A podium meant for actors to present their views on ‘Embodying Words’ ultimately turned out to be a visual treat. The event was a national seminar on Contemporary Indian Drama organised by Kendra Sahitya Akademi on Tuesday.
Noted actors such as Mohan Agashe, Kannada’s own Umashree, Yumnam Sadananda Singh and Averee Dutta Chourey took recourse to performance to underline the importance of embodying words in theatre. Mr. Singh used various Manipuri mime folk forms, such as Chumsa dance, to emphasise the role of an actor in a performance.
Averee Chourey enacted a piece from her play and read out a story to stress the role of an actor in theatre. “The real author is the actor, as written words get life through the body of an actor. An actor can create magic through space,” Ms. Chourey said.
Though the absence of actor Naseeruddin Shah disappointed the assembly of theatre lovers, Mr. Agashe successfully compensated through his empirical presentation.
Mine is a journey from kunike (loop in a handloom) to kalike (learning). The act of handling a kunike in handloom, which I learnt from my father, taught me the element of focus
Umashree
Minister of State for Kannada and Culture
The real author is the actor, as written words get life through the body of an actor. An actor can create magic through space
Averee Dutta Chourey
Actor is a species that dies after the performance. The playwright is a species, which gets life after an actor’s performance. An actor fills life into words by allowing the audience to read between the lines. Through his body language, actor can create sub-text of the text
Mohan Agashe
A multitude of images, sounds and their fragmented cacophony create an illusion of hyper reality because of technology.
The emotional content of expression is lost. Technology has made both actor and the playwright either disappear or become lifeless
Chandrahasan