Okay so here goes another one in the series.
So, if you are acquainted with the urban proscenium theater, you are also attuned to the discipline of it. There are a few things that happen in that kind of theater- you read your script, you reach the rehearsal spot in time, the director arrives, he/she either briefs you or asks you where and what you would like to rehearse on the day. The rehearsal usually starts dot on time. When a scene is being rehearsed, the other actors are waiting in the wings for their entries. There is silence, not much movement and usually no smoking, could there be kids and animals on stage in a rehearsal like this? Well, never!!!
The first time I went to Bhopal to rehearse with Naya Theater, we were rehearsing in a small little hall. There were no chairs. There were 'durries' spread out. The actors were sitting there, talking, waiting, smoking. Habib saab arrived late, with his entourage - which meant, Monica di and Nageen. Monica Di always came with a small 'kandiya' ( basket) of hers in which she carried water, some snacks etc.
At this point everyone got up to wish them. There was one table for Habib saab where he sat down with Monica di on his side. And actors started talking to him. They were discussing their accounts with him and reporting on other things that they were asked to do by him like getting the costumes together etc. And then suddenly without any further fan fair Habib saab said - shuru kariye ( okay so let's start), the music started playing, a song was sung( the opening song of Agra Bazaar) and the rehearsal had started. There was hardly any change in the atmosphere of the room apart from the fact that we were practicing a play now. I sat there quite in shock, surprise and awe at how easy the whole process was. The other two major directors that I had worked with till then- things happened very differently. NK Sharma made it a point to reach his rehearsal space half an hour earlier than the scheduled time. There was a seriousness and urgency involved in how things were to happen. For some it was a pressurizing environment. With Barry John things were different. He was more like Habib saab in making it easy for the actor to get into the rehearsal process. He would also come earlier than the scheduled time, begin to talk to his actors- this time was basically pulling fast ones at each other ( now I realize this was the time when Barry got us vulnerable but also got us to trust each other through easy banter) and then when it was five minutes left for the rehearsal time, he would get up and start setting up the stage for the rehearsal. Things went quiet at this time and an easy seriousness came about towards the work. The rehearsal always began on time.
With Habib saab it was 'shuru kariye' ( start) and we started. Sometimes he would just let his actors be, they could practise their own moves, scenes before he started a formal rehearsal, but he would always be watching and if you did something that he did not like in this free time of rehearsal , he would say- I don't think you would be doing that…why don't you try it differently. Ram chandar Singh's kids would almost always be a part of the rehearsal. Then there were other spaces that we went to- a roof, a hut , a kali temple space- Habib saab enjoyed dogs entering the stage and leaving at their free will- he worked very hard at making it a lot of fun despite getting performances out of his actors.
On that first day at rehearsal, I was asked to try playing a character with the script. I was told later that it was the testing ground for the actor. Habib saab looked for two things as I was told later- a strong voice and instincts. I passed the test.( well, it would have been disastrous if I didn't) And now I was part of this most amazing troupe- Naya theater.
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