There is nothing remotely avant-garde about the founders of the Crea-Shakthi team. Clad in crisp formals, they stride into Amethyst on the dot of three, armed with laptop, notes and a clear sense of what they want to say. For a relatively young bunch of people they have achieved a great deal in the three years that they’ve been around (it was established in March 2012): Crea-Shakthi isn’t just a theatre group but an institution that provides a platform for theatre, offers training and theatre-based learning solutions, curates a youth theatre festival, has a stand-up comedy wing and offers full-time employment to seven professionals. And surprisingly, they have managed it all without depending on a single sponsor, an outlier of sorts in the milieu of art, that has almost always been dependent on patronage for survival.
Perhaps it is a function of their backgrounds — three of the four, Abhinav Suresh, Faizan Mohamed and Dushyanth Gunashekar have finance backgrounds with industry experience (the fourth, Vaidhya M. Sundar is a radio jockey ), but there is something refreshingly pragmatic about their approach to theatre.
“We were tired of hearing that theatre was surviving; we wanted people to say it was growing,” says Faizan. “The problem is the absence of a viable business model and I wanted to create that.”
Adds Abhinav, “We are passionate about theatre but we also all have a have professional experience. We realise that there is a reason why organisations do things a certain way; an absence of process, system, resources and structure means you are constantly struggling to make it work.”
That is when the idea of developing a funding model came in. According to Dushyanth, “We approached a number of people who were willing to put in a certain amount of money for an x amount of time and lock that in for theatre. That way we could support young artistes, have fun, appreciate the craft and produce good work without having to worry about the hassle of sponsorship,”
“Though it always is welcome, of course,” quips Vaidhya.
The founders of Crea-Shakthi, which was awarded the CII YI emerging Entrepreneur Award for Art based start-ups in February 2013 and now operates as a firm, are clear about one thing. “We are who we are because of theatre. However, though we are the founders of Crea-Shakthi, we aren’t Crea-Shakthi. If we actually brought everyone who belonged to us here, this place will be packed,” says Dushyanth. Abhinav concurs, “Crea-Shakthi isn’t just about expanding our own theatrical endeavours but it is also a platform which would be able to provide more opportunities for everyone and anyone who was interested in the craft.”
“We have no auditions,” says Vaidhya. “We welcome anyone who wants to join us with open arms.”
It is this inclusivity which they believe will go towards creating a more informed audience, thereby facilitating a theatre culture in the city. Their foray into the educational institutions in the city was part of this larger objective, they say.
“Unfortunately, only a few colleges in the city have a culture of drama. We wanted something that would sustain, that would evolve into something larger than us. That was when the campus theatre wing was formed,” says Abhinav.
“From colleges it percolated down to schools,” adds Dushyanth, “I was blessed to have an excellent theatre programme in school and I wanted to give back to that school by training the children there. And the bonus is they pay me for it.”
Researching extensively, they developed modules to teach theatre. According to Dushyanth, “You know, music has a grammar, dance has grammar, but what is theatre’s grammar? We wanted to develop that.”
Also, says Abhinav, “When you go to 10 schools and reach out to 5,000 kids, you are cementing not just theatre but an audience for it. And by creating an appreciation for theatre, you assure its future.”
From schools and colleges, they moved to corporate, a different kettle of fish, as they soon found out.
“You know how it is,” grins Vaidhya. “The HR person decides X number of people need to be trained and they’re sent to us. Theatre can be used for a lot of things — to develop trust, empathy, build communication and teams, as an induction exercise.”
“From the cool quotient theatre has in schools and colleges, it moves to being an essential thing. We are actively working with five-six corporate houses right now. Again, it is a great way to expand awareness of the theatre,” says Dushyant.
An awareness, of not what happens on stage but what goes behind it, he adds. “Theatre isn’t just about acting, production is an equally important part of it. We made production cool; there are twice the number of people who go backstage than they are on it. We also hold workshops on sound, light, sets etc,” he says.
“Getting involved in production doesn’t mean you are not an artiste,” adds Vaidya. “And there have also been cases when people involved in production have gone on to become actors,” he says.
Yet one drawback of all this is that, their own personal need for artistic expression, often gets ignored.
“You know, the four founders have never been on stage together,” rues Abhinav. “We keep saying we should but it hasn’t happened yet. Hopefully it will, one day.”
All four believe that a mediated world doesn’t spell the death of theatre; on the contrary it breathes more life into it. “Theatre is more relevant now than ever before. Despite so many tools of communication, there is still a constant need for the human touch. Live art will bloom and we will there in the centre of it,” grins Dushyant.
