Orchestrating Roles

Theatre artist Hina Siddiqui's workshop Girls Get On Stage is aimed at training women to play character roles and creating a platform to share experiences

Pitching a theatre workshop for girls,women and transwomen,Hina Siddiqui allows no space for ambiguity on the purpose or the desired outcome of the sessions. The workshop has been organised for primarily two reasons. In the time I have been involved with theatre,I have seen that there arent enough women in the theatre world,and also there is not enough to attract them to it. So I want to both create such women,who will take ownership of the stage; and also create such content that women will want to play, says the 27-year-old Siddiqui,theatremaker and creative director of Orchestrated Q’Works.

On Saturday,during the third session of the Girls Get on Stage workshop that spans four weekends the group of 15-odd participants sat spread out at the first-floor room of Open Space in Koregaon Park. Over four hours of the days session,they shared stories of characters they had made up,revealed some of their own experiences,argued over ideas of relationships,played games,went over some basic drama theories and eventually spent time to build up the story of the characters they had originally created. The sessions have been put together in such a way that it helps people lose self-consciousness. I include a lot of physical activity; games like playing with soft balls,dog and the bone etc. They may seem purposeless but work intuitively,helping the group understand physical chemistry. The body definitely learns faster than the mind, says.

Collating her theatre training material into the form of a formal workshop for the first time,Siddiqui says she is using the reporting format of theatre. Its like an interview of a character,taking down his or her story,developing it into a dramatic piece and then putting it up. In the following sessions we will have readings of Shakespeare,more intense portrayal of the characters that everyone has created in a way that their stories can be staged. And in the final week,I am hoping to do more rehearsal-based work, she says,adding that as an outcome of the workshop,her desire is that they will eventually have a performance.

The participants’ diversity women and a trans-woman between 18 to 45 years old Siddiqui feels,has created a vibrant exchange of ideas. In the course of our sessions,individual stories have been uncovered,prejudices have been shed and there has been a breakdown of barriers. Even when ideas are opposing,the group has been able to accept them, says Siddiqui.

Asked if the recent instances of sexual violence against women have in any way triggered the exclusive nature of the workshop,Siddiqui says it hasnt been planned so. Gender issues have always been an underlining thought in all my work. There are very few platforms on which we can share the reality of what we have experienced; very often while looking for solutions we get disconnected with what one goes through. So,yes,this workshop is in ways a platform for women to share their experiences too,in an environment where everyone knows exactly what a person is talking about, she says.

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