“Anyone willing to ponder and philosophise can act. Fundamentally, acting is a world view and a beautiful journey,” feels Varun Aiyer. The Chennai-based theatre artiste, who has worked extensively in the city’s theatre scene, with the likes of Gowri Ramnarayan, The Madras Players and Theatre Nisha, is a graduate of the National School of Drama.
Aiyer’s tryst with theatre began in 2002, with a play called Man and Awakening , based on Anne Frank’s diaries, which he wrote and directed. His journey across the country holding workshops, and his involvement in an art philosophy residency based on Friedrich Nietzsche and Gilles Deleuze, gave him an opportunity to meld philosophical thinking with performance. Currently, he is researching the implications of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s philosophies on performance making.
FOR METRO PLUS, CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 05/07/2017, Varun Aiyer,Yoga Teacher and Theatre Actot at an interview `The Hindu Metro Plus' in Chennai on Wednesday. Photo: M. Vedhan
The course will introduce participants to a series of tools that will aid them in acting, says Aiyer. “I am more interested in the philosophy of performance. And through this course, we will question some of the notions such as ‘amateur’ and ‘professional’ and popular concepts like ‘standing in the shoes of a character’.”
Aiyer, does not discount the relevance of public performance, but, would like to highlight more basic aspects of performance, and insist on its spiritual dimensions. “It does not nullify the presence of the audience. However, I would not overemphasise the final act on the day of the show. A more fundamental form of performance will be highlighted by stressing on performance for performance’s sake. It is not about achieving some goal set for you by society.”
FOR METRO PLUS, CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 05/07/2017, Varun Aiyer,Yoga Teacher and Theatre Actot at an interview `The Hindu Metro Plus' in Chennai on Wednesday. Photo: M. Vedhan
He is also a yoga practitioner and will also hold an Abhyasa workshop, yoga for the body and mind, weekends at Wandering Artist. “I started learning yoga from my mother at the age of 12,” he says. “This is not about doing yoga, with 1,000 people gathered together in a stadium. The idea is that each person discovers what their body and breath can do,” says the student of R Sriram, who is a disciple of TKV Desikachar. Aiyer is certified by Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram.
The focus of the yoga workshop willwould be on the awareness of breathing, approaching the mind through the body, and how yoga will affect our fundamental ideas of space and time. “The idea is to make each person discover what their body and breath can do. The name of the course, Abhyasa, is a concept, explained in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and it means practice.”
He wants to show students how to change their ideas of time and space. “It helps in bringing about a reorientation towards how we look at time, at success, the world around us and optimism. And, it will explore how our breathing gives us a sense of timelessness.”
A student of physics, Aiyer’s interdisciplinary approach to theatre, his background on music, yoga and philosophy, seeps into his acting as well. “Theatre or performance does not exist devoid of five or seven things. To be interdisciplinary means keeping an interaction of varied arts and sciences going. A product-oriented approach will not work. If you were to create a performance to make money, it is a different ball game. But, even if you are not, it is a great thing to discover what it means to make a performance.”
each to his own
T Krishnamacharya, who is popularly acknowledged as the father of modern yoga, practised yoga to suit individual requirements based on age, profession, capacity, place of residence, climate and so on. TKV Desikachar, his son, founded Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, where about 1,000 students visit every month to learn yoga.
What’s on
The three-month course begins July 15; 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm (Thursdays) and 10 am to noon (Saturdays and Sundays).
For details, call 9840111425 or visit www.facebook.com/wanderingartistchennai.
Abhyasa will be held on Saturday and Sunday, from 7.30 am to 9 am.
Venue: 51, 6th Main Road, RA Puram
