Unlocking creativity

Mona

Covid-19 may have altered routine life, but it could not dampen their creativity; the pandemic not only brought tricity theatre groups closer, but it also made them engage and interact with their community the world over. Video talks and webinars on how art can help one stay sane through turbulent times, theatre folks kept themselves gainfully occupied. They turned to films and used the gap to prepare for a return to stage.

“Corona ne filmain bana na sikha diya,” laughs Mukesh Sharma. Used to devoting evenings to theatre, he felt a huge void. “Taking inspiration from makers of TV shows, we too learnt how to script, record and merge the scenes together while following all lockdown regulations.” As many as 20 films, touching various aspects of Covid-19, his whole theatre group embraced the new normal. “For Rakhi, we did four short films highlighting different aspects,” says Mukesh, who is working next on the prejudice Covid patients have to face.

“It was creativity that kept me going through it all,” says Sahib Singh. “I immersed myself in books. And since these strange times did not allow theatre, I turned to videos.” The plight of migrant labourers moved him; the result was a song Oh Tur Piya and two short films – Lock and Bhookh!

Upgrading skills

The lockdown period gave Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry time to grasp and put into practice new processes. “Teaching for me is a very action-oriented approach. Given the pandemic, I had to learn to do it over Internet.” Being on the jury of Serendipity, Arts Festival, Goa, preparing new technology-driven teaching modules, countless webinars; right from Chandigarh Literary Society to Lokadharmi Theatre, Kerala, Neelam Mansingh had a busy schedule. Book reviews to talks; the theatre thespian finds herself armed with new skills.

Rani Balbir Kaur too made the most of virtual platforms. “To begin with, it did seem like one’s freedom had been snatched, but increasingly as I delved into classics from Wordsworth to Thomas Hardy — I realised it was the time to reinvent.” She finally found her fursat ke raat din. “Right from discourse on Natya Shastra to the relevance of art in Covid times, it was a very engaging time for the artiste in me. I reworked a film on Bhai Kanhaiya, the epitome of selfless service in the context of corona times and Sikh sewapanthi followers of Bhai Kanhaiya.”

New normal

Lockdown gave the artistes much-needed time to reflect and rejuvenate, believes Sudesh Sharma. “Theatre survives and thrives on its interaction with masses, but the situation demanded a cut on that. Thanks to webinars, the theatre community kept in touch irrespective of where they were.” Each day, he attends a few webinars, giving talks or listening to his fellow colleagues. “It was just the perfect time to update myself; I read plenty of interesting scripts that can be brought on to the stage as and when time permits.”

Zubin Mehta moved his classes online; reading short stories, watching world cinema, biking once the restrictions were eased kept Zubin going. “Getting acting classes online has been a task. What kept me sane was regular practice of Vipassana.”

Chakresh Kumar hails the theatre community in tricity, which came together in these tough times. Stuck in Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) when the lockdown was announced, Chakresh started online classes as early as the end of March. Now back in the city, he says, “Acting, writing classes coupled with talks on how art can help us sail through the difficult times came in handy.” During this period, Chakresh learnt film editing and made four short films along with his team. Chakresh says, “What I am immensely touched by is that all tricity theatre groups came together to lend support and stood together as one.”

While staging plays could be a far cry, a beginning has been made. “Keeping social distancing norms in mind, we have started to meet; to brainstorm, do riyaaz and explore possibilities.”

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