World Theatre Day 2020

Coming Soon @ Masquerade, Chennai

Masquerade presents World Theatre Day 2020

A FREE TO REGISTER, public participation event, inviting artists and theatre enthusiasts to join in celebrating World Theatre Day. The day is being celebrated for the 22nd year in Chennai by Masquerade – the performance group, ChennaI. For more details on World Theatre Day, visit: https://iti-worldwide.org/worldtheatreday.html

Some may say this is not the time to celebrate. But in times of contagion and life threatening crisis like this, if we do not celebrate life, and its ONE TRUE MIRROR, live theatre, when then?

It is our responsibility and privilege as artists to exhibit freedom… Come join us, the online stage is yours.

Public Performance Event
Genre: Any that you may choose
Duration : 1 to 10+ minutes (not exceeding 12 please)
Language : Tamil, English or Mime preferably (but any that you may choose)

PS: Nothing Filmy, or anything from films. Create your own original piece. WE WANT YOU TO BE YOUR ORIGINAL YOU. We want your theatrical talent to be featured, showcased. Please do grace our World Theatre Day celebrations with YOU.

This is not an age restricted event. Young talents are allowed too. Therefore, in public interest, Strictly please, no verbal or physical violence, political, personal or COVID19 propaganda statements.

REGISTRATION & PARTICIPATION FREE.
YOU CAN EVEN PARTICIPATE AS A DUO OR GROUP SO LONG AS YOU’RE ON SAME SCREEN AND HANDLE

To Register CLICK HERE

Let's Play Madras on August 22nd

This Madras Day, on August 22nd, between 7 pm and 11 pm… Experience Madras like never before and showcase how Madras-savvy you are!

The Great Madras Board Game 

To Register, Click HERE

Event Description :

It’s AUGUST 22 – It’s MADRAS DAY – The Day this city was officially established as a little Trading Post off what’s today our own Marina Bay…
And we are celebrating it WITH A BOARD GAME. For Once, we produce, you are the actors, ARE YOU WILLING TO STEP UP TO THE STAGE AND PLAY?
Conceived over 12 years ago, in 2007, we’ve worked constantly on and off to get here… We’ve developed a BOARD GAME FOR YOU… THE GREAT MADRAS TRIP
How well do you know your city?
You think you’re a hard-core North Madras beast? You think the ECR and the OMR are the palm of your hands? Or are the creature that’s lost in CHENNAI without your Google Maps and GPS?
Show us, strut your knowledge of WHAT WE CALL MADRAS and you call Chennai.
BASIC GAME DESCRIPTION: You’re a traveller. We give you starting points to choose, we provide you the destination based on the origin. And you have to get there. You roll the dice, you strategise the route using modes of city transport we provide and a certain amount of resources to use. As you (and your partner – did we not say it’s a team of two game ? Oh my !!) explore the city, you’d come across challenges we pose (after all Mario and Luigi can’t get to Super Mario Central without challenges and obstacles, can they?). This is going to test your knowledge of Trivia and Heritage as well as the HISTORY OF THIS MARVELLOUS MADRAS… and of course, what is city traffic without situations that prompt delays and stuck-ups !

SOUNDS LIKE YOUR KIND OF FUN AND CONNECT WITH MADRAS?
Sign up using the Google Form found in the link above! We’ve 3 slots of time, choose your time, come with your partner, pay your registration fee and you’re all set to Explore Madras.

WE ARE GAME, ARE YOU? LETS PLAY MADRAS….on THE GREAT MADRAS TRIP – 22nd AUGUST, 2019 (THURSDAY). 

Surendra Verma's FROM SUNSET TO SUNRISE

We Present to you...

On OCTOBER 7 & 8, 2017

At Spaces, Besant Nagar, CHENNAI

Time: 7:15 p.m

Duration: 1hr 50 mins (with 10 min. intermission)

All Are Welcome - Entry Free

JANOSCH - The Tiger & Bear Tales for Children...

JANOSCH - The Tiger & Bear Tales

JUNE 18, 2017 - SUNDAY 

@ Spaces, Besant Nagar, Chennai, INDIA
Two Shows: 5:30 & 7:30 p.m - 70+ mins duration - for audience 5+ years old...

The Bear & Beanbag Children's Theater Company

a unit of

presents...

JANOSCH

The Tiger and Bear Tales

 

About the performance:

Is it better to stay home with all the given comforts? Or a little adventure in getting around the world to get some perspective? Is that perspective worth the trouble of going around? Join the Bear and the Tiger on their adventure to THE LAND OF THEIR DREAMS... meet several lovely little friends they make on THE(IR) TRIP TO PANAMA...

