There are many frustrating things about working in the theatre in India. Lack of money, lack of rehearsal spaces, lack of performing spaces, the list goes on and on. But perhaps there is nothing as infuriating as actors!
For a director, actors are the biggest cause of stress and the joy simultaneously. We love them and hate them in equal measure. We hate them when they get it wrong and love them when they get it “right”. But what we REALLY hate is that they never time for rehearsals!
These days assembling a collection of actors you want to work with, and who are all available at the same time, requires complicated mathematic calculations. The director becomes an air traffic controller, trying to make sure that everyone you want is in the same room, at the same time. Much easier said, than done.
This wasn’t always the case. Earlier on, theatre actors had regular day jobs that ended at specific times, so rehearsals were easier to plan.
Today’s work environment ensures that the end of an office day is as unpredictable as the stock market.
There is also the new concept of “full-time actors” — people who make a living from television commercials, serials and films. While it is wonderful that a lot of them are still committed to doing plays, it is also very annoying trying to coordinate everyone’s shooting schedules.
For example, this week we have been rehearsing four plays slated for performances over the next few weeks. Each cast of actors seems to have their own unique schedule problems.
For Khatijabai that plays Thursday night at NCPA, it is easy to organise rehearsal, because it is only one actor, Jayati Bhatia. Incredibly busy with her various television serials, she still makes time for rehearsals and shows.
The only problem is travelling out of town for shows since she can’t get away too often.
When we opened The President is Coming four years ago, the wonderfully talented cast were all “not doing too much”.
Today, they are all familiar faces on cinema and TV. Namit Das, