Mumbai gets short play festival by six Delhi theatre enthusiasts

Scenes from the plays performed at the Delhi edition of the festival earlier this monthA career in theatre isnt for the fainthearted From Naseeruddin Shahs tellall memoir of his days as a struggling actor to a conversation with a young artiste in Prithvi Cafe the one trope that seldom changes in the life of a theatrewallah is how money is the biggest casualty in the bid to pursue ones passion The stark difference in the financial prospects of a career in films over theatre doesnt make it easierWith the intent to create a strong panIndian theatre fraternity a safety net of sorts a group of young theatre enthusiasts from Delhi founded a performing arts society called The Roots in 2016 In July last year the society organised the first edition of The Roots Short Play Festival in Delhi with the idea of including one new city in its fold every six months With its upcoming debut Mumbai edition spread across two days the festival will see 11 short plays most of them of no more than 25 minutes by the alumni of Delhis National School of Drama Delhi University Theatre Circuit Lucknows Bharatendu Academy of Dramatic Arts Mumbais St Xaviers College and The Drama School and citybased professional groups like The Actors TruthThe plays will delve into diverse topics from the diminishing space for nuanced discourse a story based in an asylum in Israel to Draupadis candid conversation with her mother on her way to heaven The festival also includes interactive sessions with veteran theatre personalities Atul Kumar and Jeff GoldbergShort and sweetMany of our friends and colleagues write shortlength plays but staging them is not easy Booking a venue for theatre is as it is very expensive especially for groups that are not well established And even if you do manage to find one the audience doesnt consider it feasible to come and watch a performance that doesnt go beyond 20odd minutes So we felt a festival of short plays would give artistes a platform to showcase their work without having to worry about the venue and audience shares festival director and creative head Prabhjot SinghPrabhjot SinghThe choice of venues he continues is a conscious one Since the whole idea is to build a community of theatre people we decided to host the festival in alternative spaces only With commercial venues charging a hefty rent we understand that running an alternative performance space is a struggle in itself says Singh 25 who is a theatre faculty member for various colleges in Delhi and also does theatrebased corporate training to keep the initiative goingBefore bringing the festival to Mumbai Singh and other foundermembers came to the city in December to meet professionals from the field and understand the essence of theatre in Mumbai The difference between Delhi and Mumbai is that people love attending plays in Mumbai And its easier for an actor to get his due here The monetary returns of doing theatre in Delhi are far more limited he says Which is why one important part of the groups mission is to expose theatre groups to audiences across India through the biannual travelling festivalIn solidarityWhile providing for travelling expenses is a concern that the group hopes to address in the future as they work towards getting sponsors the members provide logistical support and other guidance to travelling groups through their network of theatrewallahs across India Recently a fledgling theatre group from Mumbai was in Delhi to perform at JNU We got publicity material like posters done for them and gave them backstage assistance shares Singh Similarly if groups from Delhi arrive in Mumbai they arrange for accommodation through home stays which helps cut down the expenses considerably We cut corners wherever possible We dont mind rehearsing in parks or bringing homecooked food instead of ordering in so that artistes can get paid he elaboratesTheatre is often seen as a launch pad for a career in films Why I find this initiative by this young bunch of people important is because they are not stuck in proscenium performances only says senior artiste and alternative theatre practitioner Parnab Mukherjee whose solo act Our Smells Our Madness based on poetry improvised with 40 schoolchildren from Pune will open the festival after the release of his book on the subject The number of 60 to 80seater venues in Mumbai has increased manifold and making use of such spaces is an important effortA resourcestrapped community it may be but there is no want of good intent As Singh gets back to the preparations for the festival he signs off with this thought Mumbai is full of talented actors in search of work If creating a play for our festival gives them motivation to stay back in the city and keep going what else can we ask forOn January 20 and 21 6 pm to 7 pm interactive sessions 730 pm onwards short playsAt OverAct Alternative Theatre Space Aram Nagar VersovaCall 9654773334Entry Rs 200 for plays Rs 300 for plays and interactive sessionsCatch up on all 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