Their stage is set

Mona

Stage as an effective platform for catharsis and a valuable medium to reach out to people... little wonder then, young theatre artistes from the city take to it really seriously. Interestingly, many of them are pursuing professional courses or have finished their degrees and now exploring the world of Beckett, Patar and Pritam.

Personal growth

For Gurpreet Sarwara, theatre is an effective medium to be a good human being. “Conduct, discipline and time-management are the by- products for anyone who takes up theatre,” says this actor, who is five years into the field with Theatre For Theatre and gradually inching towards the film industry. “It may be clichéd, but stage has been the biggest confidence booster for me,” shares Ranbeer Sidhu, who owns a recording studio. He got the taste of theatre while in school and has been associated with it for about a decade now. 

Diksha Sharma considers stage to be the preparatory ground for acting on small and big screen, which is seconded by Vishal Rana, who wants to garner as much experience before he hits Mumbai to try his luck.

Learning curve

Theatre can be a huge learning experience that connects kids to their roots, opines Diksha, who loves her time in Samvaad Theatre Group rehearsing and staging plays. “The immediate connect that a play makes with its live audience cannot be replicated in any other form. Now it’s upon an individual how to use that power,” shares Gurpreet. 

For Shamsheer Dhanoa, third-year student of Bachelor in Dental Sciences and actor-director with Alankar Theatre Group, stage is perfect place to purge out human emotions. “No one can deny what theatre can do for the society; it gives tremendous benefit.” 

Great platform

Chandigarh can boast of fairly fair infrastructure, but is it conducive for an artiste’s growth? Shivam Sharma, civil engineering student, answers in the affirmative, “There are so many opportunities; one only needs more awareness.” 

Gurpreet credits the responsible audience, “Last monsoon, we had  a show  at the Punjab Kala Bhawan and it rained so badly that we thought no one was going to step out of their homes for a mere play. But to our surprise, the hall was almost full.” On the contrary, Ranbeer feels, “City audience could do way better.” It fails his logic how could someone walk out in the middle of an intense scene!

Full of hope

Theatre cannot ‘pay’ is the general sentiment, but for those passionately involved, it is an initial stumbling block “I have seen both the sides. I remember Harish Varma would come and lend a hand wherever we fell short. Zubin Sir has made big in his own right,” shares Ranbeer Sidhu. Shivam Sharma looks at the brighter side, “Look at the success of Kingdom of Dreams, the daily show fetches as much as one lakh a day.”

(With inputs from Simran Saini)

mona@tribunemail.com