And while we are on it... WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU RECEIVED A LETTER? Or have to forgotten the good old post card? Not the Tiger, not the Bear... nor Aunty Goose. Explore a whole 'OLD' world of writing letters... a world where they still use a Phone as a Phone. Where a PHONE means a PHONE and does not come with Cameras for Selfies and Groupfies... A LETTER FOR TIGER... 

JOIN US AT SPACES (Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar, Chennai, INDIA) for a show of JANOSCH... at 5:30 p.m and 7:30 p.m on SUNDAY the 18th June, 2017 with all your kids (yours, those in the neighbourhood and any and every kid you can bring along!)... and the KID IN YOU!

It's a show for 5+. ALL ARE WELCOME!

DURATION: 70 mins.

Poster and Promo concept: Arvind R Vyaas
Costume Design & Conception: Mitra Visvesh
Accessories, Props, Animal Ears & Hood: Ashvi K.S. (Intern)
Assistance in Production & Backstage: Rohit Narayan and Akshita Iyer
Assistance in Direction: Arvind R Vyaas
Lighting, Sound & Artistic Direction: Krishna Kumar. S (KK)

Cast: 
Pranav Dwaraknath (Little Bear), Madhumeeta B (Little Tiger)
Dhiraj Athreya, Shrivatz Agharam, Shriram Sivaramakrishnan & Vishal Vijayakumar
(Multiple Roles & Narration)
==============================================================

The Portrait of a Photographer as an Artist - Mohan Das Vadakkara

Today, my walk down the past lane takes me to putting in front of a whole new generation of young audience two people. The first person I introduce here. The second one in another separate post. 

One I have very personal acquaintance with and have had the opportunity of laughing, kidding around, fighting, having my works watched, analysed, photographed, videographed.... and whom a whole lot of Madras artists are familiar with. I consciously use the word Madras, even though you could have noticed my posts refer to my beloved city more as Madras and only when talking of contemporary inevitables as Chennai. No artist who has walked the Theatre in specific and Arts scene in the city will be unfamiliar with his work or him in person. A very genial, humble and knowledgeable person, I fondly call him as padakkaaran... Mohan Das Badagara. 

The accompanying photos are from a random album of his I chanced upon to take along with me, when Max Mueller Bhavan cleared up from KNK to its current residence. 






  


   

I bought a horde of German books for pittance, was gifted a horde of books - both in German and in English by a lot of Heads there from Herr Augustin, Herr Schindler, Frau Behlke, Frau Wetzkubach, Frau Rahimi.... as and when they left Madras for another pasture. Also, when MMB moved from KNK they were throwing away such a load of things because 1) they were old, anachronistic 2) they couldn't find place for those 3) the new place was getting digitised. So, like many a person, I also became richer with books, posters, media. 

One of those riches in the middle of rags was this album by Mohan Das. It is a simple collection of faces and places. I haven't met him in a while. Am sure he is quietly around at rehearsals, film festivals, art shows, theatre performances clicking away like there is no tomorrow, unassumingly, as he always does. He always tells me the need to buy printed photos, burned DVDs of performances in preservable copy saying "pinnaale venumna kedaikaadhumaaa.... negatives enga pogumnu solla mudiyaadhu, tapes enge pogum, memory card eppo erase aagum..." (later if you need you won't get, negatives and raw data files being erasable!). So I believed him and I BELIEVE HIM because after 25 years of being around, I realise the importance of old materials. I have materials - books, show tickets, fliers, program bills, souvenirs, photographs I myself took, bus tickets on the back of which several artists drew casual sketches and threw away which are documents now, plain paper sheets and tissue papers on which people like Mitran (Devanesen) and others drew stage and set first sketches.... so on and so forth. From 60s (when I hadn't even started taking firmer steps)... till 2006. After that I stopped collecting except those I own from my company. There are too many artists in the business now to keep track of and I lost the excitement of watching many of the theatre shows because they are purely of no aesthetic value to me and commerce never really excites me. 

Anyway, back to Mohan Das. I have some old random pictures. I hope you enjoy these. Some of these have solid history behind them. Notice how his places and facades have the same personality and character as some of the faces he captured. PLEASE FEED ME YOUR THOUGHTS AND VISIT HIS FB PAGE AND GIVE HIM A PAT FOR HIS UNFLINCHING STAND. He's been a very unassuming but steadfast soldier among people of his tribe. Like an artist refusing to budge to the demands of commoditisation making aesthetic works even when there is no cash in the bank or gas in the vehicle tank, he has been plugging away stolidly. As against a lot of photographers I have known started with lofty ambitions and have ended up shooting all kind of things and people for the lure of filthy lucre indiscriminately, Mohan Das is an artist among photographers in the same breath as a lot of documentary film makers, theatre directors who choose their work with a certain politics at heart and mind. Soldier on Badagara...