Features

The Solo Theatre Festival by Expressions Lab in Pune




Dr Ajay Joshi


The Pune-based Pradeep Vaiddya is irrefutably one of the finest light designers and theatre practitioners in the contemporary Indian theatre scenario. He has also been working towards organising a solo theatre festival and competition which takes place in Pune this year from 4th December to 7th December 2014. This is the second year of the festival. Solo performances have been popular in India. Pradeep Vaiddya recognises this. He says 'I am aware that solo acting is not a new phenomenon and many brilliant performances have been staged. Still this is my single- handed effort to give the stage to my students. I am not sure if it is different. I am also not sure if I ever wanted it to be looked at as something different. I just wanted it to be a genuine effort.'

The students whom Pradeep refers to are all part of his 'Expressions Lab' which focuses on acting. Pradeep set up this lab in 2010 with experienced trainers like Mohit Takalkar, Aanand Chabuskswar and Ashwini Giri. His enterprise has been well-received and over the past two years, has run 18 batches, with more than 250 students graduating from it. In order to give a more visible platform to his trained actors, he initiated the solo theatre festival and competition. Pradeep said that he realised that being new to theatre and with the financial constraints that come with it, he thought that his students' abilities and skills could come to the fore with solo performances that would have an audience and the participation of a larger theatre community. The students would have a chance to prove their mettle.

What is noteworthy about Expressions Lab is that the students are provided a series of mentoring sessions by well-known theatre people free of cost. This year every performance will be reviewed twice and will receive inputs from a panel of experts. Most of the performances are written and directed by the students themselves, and fresh writing is encouraged. Students who are not on stage carry out the backstage work.

Pradeep's model also makes sense as full-fledged productions are harder to achieve and can be expensive. Solo performances are cost effective and space friendly, not encumbered by auditoriums alone. The venture effectively also leads to a bank of solo performances. When he started with Expressions Lab, Pradeep said that he realised the angst of the youngsters as they struggled to 'express'. His lab, he says, provides a 'controlled atmosphere where students can experiment and truthfully and earnestly search their expressions.'

For his solo festival initiative, Pradeep adds, 'I involve experts who have dealt with solos or have been seeing a lot of solo work. I refrain from directing the students. I do not impose anything on them. I help them with my inputs through discussions. I see their rehearsals and give them my feedback so that they may be helped for further exploration. I also help them decide their study material. I arrange for their meetings with people who might be important to them for their quest. I think that through this endeavour they (the students) will look at all aspects of theatre and performance, while preparing for their solos, making them aware and responsible for their work. If they are seen/appreciated, it might help them in their journey as actors. For some, their first time solos are quite cathartic and in that sense therapeutic.

Last year's solo fest was an experiment for me. I did not have any kind of specific frame. I kept myself open and was overwhelmed to see 22 of my students putting up their solos. They used gibberish, multimedia and they sang and danced. The topics were quite contemporary. Scripts ranged from a very personal monologue to a long story. I realised that the six solos that were given some kind of rewards continued being performed while the rest fizzled off, in spite of being encouraged. This year's 'preview' sessions are going to eliminate this feeling of being something less (on not winning awards). I want each of them to be a credible performance. Second thing I learnt was about the awards I gave. I gave them cash awards. How they spent it was not questioned. But this year around, instead of cash prizes, I plan to give them fellowships to train under stalwarts in theatre like Ratan Thiyyam or people who have been training actors with their unique ideologies. It will be a good experience and exposure for them.'

According to Tushar Gunjal, winner of last year's competition, 'I come from a small town. I joined this course because I wished to try my hand at acting. In the beginning I was not sure what to expect, but now have no regrets. I would have never imagined that I could hold an audience for 40- 45 minutes. The Expression Lab gave me encouragement and the whole experience for writing the piece, rehearsals, mentoring, performing, post- discussions, have taught me a lot. In fact I got my next big assignment after my acting was appreciated here.'

Krutika Dev, who did the back stage for a performance last year, regretted that she didn't perform last year. She takes on the challenge this year. She says 'Even doing backstage was a big learning experience for me. Since then I decided to give it a go. I am feeling very confident to perform. The training and the mentoring before I get down to writing, is helping me immensely in crystallising my thoughts. I am focussed now and look forward to being in front of the audience on my own. It is fun but challenging.'

Even as this project has taken off, Pradeep Vaiddya has other interesting things in the pipeline like Club-E-Lab, which will enable members to watch exclusive productions; a newsletter and an innovative project- 'Tickets' - which will facilitate people in distant places to book tickets for their favourite shows with ease.

Click here for the schedule of the festival (4th to 7th December 2014)

*Dr Ajay Joshi is a practicing dentist with an M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. He also holds a Ph.D. on the role of Critics and Criticism in Marathi theatre. Ajay has contributed to the Prithvi Theatre Newsletter (PT Notes) and writes on varied topics ranging from theatre to travel for newspapers like Indian Express, Maharashtra Times, Sakal, Mid-Day, etc. He is based in Pune.


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