Playing with your emotions

Adishakti’s Source of Performance Energy workshop aims to help participants comprehend the origin of emotions

August 17, 2017 03:37 pm | Updated 06:31 pm IST

PUDUCHERRY, 25/06/2014: Participants practising the Navarasa at the Acting workshop orgranised by Adishakti theatre group near Auroville, in Puducherry.
Photo: S.S. Kumar

PUDUCHERRY, 25/06/2014: Participants practising the Navarasa at the Acting workshop orgranised by Adishakti theatre group near Auroville, in Puducherry. Photo: S.S. Kumar

“You need not be just an actor, but could also be a corporate person or a lawyer who wants to have a fundamental understanding of how emotions are created through your body,” says Vinay Kumar, artistic director-managing trustee of Adishakti which organises a 10-day residential Source of Energy Performance workshop for actors at its Edyanchavadi campus in Puducherry from September 13 to 22.

The workshop aims to equip the participant in the basics of the physical craft and help them in applying these lessons in their own performance practice. It aims to offer you a rational understanding why emotions happen and how it comes out of chemical excesses. “It is about unravelling the anatomy of emotions. While it definitely helps people with a performance career, it will also help those who want to understand the world of emotions.”

When you are experiencing an emotion, your brain completely shuts down. That time, you not comprehend it on a rational scale, points out Kumar. “Much later, when you watch a movie or listen to music, you get a deja vu of similar feelings. That’s why we watch such movies to specifically go through a particular emotion. We, usually call people who do not respond to such works of art as emotionally dry, and that’s as good as being not interesting.”

The research is to offer a deeper understanding of the acting methodology and help the contemporary performer. “Our theatre is extremely physical. There is a different way of learning emotions, and that is connected to bodily learning. That’s why even after these many years, people still come. It is an introduction course. We are planning to do advanced levels soon.”

They will use martial arts such as kalaripayattu to root experiences and psychological behaviours to certain centres of the body. The workshop is physically intensive and that’s the only way one can reawaken his/her body to what its potentials are. “You cannot let the mind and body sit in a corner, and wait for the chemical productions to happen. Estrogen, dopamine and adrenaline... none of these chemicals (responsible for triggering emotions) are produced sitting in one place. You need certain physical awareness for this.”

They have primarily created a chart of human behaviour that links the body with the source of emotions. “There are softer emotions placed on the tip of your mouth and intense ones at the back of your throat, such as anger and fear. Whenever you experience these emotions, you go through immense neck pain. Per the design of your body, that is a very sensitive area.”

And, there are only eight kind of stories in this world, and mainly these are preoccupations with eight basic emotions. “They are a little like eight primary colours used by a painter. But, the moment you start to mix and match, the story becomes complex. None of us, at any given time of our lives, has ever been faced with one emotion.” Once you have this chart you can figure out logically where these emotions arise from.

People have been hearing about this workshop through word of mouth. “Nothing is more credible than that, not even social media buzz. It is so effective that much before announcement of the workshop, we had a waiting list. We have popular actresses from the Malayalam and Bollywood film industries and short filmmakers from Mumbai coming year after year.”

It’s also about creating a feeling community. “And, exploring possibilities of human predicament and the confused state we are going through. And as an actor, one has to to investigate these problems from the multiple disparities through Dalit and feminist point of views or any other marginalised position. That’s how Adishakti works conceptually as a community. People just getting together and leaving is not exciting.”

For details and to register, call 9535779953.

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