend on anything. It is a democratic medium where you get space to espouse your ideas, " he says.
How a street play works
An artiste does more than just acting. "The setting is very different. You have to select an appropriate place, go there well in advance and plan things," he states. Firstly a group member beats drums. Then, the team gauges the crowd response before starting the play. "It is conscious intervention. But, you have to take into account the space and time elements as well."
Does the group face any problems in selecting locations and what is their audience? "Location is not a problem. And, our audience mostly comprises casual onlookers. The challenge lies in keeping them interested till the end."
On an average, a street play lasts about 30 minutes and the kuzhu stages three plays in a place.
"We have been running the troupe for the past 20 years. We stage plays twice a week (during weekends) in the city and have more than 15 regular members, mostly working persons."
Why is street theatre not popular with wannabe artistes?
"It takes a lot of time for artistes to come to the limelight. Moreover, street theatre is professionally not well developed and it is very difficult to come to terms with the medium. Many get frustrated and quit soon. They have to be motivated enough," he observes.
Pralayan, who has also translated Safdar Hashmi's Halla Bol in Tamil (Urakka pesu), feels s"Tamil drama is no longer Chennai-centric."
Growing popularity
"A lot of activity is happening in the districts, especially in the South. There are more than 300 registered theatre groups. In every village, dramas are staged during festivals. Though the themes are still epic-based, even the latest issues are discussed. So, you have Sage Naradha talking about politics, sports and a whole lot of other things."
"Unfortunately, they do not come into the picture at all. This is primarily because we have become city-centric. In Kerala, there is space for both professional and amateur theatre. They even have solo performances. "
"Every medium has got potential. You have to understand it properly to use it effectively," he states.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
