Rajkumar S. says with pride, “We have covered 88 stages with the play,” referring to Soorya Krishnamoorthy’s mega production on The Bible, Ente Rakshakan, in which he plays two characters. Rajkumar, a techie, strives hard to strike a balance between his profession and theatre.
Shilpa Mohan is another theatreperson who does the same. A trained classical dancer and Kathakali artiste, she has been working with well-known theatre groups in the city for some time now. “I need to find time for rehearsals and performances in between my day/night shifts at work. But I am enjoying every bit of it. My company has been supportive,” says the 24-year-old employee with RR Donnelley.
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Even though there are many more theatre buffs and practitioners on campus, they stick to in-house skits and plays owing to their tight work schedule. Shilpa and Rajkumar consider themselves lucky on that account.
Theatre came calling when Shilpa least expected it. “Dance has been a constant in my life. I was part of a dance drama staged at the Institute of English for a PhD thesis based on the life and times of American choreographer-dancer Isadora Duncan. That event was one of its kind because you rarely come across practical presentation of a PhD thesis. That put me in touch with some artistes of a theatre group, Kanal Samskarika Vedi. A few months later, I was offered a role in a play by Natyagriham directed by M.R. Gopakumar,” she says. Shilpa took time to get into the groove. “I had to struggle with my voice modulation, learn to use the stage and several other aspects of theatre. But the effort didn’t go unnoticed. I have already done plays for troupes such as Theatre of Good Hope, Trivandrum Kala, and Kalavedi,” she exults.
Ready for the stage
In the case of Rajkumar, a native of Kidangoor in Kottayam district, it was the vibrant theatre scene in Thiruvananthapuram that inspired him to look for opportunities to showcase his acting skills. “I have done plays while in school and college but had to take a break once I got a job. After I came to Technopark in 2011, I became part of a group that followed the theatre scene closely,” says Rajkumar, an employee with Experion Technologies. He was on the lookout for acting schools and chanced upon Tiju Thomas Thumpamon of Indian School of Acting and Anchoring.
Along with Tiju, Rajkumar acted in four plays, a few of them were Biblical dramas. Their recent production was Tom Sawyer , which was enacted at Public Library. In the meantime he approached Soorya Krishnamoorthy seeking opportunities in his Soorya Nataka Kalari. In addition, he works on the sets of Soorya’s cartoon drama series, ‘Chayakkadakathakal’. Now he is looking forward to Shyamamadhavam , the new production of Prashanth Narayanan’s Kalam, based on Prabha Varma’s poem of the same name. “The workshops used to start at 4 am. But I was okay with that. Theatre is my first love,” he says.
Theatre enthusiasts such as Sreejith T.S. and Kishore Kumar R.S. are active within the campus. “If you want to seriously pursue theatre, you should be able to find enough time for rehearsals which is not possible for employees like us. My father was a theatre artiste and so I was active in the field for some time. Now since I can’t afford to associate with troupes outside, although I want to, the best I can do is getting actively involved in in-house productions. I write scripts, direct or act in plays for our events. Recently we staged a satire, Panchaliyude Jimikkikammal , a take on corporate culture,” Sreejith says.
He also scripted and directed the street play, Uyirthezhunnelppu , a tribute to the Kathua rape victim, staged under the auspices of Prathidhwani, the socio-cultural forum of Technopark employees. “If I get time, I make it a point to watch productions performed at Manaveeyam Veedhi,” he says.
Kishore adds that in-house competitions is an opportunity to test the calibre of the employees. “We take the competitions seriously and some of us bring in mentors to train the participants,” he says.
A fortnightly column on life in tech street