This for That
On 11 February ’14, I joined a very interesting theatre
workshop. I had missed the workshop on 10th and was sure I would be
turned away politely. But the directors, Rowen Haigh and Sean Mahoney simply
smiled, shook hands and welcomed me!! Six actors were already well into the
workshop working on the exercises and improvisations. Strangely, though I
joined late, I felt quite comfortable as the group comprised friendly people, all
ready to learn and contribute.
And so we began with the theme of money and our relationship
with it. A poem had been selected by the directors – “On Losing a House” where
the issue of money was touched upon and we began with a reading of the poem.
The line O dark, O heavy, O mossy money
seemed to catch everyone’s imagination. We were divided into three groups and
told to improvise a scene around money. We did and amid fast flowing
suggestions the evolving of money from the barter system to the card today was
devised.
An entry was planned. Beggars to enter from the entrance and
beg for money from the audience and two herders, already seated among the
audience, to herd these beggars on towards the stage. Freeze to music . Then
the barter (cloth pieces for grain) begins and we move to the first recital of
a stanza of the poem. This is followed by the improvised scene between husband
and wife. Another rendition of the poem followed by another barter with stones
for grain (rising prices) and we move to an improvised piece between two
lovers. Another rendition of the stanza from the poem and another barter with
cash for grain (with cheating going on). An improvised scene in an office with
money changing hands through bribes which leads to money transactions at an ATM
using the card. The money extracted is spend on self indulgence and is followed
by a freeze. The lines from the poem are keys to unfreeze each actor and the
rising chorus of Dark, heavy, mossy money
rises as actors move among the audience and distribute money (sharing). Our performance was titled This for That.
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| Beggars and Herders - Frozen |
We performed at the Pune English Theatre festival (Pukaar) on 15 and 16 February.The music and lights were handled by our directors and that truly added to the magic. The audience gave quite an ovation to the piece much to our relief. The novelty of it seemed to have got them. The interactive session was full of questions and extended beyond its allotted time. Such ensemble pieces are the trade mark of the White Flag Performance Group run by Rowen and Sean who live in Baltimore, USA. This was their first trip to India but they have promised to be back soon and work some more...
