Unscripted Fun

Called devised theatre,this form — prominent in the UK and the US and steadily picking up in Delhi — involves scripts that originate not from a writer,but from collaborative,usually improvised,work by a group of people,says Sukhesh Arora of Yellowcat Theatre Company. He held a workshop on devised theatre last week. He adds that “the art of creating out of conversations something that represents a collective creative vision is here to stay largely because this is the only way to do some original work”.

For his next production,Taramandal,too,Chaudhuri has used this “egalitarian format in which everybody is a storyteller”. He wanted to do a play on a short story by Satyajit Ray,but workshops with his actors yielded six scripts,all of which are being included in the performance slated for December. Crazy Spotlight prefers to keep the atmosphere light and playful during their sessions. “Every actor has to be present when we go through a scene. Our plays are comedies and the interactions create new situations,jokes and one-liners that may work better than what I had planned. Every idea is debated before it goes into the script,” says Mehta.

Since what emerges is a gamut of ideas,the final production generally comprises fragmented storylines. Arora,who will use the devised theatre format for his December production based on a Margaret Atwood story,says the play will hinge as much on “trust between the participants” as on the art of incorporating the vignettes into a proper script.

How do directors view their role? Chaudhuri feels a bit nervous and also guilty about taking credit as a writer but says orchestrating the process is still a director’s work.