A theatre-starved audience in the city was treated to a Supper Theatre whodunit – Murder Me Always – at The Park Hotel. Written by Lee Mueller and directed by Mala Pasha of Torn Curtains, it was laced with humour, intrigue, slapstick, and suspense and got the audience involved in solving the murder. It was a play within a play and as the audience settled in with a drink in hand and some hors d’oeuvres on their tables the first (rather amateur) performance began. A few minutes in, when the audience thought the play was going nowhere, a gunshot backstage changed the mood. The director had been shot and all the members of the cast were now suspects. The audience joined the two detectives on stage to interrogate the suspects and help solve the murder. With two 15-minute breaks to help the audience discuss the plot and refill their glasses, the play set the mood for a pleasant evening over dinner, drinks and discussions about the engaging plot that lasted long after dessert was served. The script had been adapted to play to the gallery by borrowing song and dance sequences from Hindi cinema. In the end, there was actually a prize for guessing who the murderer was.
Alterego
Present in the audience were members from Alterego, a city-based theatre group formed in 2005 that has four productions to its credit. The group at one time had 16 members and met actively every weekend for workshops and practice. After a few members left the city, the group has not performed but the passion that they share for theatre is still alive. Rekha Dutt, one of the founder members, says her love for the stage came from Bharatanatyam. Being a dancer helped her be conscious of her movements and expressions on stage. Dutt wants to revive Alterego and is looking for people who love the stage to audition. “When practising for a play you tend to get close to the members of the group. We had a great time practising for the play and also learning from each other. We all became good friends and even met socially for picnics and other fun activities. It felt great to be a part of a vibrant group,” she says.
Mala Pasha shares a similar view. “You learn to trust the members of your group as you need to trust them on stage. In a performance many things can go wrong but if you trust the people on stage the audience will never know.” It is the building up of this trust that is the most beautiful part about staging a play, she adds.
Stress buster
Abha Chauhan, who runs a famous patisserie in the city, says she uses theatre as a stress buster. “Attending workshops, reading scripts, organising sets and costumes and getting the entire play together is a lot of work but it is my way of indulging in a passion of mine,” she says. When you are performing you need to become that character you are portraying. Shashank Dutt Kancharla says that he is still recognised as the character he played a few years ago. “Strangers come up to me and say hey! Are you not the pirate from the play? Whenever I watch Pirates of the Caribbean , I think of my role. It definitely stays as a part of you way after the curtains are drawn,” he says.
Vijay Kumar Atmakuri of Alterego points out that, especially on stage, God is in the details. “When you do a play you need to plan and understand every detail. It is only then that you can connect with the audience. You really have to get into the nitty-gritty of the play,” he says.
Want to join?
For the newcomer, there are many benefits of joining a theatre group. Workshops help bring out the best in you. You learn to revisit personal experiences to understand and bring out a particular feeling on stage. Reading of scripts helps you understand the language and analyse what the playwright is trying to convey. Speaking on stage teaches you voice modulation, how to whisper and yet be audible to the audience. Theatre is also used in therapy to make a person more confident. Groups can even explore forms of theatre like street theatre which are an effective way of raising awareness about a subject. From musicals to dance dramas to mime, the options are endless.
Alterego plans to organise a competition of short plays to encourage and bring out the hidden acting talent in Vizag. You can follow the group on Facebook to get more information about their plans. This is the link to their page: https://www.facebook.
com/groups
/224152181050932/
You can also search for them by typing ‘Alterego theatre group’.
