Innate expressions

Adding a physical dimension to environmental issues,Hartman de Souza,theatre activist and also a professor of theatre at the Mahindra United World College,along with his two students,brings in elements of physical theatre in his latest production,For Mother Earth. The play,based on three poems by Puneite Uma Narayan,who now heads the philosophy department at Vassar College in the United States,has two actors expressing themselves through their bodies in a roughly 8′ by 8′ by 8′ space. Speech takes the second lead as the actors embody expressions. Being novices in the world of theatre,starting off with something as contemporary as physical theatre had them doubting their own potential. But it was the passion to stage something for nature,in the most natural of forms,that kept them going. “Speech comes later; when you are born,it is your body movements that are more innate to you. So we thought when it is for nature it should be in one of its most natural forms,” says Arman Motamedi,one of the two actors,who is also a FY student.

The performance effortlessly blends movement and voice in a startling vocabulary. A soul-stirring act takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride of its tryst with the environment every now and then. De Souza,who has been staging the performance in various pockets in and around the city,hopes to stage it for a larger audience soon. “The problem is we still are in a conventional set-up. Physical theatre is invisible to others. It still remains marginal for dominantly text-oriented theatre here,” he says. The performance at present is touring various small venues,in an effort to take the performing arts in Pune to new audiences. “It has been designed in such a way that it could fit into the NCPA,staged with 14 lights,to performing it in someone’s living room or terrace or basement,with a single bulb lighting. I like doing this because I do feel I am taking away all the trappings associated with theatre,lights and sets and what else not,and cutting things down to the bone,putting the entire focus on the actors,” he adds.

The performance was premiered on April 17 at Aman Sethu (an alternative school on the outskirts of Pune) in the light of the setting sun. On April 22,to celebrate Earth Day,it was performed for staff and students of the Mahindra United World College of India,Paud.

“On May 9,the play was performed at Shikshantar,an educational initiative for an audience of 100 persons. One more performance is being planned at YASHADA (Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration) for an invited audience,” informs Terence Jorge,the other actor.