All World's a Play

All the world's a stage. The Bard of Avon wrote these words in his play "As You Like It". On 15th April while I was on stage it felt like stage was the only world! The next seventy minutes were a stream of surreal moments. I felt like a kid, unscathed by the worldly ways. I did my fair share of mistakes but somehow things worked out at the end.


How I ended up doing a play?

I was part of a two months workshop conducted by Samahaara in Hyderabad. I almost missed it if not for a useless habit of browsing through my old emails! Perhaps the stars conspired for me and I ended up as part of this workshop. It was one of the best decisions I have made in my life so far.




Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world!
When German playwright Johann Wolfgang said these words he was referring to putting thoughts into action in our lives. Whew! I found out during the two months of training that "acting" ain't easy. There is a lot of method to this art. It teaches how to control your movement, improve voice, posture exercises and lot of ways to define the physical & mental state of the character you're playing.


Read, Read and Read
There is a lot of reading of screenplay! My teacher (Pejjai Nagaraju) initially asked me to skim through the material. As we progressed we went into the material a bit deeper every time we practiced. As we continued on this course somehow the characters came to life. Every time some line would reveal another aspect of the character (which was missed on previous reading).


Do Things Differently
When you continuously practice for a play you create a comfortable relationship with the character you're playing. This is a dangerous for an actor as the comfort zone acts like a blanket that enshrouds all the other fantastic possibilities. Doing the same scene different from last time was encouraged by our teacher during our practice sessions. "Now do the same scene as if you are angry" - it was frustrating at times but poking at the same stuff from different angles reveals surprising bursts of energy!


Red, Yellow and Green
Jim Carrey described acting as transcending all the bullshit that is flying around an actor. Acting is about losing yourself into the moment and distracting yourself from the world outside the stage. 
Red: stop all the crap that you're allowing in your mind. Oh My Gosh! I'll fail on the stage - okay, give yourself a chance to fail on stage. 
Yellow: take a pause, slow down and breathe. Believe in all the practice you've done. Feel the energy between you and your co-actor. 
Green: Let go of all inhibitions. Whatever comes out on the stage is your creation, you'll love it! 


In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed. (Charles Darwin)
A co-actor crashed into the table on the stage. I forgot my line. Light on but no one on stage. Shit happens! It doesn't mean we quit living. That's how you live on stage. Mistakes are part of a theater performance. I remember struggling for a line towards the end of the play. I just kept on going. Some might have caught me stuttering but others wouldn't have. As our teacher reassured us that audience don't know what's going to happen in the play so as an actor you have a chance to hide that mistake through improvisation.


Enjoy the Moment With Your Team

If you're not a professional actor chances on being stage are limited. I have a job that pays for everything in my life and sometimes finding a time for yourself is a wee bit difficult. So enjoy your time in limelight and glory! Creativity and spontaneity are products of fun and love. Live and breathe on stage. Carpe diem!

“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” Oscar Wilde