BENGALURU: When it comes to the field of theatre, structuring and shaping artistic ideas have often been tricky to execute, especially at the nascent stage. Which is why, First Draft, an idea development lab presented by Indian Ensemble, is attempting to provide a platform to explore these artistic ideas, along with theatre directors, playwrights and performance artistes. Looking towards their first event, Chanakya Vyas, artistic director of Indian Ensemble and principal faculty of First Draft says, “The idea is to provide space and support to theatre-makers to develop their ideas – from the word, image, concept, story to creative expression – be it in the form of text or performance.
The process has been rigorous, personalised and collaborative.”Started in May, the course – spread across three terms with a mix of lectures, presentations, group discussions, reading and also focused on research methodologies and performance theories to train the participants in the most suitable sense – was designed to open doors to aspiring artistes. On October 6, four participants of the course will present their drafts of plays, at the Bangalore International Center in Domlur. Salaam Takko Kadalura Doreye (Kannada) written by Usha Kattemane, Seb ke Beej (Hindustani) written by Saudamini Kalra, For Arguments’ Sake (Bengali) written by Shatarupa Bhattacharyya, Vesha (Gujarati) written by Abhimanyu Acharya, will be presented at the event.
“This idea has been brewing since 2015, but writing can be a lonely ordeal. Having a steady stream of mentors during the writing process is the ideal scenario for a writer which has led to the completion of my draft,” said Saudamini Kalra, who will present the draft of her work, Seb Ke Beej.
Speaking on the upcoming plans, Vivek Madan, executive director of Indian Ensemble says, “We will be announcing applications in January next year and the course will roughly follow the same timeline as before. It is really a laboratory where developments are observed and results are documented and new approaches are made.”