Not very often does one hear of professional actors and directors bringing to life scripts written by teenagers, complete with a performance at Prithvi Theatre. That’s exactly what theatre company, Rage has been able to pull off. In collaboration with Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Rage is conducting Class Act, a playwriting workshop with 60 students from various schools in Mumbai. The participating schools — Cathedral and John Connon School, Campion, Aakansha, B.D. Somani, Dhirubhai Ambani, Bombay Scottish, Muktangan, Shishuvan and Bombay International — selected a few students, between ages 12-16, interested in writing to get a taste of the process of putting together a play.
“It’s a continuation of our desire to develop playwriting talent. If even two or three of these 60 kids think of theatre as a viable profession, then I think we’d have done our job!” says Shernaz Patel, co-founder Rage. Talking about the workshops with the Traverse mentors, Stef Smith and Nicola McCartney, Patel elaborates, “The students have vivid imaginations and they’re prompted to write stories which reflect their lives, their world and what matters to them. Naturally they’re young and they have lots to learn but in terms of ideas — from bizarre fantasies to writing about legalisation of homosexuality to living in a slum — there’s a whole gamut.”
Partners in stagecraft
Among the professionals are playwrights and actors like Nadir Khan, Anahita Uberoi, Faezah Jalali, Aseem Hattangady, Sheena Khalid and Chaitanya Sharma. “I was really impressed by the kind of writing and the evolved themes that their scripts dealt with. There were some very interesting takes on relevant matters today, such as individuality, freedom of expression and conforming to society’s standards. It’s inspiring to see that these young kids are thinking so maturely and coming up with such interesting ways to write,” says Khan after spending the day at a workshop where the actors read a few scenes from the scripts.
Uberoi who recalls the students’ reactions to having their stories read aloud on stage says, “Some were delighted and some were just stunned to hear their words read out. It was equally exciting for the actors because they hadn’t read the stories before. Sometimes, one has a preconceived notion about what a particular age group would write about. I could see that a lot of the professionals were visibly charmed with the writing.”
The sentiment was unanimously upheld by all the actors and playwrights in the workshop. Jalali is of the opinion that age was no marker when it came to the respect a writer deserves. “Whether the writer is 14, 28 or 95 years old, their material has to be treated with utmost regard. As an actor, my approach to performing at Prithvi will be the same as it would be for any other play,” she states.
Khalid is in awe of the themes and discussions from the workshop. Talking about her vision as a director for Class Act, Khalid says, “I need to elevate the writing. The text and the lines that these children have written are paramount. What I will be most concerned about is how best I can bring attention to the writers of the plays I direct this time. My directorial vision of what I would like to do differently, need to take a backseat to the story that the children want to tell.”
Age no barrier
Hattangady, an actor spoke about the difference in the teenagers today as compared to his own teenage years saying, “I don’t want to play the whole generational difference card but honestly, was I writing stuff like this when I was their age? No. I wasn’t writing at all! I was busy with school, homework and tuitions. My childhood could have been a whole lot better if I had something like this.” Elaborating further upon how programmes like this can help make theatre a viable career, he says, “We have to develop a culture where writing and theatre are taken seriously as a career option. We have a mindset where actors work another job to earn money, while acting on the side. Hopefully in the coming decade, when these guys start getting their own voice, it will be an accepted, viable profession.”
Khalid, hoping that a longer course could germinate from Class Act to consistently nurture future writers rues, “This kind of work is so important. A grassroots level effort, cultivating an interest in children in something like theatre, with thoughts of becoming something other than an actor makes me so hopeful. There’s such a lack of good writing, in our popular culture, across media – be it film, TV or theatre. We have brilliant performers, directors, technicians, we are ticking all the boxes but the foundation is missing.” Echoing her sentiments, Hattangady says, “Every year we will have people who will want this opportunity because they have something to say. The earlier you start, the better you’ll get. If this were to continue, it could completely change the way people look at the theatre.”
Class Act will take place today and tomorrow at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu with 20 plays being performed; Details: bookmyshow.com
