At first glance, Arundhati Chattopdhyay’s
theatre workshop may seem a flurry of chaotic activity. But there is a method
to this madness. ‘It is,” as Arundhati enthuses, “giving students absolute
freedom to let go of their structured inhibitions and get as creative and as
experimental as possible. It’s a different kind of theatre which goes beyond
mere recitation of lines. It focuses on being in the element and living the
situation. I want to give teenagers a platform to be creative and no matter
where they are or what they do, they will have taken away something very
positive from this workshop.”
Her forthcoming play ‘Kuthe Gele Swach
Pani’, with the underprivileged Karmali kids, is a spinoff from one such
experiment. “Visualising the destruction to her water source, one student,
Diksha, drew a picture of a river winding through its polluted environment. We
then developed this into a story in Marathi and later a stage play,” explains
Arundhati who has culled her experiences from her time in New York, especially
teaching underprivileged kids through the Lincoln Centre. Applying the same
teaching principles and precepts, she has been exhorting children to think out
of the box. “The kids have reached a stage where they are now taking the
initiative,” reveals Arundhati who has developed a curriculum along the lines
of the workshops she has conducted in Mumbai with actors and theatre
personalities.
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Her workshop, which took off three years
ago under the aegis of Sunaparanta’s ‘In Stages – Theatre Company for young
adults’ , has seen the same kids returning. “This is so important. There is an
incredible understanding with the core group,” says Arundhati while
acknowledging the immense contribution of the various facilitators who are
called on board.
One facilitator has been none other than
her sister, renowned theatre personality, film producer, director, script
writer and actor Chitra Palekar. The focus of her two-day session will be
‘blocking and rules of composition’. “It’s important that they learn the
traditional method, so as to enable them to experiment,” says this theatre
personality who was at the heart of the theatre renaissance movement in the
late ‘60s/’70s and whose love for theatre has remained undiminished despite her
detour into films.
Harvesting her rich inventory of theatre
experience in workshops such as this, she encourages the younger generation to
get more experimental and acquaint themselves with the richness of Indian
theatre.
Endorsing the fact that these children had
no knowledge about Indian theatre initially, Arundhati’s efforts in
familiarising the children have paid dividends. “Today they are conversant with
Indian theatre. They have also grown to understand and like different genres of
film and theatre,” avers Arundhati.
Investing their collective creative
energies into theatre, Chitra and Arundhati are hoping to leave an indelible
mark on theatre in Goa.
(In Stages – Theatre Company for young
adults will be held at Sunaparanta – Goa Centre for the Arts, Altinho from June
27, 2015 onwards).
