Is a minute long enough to weave a tale, make a point or drive home a message? In a country that is used to plays, films and serials that run endlessly, a few Chennai women are creating one-minute plays, and this is as refreshing as a breeze at midday.
Eight of these women are now off to Bangalore, to stage 27 original one-minute plays between them, at Zip Zap Pow, the first ever one-minute-play fest in the country. Organised by Anita Mithra, of Tortilla entertainment, the fest runs until June 30. Theatre lovers will remember Mithra for her ‘Short and Sweet’ theatre fests, featuring plays that wind up in 10 swift minutes.
While 10-minute plays originated in Sydney as a social experiment and caught on in Europe, one-minute plays originated in the U.S. a few years ago, and have become quite a rage there, now. “One-minute plays are like T20 cricket. Purists may frown upon it, but they are a big hit with audiences and playwrights,” remarks Deepa Ravi, one of the playwrights heading to Zip Zap Pow.
These Chennai women who are spearheading the one-minute theatre movement in the city don’t see themselves as pioneers. “We just got hooked to the idea,” says Sushmitha Chakkungal, who came across the concept on social media, via Jayshree Venkatesan. These women are from diverse backgrounds. Jayshree Venkatesan is a consultant in financial inclusion. Deepa Ravi, Smriti Amarendran, and Archana Kariappa are into advertising. Sushmitha Chakkungal works with Radio Mirchi. Aishwarya Jay is a second-year student of English Literature. Anjani Balu is studying Humanities. Padma Divakaruni runs a real estate business and is into theatre acting and voice-overs. Then there’s Vinodhini Vaidyanathan, who is an actress.
For the uninitiated, with one-minute plays, if the play runs even a second over a minute, it is disqualified. Playwrights are allowed to design and bring their own props. But then, 30 seconds is all they will get to set them on stage, after the curtains come down on the preceding one-minute play. Professional actors are sometimes roped in, though playwrights like Padma like to act out their own plays. Most plays involve around four or less characters.
From humour to pathos, one-minute plays attack just about every emotion or theme. “Seen as an entire festival, it can provide a snapshot of what people are thinking about, at that point in time,” says Jayshree, while Padma looks upon one-minute plays as akin to “Opening of a window” on to a thought or an idea. This inaugural phase of Zip Zap Pow is to be an all-women fest. It will explore a fascinating range of topics, and will even feature a non-verbal play by Vinodhini.
In retrospect, what any writer holds as the essence of his/her play/book is basically one pivotal concept. One minute plays portray just this essence, leaving out the frills and the layers. “Ads, trailers and teasers have been doing the same thing for a long time,” Sushmitha points out. But then, ads have the luxury of leaning on technology and editing to convey messages and stories in less than a minute’s time. A live one-minute play on stage is a different ball game, all together.
For the audience, it can be overwhelming to be at the receiving end of new stories/messages, minute after minute. Jayshree sees it differently, “That is the biggest challenge for us playwrights — to catch and hold audiences’ attention. Audiences who have already been hit by a torrent of ideas.”
