Tiatr scriptwriting is Augie’s forte. And timely
assistance from noted directors and lyricists from his own village help make
his productions a success. Britona-based Augie D’Mello was born on February 14,
1968. His grandfather, late Jose Antonio D’Mello was a good violinist and
worked upon the notations (solfam) for tiatrs held in the village. “The annual
feast of Our Lady of Penha de Franca is celebrated on December 27,” revealed
Augie, “but, as the landlady, Dona Azavedo donated her property in Britona and
constructed the church dedicated to Our Lady of Penha de Franca,” he continued,
“in her memory and to commemorate her birthday, tiatrs are staged on December
28 annually.” “To mark the festive occasion,” Augie said, “the
elderly would pen tiatrs and stage them on December 28. And my grandfather
would always assist them with the notations for the tiatr.”
After the village youth picked up the task of
penning and staging tiatrs on December 28, Augie got involved. In 1991, he
penned his first tiatr ‘Oxem Kiteak Ghoddlem?’ which was staged on December 28
in his village.
Augie’s next tiatr ‘Vagonni’ came to light in
1993, followed by ‘Sombond’ in 1995, ‘Vot’ in 1997, and ‘Nib’ in 1998. “All
these productions were staged in the village to celebrate the feast of the
village patroness,” he stated, “and all artistes were picked up from the
village.” In 2003, the Britona’s Dramatic Group came into existence and under
the same banner, Augie presented his tiatr ‘Ordhem Chador’ at the annual Kala
Academy’s tiatr competition.
The same tiatr was later reproduced into a film
and presented at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2005. “After
being nominated for 5 categories, namely best dialogues, best child artiste,
best background music, best supporting cast and best story, it received three
awards,” he revealed.
Under the banner of ‘Britona Dramatic Academy’,
participation in the Kala Academy’s annual tiatr competition continued with
Augie’s productions ‘Chudet’ (2007), ‘Pisuddnaka’ (2008) (first prize), ‘Hixeob’
(2009), ‘Nurse’ (2010), ‘Udorgot’ (2011). In 2012, Augie’s tiatr ‘Ason Koslo
Faido’ bagged the second prize at the said competition.
In 2016, when Kala Academy decided to have two
groups for the competition, Augie participated in both, with the presentation
of ‘Freedom’ in ‘A’ group and ‘Amchem Aikat’ in ‘B’ group, which bagged the
third prize.
Apart from seeking expertise from noted and
experienced directors, Augie also wishes to give due credit to his fellow
villagers, namely Peter Camilo, Jacinto Fernandes, Mathew Fernandes Joe Luis
D’Souza, who continue extending their helping hand in penning songs for his
tiatrs and making his productions a big success. “All along the path,” he
proudly says, “my village brethren have been a guiding force to me and they
continue with timely help as and when required.”
While regards to the choice of directors, Augie
is particular as he mostly prefers those from the theatre. “All the
artistes are from my village since I believe in promoting local talent,” he
states, “and in order to groom and mould them into fine and polished artistes
on stage, experts in the theatrical field are preferable.”
With regards to subjects touched upon while
scripting tiatrs, Augie says they are unique and enjoy giving the audience and
his fans something different and a strong message to carry home. When
mentioning about uniqueness, he notes that his tiatr ‘Ason Koslo Faido’ focused
on organ donation, while ‘Panvlam’ was more about guiding the youth, who tend
to lose track in life, tiatr ‘Mohem’ was all about the medical profession, with
prime focus on seeking a first and second opinion from doctors in their
respective fields and tiatr ‘Freedom’ was more about guardians’ dormant
attitude towards their children.
Augie also has a CD ‘Maimdes Goa’ to his credit,
with all compositions from four different lyricists from his village. “Their
contribution in the form of lyrics and music came a long way for its success,”
he admits.
In 2017, Augie was invited to be part of the
tiatr advisory committee of Kala Academy. “It is always good to be associated
with various cultural organizations as it helps to gain knowledge and grow in
the field of tiatr,” he mentions.
With regards to the decision taken by the Kala
Academy in organizing its annual tiatr competition in two groups, Augie favors
it as he believes that those now competing in the ‘B’ group equally have a
chance to participate and win prizes, which was a distant dream earlier. “It
also helps the director to strive hard in putting up a good show and by winning
a prize, hop in the ‘A’ group for better performance in the following year,” he
added.
When coming out with new production for the KA’s
annual tiatr competition, Augie’s spouse, Pedrina Gracias is also part of his
troupe in acting and singing. He plans to continue with his tiatr scriptwriting
and presentation as it helps for the healthy growth of tiatr and his
co-artistes as well.
