Be Poetic!

16^th September, 2015.

Being poetic does not necessarily mean that you break into song and dance, as the popular saying goes, it also means that you give your hundred percent to your arts. Theater is no different than art.

Today was the first day that we got to practice in the theater space where we will get to perform (some days down the line).  Performing when you do it in an informal setting (which will not come in handy other than for rehearsal and practice purposes) is very different from performing in the space which would be sacred ground for your final performance.

Well, today I got to experience that sensation exactly. Though my stage fright and insecurities of performing are still there, I by no means feel threatened at the prospect of even trying to do something like it. Through this experience of theater I have grown as a person. When people used to say that theater is one of those experiences that change you forever, I was always the skeptic because, how can it? In our previous session, Dr. Erika became our personal mentor, guiding my group (the group dealing primarily with smells of Lahore), she instead of choosing a script herself let us vote on it.

I’ve always wanted to be a writer (or a teacher) but, I’ve never had the guts to share something I write since, for me it is extremely personal. However, when I finally managed the courage to go through with the ordeal of reading out my version of Heer Ranjha I kept thinking that no one would like it but, I was somewhat surprised when my group members said that it was a nicely written dialogue between two historians. Ultimately we chose two of the well written versions (as my group members put it, making me feel pleased and satisfied) and discussed them further with Dr. Erika.

She seemed to like the scripts we chose as well. She went as far enough to say that the poem we selected was very concise, exactly what we were looking for, and the dialogue also has that dramaturgy to it which makes it very well written. This comment made my day! Having shown something so personal to me and receiving praise for it not just from my colleagues but also form my instructor made the experience even more special.

The way Dr. Erika conducted our discussions after that point onwards, was much focused. With every decision she made us take, she got us closer and closer to our goal and that is to create good ethnotheater with themes that are an integral part of our culture.

Coming back to my earlier point, ethnotheater is basically like living through an extraordinary experience clothing itself as an ordinary one. That according to Dr. Hughes is our mission. Creating an extraordinary experience with ordinary, every day Lahori smells. 

Smell… Script…Go!

15^th September, 2015.

What is non-traditional theater? What makes it different from traditional theater? Or rather, why have more and more artists started to go with the option of non-traditional than traditional? According to the critic behind “Non-traditional Theater: What Works?” non-traditional is basically a form of theater that has strayed away from the normal, the conventional. In many ways it is that form of theater which is outside the Aristotelian form of drama. In The Heretic’s Mirror, it further states ‘The need to identify with and to feel for the protagonist is a requirement for both standard story-telling and non-traditional forms… when you’re using non-linear techniques or you’re not providing a dramatic narrative, you need something else to keep the audience engaged.’ In my opinion that is what non-traditional theater does, it keeps the audience engaged. That is what we as a class have to accomplish in a week worth of rehearsals before the big day – the performance.

In today’s class we further deliberated on what could or could not be used with our preferable stage – non-traditional. Since we had already been divided into groups, each group had to come up with a script that could be used for their individual performances. In our previous session, we were set the task of creating a piece of fiction that could concisely convey the message behind the folktale Heer Ranjha, in today’s class our instructors asked us to choose two of our most potential stories. Since Heer Ranjha is a folktale, it works like a myth or legend, too many possibilities and outcomes so, every member of each group had to come up with their version of the most beautifully concise adaptation of the tragedy of lost love.

The group which had ton smells of Lahore, came up with two scripts that we mashed together to make one beautiful script. Two historians talking amongst themselves about Heer and Ranjha as the two lovers would have moments where they would describe their emotions and feelings in poetic verse and so on. Engaging the prose with the poetic… making art!