No space for stage

In 1994 when a commemorative stamp was issued on Indian People Theatre Associations completion of 50 years the late former state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was saddened to learn that IPTA Mumbai had no rehearsal space of its own We were promised we would soon be allotted a dedicated venue This year the institution completed 75 years but we are still waiting to call a space our own shares veteran actor and IPTA vice president Aanjjan Srivastav If this is the state of a theatre association with such a rich legacy you can imagine what smaller production houses go throughKaifi Azmis residence opposite Prithvi Theatre is a preferred venue for finalday rehearsalIn a place like Mumbai where real estate rules the roost anything that falls outside the purview of bare necessities becomes a luxury Among the many intangible casualties of these skyhigh rates are rehearsal spaces for theatre And the lower one is in the theatrical hierarchy the bigger the problem Who better than Mumbais artistes and directors to throw light on this space crunchMunicipal schools double up as rehearsal spacesProblems of magnificationRehearsal is the base of theatre Every success and failure in the final outcome goes back to how the rehearsals went says Srivastav Faezeh Jalali founder of the experimental theatre group Fats the Arts echoes the view I like to rehearse for at least three months for my productions Even the most affordable spaces in Mumbai charge 500 per hour So if I rehearse for four hours a day it adds up to 15 lakh for three months just for the rent Add to it expenses like food for the crew props costumes set and other production costs and you are staring at a budget of 5 lakh not a small figure for a production house that doesnt engage with commercial contentFaezeh Jalali and Priyadarshan JadhavWhich is why rehearsals for most part if not completely take place in actors homes Blocking or how an actor moves and stands on the stage through the course of the play is critical to theatre something thats difficult to get right unless you rehearse on the final stage itself explains Srivastavs daughter Ranjana who is also a theatre actor and manages the light and sound for their productionsEven if theatre groups manage to find a rehearsal space it is often an empty one bereft of any theatrespecific facilities Its incredible how so often the first show of a play also becomes the first technical rehearsal laments Ranjana A classroom is a classroom not a rehearsal venue says actor and director Priyadarshan Jadhav known for his Marathi productions as he refers to a small municipal school in Mahim that several Marathi theatre groups use In fact several municipal schools across the city double up as rehearsal spaces because of their nominal feesWe have to schedule our rehearsals based on the school timings says Srivastav about a municipal school in Santacruz which IPTA uses With no lifts senior actors have to take the stairs to reach its secondfloor auditorium AK Hangal KA Abbas and Balraj Sahni have all rehearsed hereJalali who is a trained aerial artiste says she has had to use the facilities of the mallakhamb school in Shivaji Park to practise the formThe alternativeBut hasnt the recent spurt in performance venues in Mumbai suited to the needs of smaller production houses eased the space crunch problem Often these venues are rented spaces So understandably the owners need to recover costs by subletting them Commercially viable ventures like yoga and dance classes that can afford high rents are given priority over theatre rues JalaliWhere the government fails to do its job a few Mumbaikars with their hearts in the right place and some space to spare lend a helping hand Generous members of the Sahitya Sahawas housing society in Kalanagar give out their community hall to Marathi theatre groups Its a wellmaintained space reveals JadhavA theatre lover from Goregaon Akash Naik offers his small space at nominal rates adds Jalali But I find residencies like those run by Atul Kumar in Kamshet and Geetanjali Kulkarni in Wada most feasibleMS Sathyu sahab who is a master of stage craft once said Primarily what an actor needs is space to move around Ranjana recalls Until the arts get the attention they deserve this primary need will remain a luxury