BENGALURU: The journey of an aspiring actor is a tough one, more so in the world of theatre. Due to the lack of platforms that provide for the craft to thrive, very few see it is a viable career choice. In an effort to give a platform and space to aspiring theatre actors and writers in the city, Devanand Mahakud and Raakhee Bose are conducting auditions, selecting scripts and are putting out their first show this month.
The show provides a space that gives aspiring actors a chance to invest in their craft and present it in front of an audience. For the show this month, four actors will be performing four stories as individual 10-minute acts.
The idea of setting up this platform stemmed from personal experiences that the duo themselves faced in the industry. Rakhee says that there are not too many auditions that take place for theatre actors. "I got a little lucky and did get directors who responded to me. But it doesn't happen for a lot of people. Though theatre has got an epic growth in Bengaluru, it's still difficult for the small actors to get a chance. In such a scenario, we wanted to give a platform for aspiring actors the theatre space," she adds.
Along with giving recognition and space to aspiring actors, the project also looks at giving an opportunity to writers. They get a lot of stories that were posted to them via Facebook and e-mail. After the stories are selected, they are turned around and made into scripts, ready to be performed by actors. Devanand says, "We have the stories written in a story-telling way and presented as a play. We also have taken the stories from the new upcoming writers giving them too a chance."
Raakhee says, the performance this month is a single act that has been designed in such a way, where there is a lot of movement involved in the act. "Rather than delivering a plain monologue, there's a lot of acting involved in it. It's one-act, one-actor short play and most of the solo pieces don't go beyond ten minutes."
The actors for the show this month are Sushmita Chatterjee Datta, Sayeesh Dushyant, Karthik Mallur, Pramit Pratim Ghosh and the improvision will be given by Raakhee Bose and Hilten Balsari.
Karthick Mallur, has acted in a couple of plays for the past 10 years. Even though he has acted in a feature film and a couple of plays, he feels he hasn't got much recognition, so he moved to the technical side of filmmaking, working as a cinematographer. He is hoping to change that after this play. He says, "Usually for an aspiring actor it's difficult to get through an audition, but this team makes it look pretty simple. They bring out everyone's potential and they also give the stories based on their style and skills, which feels welcoming and they don't neglect anyone".
Another actor in the show Sushmita Chatterjee Datta says that the play has been plotted with creative, unusual and heart touching stories. "I have never acted before. I'm a singer and I teach classical music. I got through the audition in my first try. It's quite challenging but exciting to be staged because it's a one-act play. It's also good because they gave a chance to both male and female actors"
The team promises to put out a play every month and, this month, they are putting out the Solus Show on May 25, at 7.30 pm at Prayog Studio in Banashankari.