Theatre Academy-Loksatta One-Act Play Competition

The Theatre Academy-Loksatta state-level one-act play competition, the preliminaries of which were held in the second week of November and the finals in the second week of December brought in a thumping response from amateur artists across the length and breadth of Maharashtra.

With talented actors, script writers and directors ranging from the age of 10 to 60, all barriers were broken for showcasing talent. As a result, the large-scale participation included 43 talented theatre groups from all over Maharashtra including small towns and also one from Panaji, Goa. The unique conditions for participation – all participants have to be registered theatre groups presenting a new script; and the big prize money – a substantial chunk of which is a grant meant to nurture talent, proved to be a motivation and an incentive.

Says Prasad Purandare, President, Theatre Academy and the chief co-ordinator, ‘‘We hope to make this contest a benchmark for serious theatre groups. There has been a general decline in the quality of serious Marathi theatre, in all departments – acting, direction or production. Out of the 43 new scripts that came out of this competition, at least one-third were of top quality. We are sure it will improve in the coming years.’’

After the selection of 12 plays from the preliminary round, another round was conducted to select the finalists, which were held from December 9 to 10. The top three winners took home Rs 25,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively, while a substantial chunk will be presented as grant to the first prize winner (Rs 25,000) after they put up their first full-length play within a year of the competition, Rs 10,000 to the second place winner and Rs 10,000 to the third prize winner after they put up a new one-act play within a year of the competition.

The excitement among theatre groups and theatre personalities is palpable. ‘‘Theatre is representative art of Maharashtra,’’ says Satish Alekar, noted playwright, ‘‘and while it is too early to say how it will affect the theatre scene right now, this effort is certainly an important part of theatre development activity.’’ Adds Madhav Vaze, veteran stage personality, ‘‘Experimental theatre in Marathi will receive a boost due to the competition because it has forced participants to put up original scripts and an original play. It is heartening to see so much activity in the field.’’ The large-scale participation has seen groups vie with each other on subjects as diverse as corruption in high places, current headlines like Godhra and its aftermath, the sexual molestation of a nursery-going girl and the addiction that television has become. That theatre groups from all over the state have participated also means that one gets to see a wide range of sense and sensibility.

As author Meghana Pethe, who is one of the six judges for the preliminary rounds avers, ‘‘This effort has given me an opportunity to see theatre from areas that people in cities like Pune or Mumbai usually do not get to see – like Buldhana and Parbhani. This presents a representative picture of theatre in the state. The substantial financial rewards and the grants announced to ensure that the effort is sustained should make its positive effect obvious in the next couple of years.’’

For competitors like writer-director Vivek Garud from the Nashik-based 25-year old theatre group, Swapnagandha it is an opportunity to showcase talent on a new platform. ‘‘Usually, once plays hit a success formula, the performances get repeated over and over again. This time, due to the insistence on new sripts, all of us are presenting new plays.’’

Investment, the one-act play by the Mumbai-based Avishkar group bagged the first prize, Malabh by the Pune-based Samanvay group and, AID’s Live Show by Pune’s Jagar group won the second and third prize respectively.