Dolcy D’Cruz
The saying ‘No man can live as an island’ highlights the truth that people rely on each other for knowledge, support, and care, whether through family, friends, community, or society. Just as an island cannot exist in isolation, no individual can truly thrive alone. This idea of human connection and mutual support was beautifully brought to life on stage at the recently concluded 13th Children’s Tiatr Competition, organised by the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG), in the tiatr ‘Ek Zunvo’, which literally translates to ‘An Island’. The tiatr, written, directed, and presented by Raia-based Marcos Gonsalves, emerged as the winner of this year’s competition, showcasing the depth of storytelling and artistic skill that young audiences and performers alike could appreciate. For nearly two decades, Marcos has been writing one-act plays and participating in competitions across Goa. A versatile writer, dramatist, and journalist, he is fluent in Konkani, both in Devanagari and Roman scripts, as well as in Marathi and English. Over the years, Marcos has published several books and articles, covering poetry, short stories, one-act plays, biographies, research papers, and award-winning tiatrs. His contributions to Goan literature and theatre have been widely recognised. Marcos recently co-edited ‘Tiatr Machi’, the first research journal entirely dedicated to tiatr, published by TAG. This year, the 13th Children’s Tiatr Competition was held in collaboration with Ravindra Bhavan, Vasco, from January 20 to February 9. Eight children’s tiatr troupes participated, and ‘Ek Zunvo’ secured the first place. The second place went to ‘Guneanvachi Saulli’, written by Austin Socorro Rodrigues, directed by Alisha Marie Menezes, and presented by The Rosary High School, Cujira, Bambolim. The third place was awarded to ‘Mono Avaz’, written, directed, and performed by Sharon Mazarello. Marcos’ dedication has yielded remarkable results as for the last five years, he has consecutively won first prize in the Children’s Tiatr Competition. ‘Ek Zunvo’ is notable for winning 21 awards in a single competition, a first in the children’s category. Marcos’ tiatrs are known for highlighting social issues and environmental awareness especially related to children. ‘Ek Zunvo’, which won 21 awards in this year’s competition, focused on the theme of the inner soul and the dangers of isolation. Marcos explains, “The idea was about a tiatr based on the inner soul. Many people live their lives like an island, but there are difficult times too. The story is based on a girl who is suffering from a rare skin disease which is incurable. She is very close to her father, and suddenly he passes away in an accident. She struggles with depression and even attempts suicide. The inner soul guides her, and I have used the medium of the television. The same character of the girl is seen on TV and she communicates in real time with the girl. The main character is talking from the TV. We used a technique to bring this video to life. The TV character guides her till the end and teaches her that one doesn’t have to live life like an island but to see the wide opportunities in life. Today, children are facing different pressures from exams, from parents, and they are busy with their activities. The new generation is living like an island.” Marcos also spoke about the challenges of working with young actors, “It was challenging to explain the concept to the children because of their age, but once they understood the story, things became much easier. I spent two months rehearsing with them, taking a short break for their exams, otherwise I would have continued without pause. The rehearsals involved extensive practice in blocking, direction, and stage movements. I was already familiar with acting techniques and the use of props, but this tiatr included a first-floor set and a lot of complex movements. There were four main characters and a total of six acting roles. This time, a girl played the lead role, while all other actors remained the same except for the comedy parts. The singers were different due to age considerations. At the request of the participating groups to TAG, the age limit was raised to 17 years, as finding child actors had become increasingly difficult. Both lead actors who won first prize are in Class 9. The youngest actor in the tiatr is a comedian, Klea, in Class 6. Another notable performer was a male comedian, a particularly powerful actor who delivered an outstanding performance and won a prize for his role.” Despite the creativity and effort displayed in children’s tiatrs, Marcos points out that audience engagement is a persistent challenge. “When it comes to Children’s tiatr, the audience hesitates to come and see the performances. Besides Kala Academy, there are many competitions held at the college level, but they don’t give the desired response, especially in South Goa. One gets to see interesting stories and experiments on stage in competition tiatrs compared to commercial tiatrs. Many directors bring novel concepts when staging competition-level performances. The audience should support the younger generation, they have a different creativity. The new generation will bring new concepts to the stage, but there is a smaller audience to appreciate it. These tiatrs should be promoted as they address children-related issues and can reach a wider audience,” concludes Marcos.
