Being Professional... a Theatre Professional !

Oh I suddenly discovered... I just completed 3 years out of my job. 3 years to the day have I been only a theatre maker. Producer, director, actor, designer, technician, stagehand, prompter, workshop leader... theatre academician. All roles in theatre. What more could one want! Making money doing theatre? Well...umm... ahem... you kidding? No, honestly, haven't done badly on that count either. Of course now, I haven't bought a bike nor bus during this period, but then haven't had a day off from theatre in some form or other these 1000-odd days. And it set me thinking, now that I woke up from the reverie called theatre.

What does being theatre professional mean to me? What has that made out of me? What, above all, have I given to theatre?

It has made a better person out of me

I realise a certain need as an artist to give - not just to my co-artists but to humanity in general - than take. Commerce is essential. But what is quintessential is the satisfaction we put back in the hearts of the audience and the smile we smear on their faces as they leave the venue of your performance. And it has made me quieter and less flashy. May be I guess I have travelled the following route: Enthusiasm - excitement - passion - obsession - analysing - theorising - practising - evaluating - evolving - will continue to evolve... as a better human being!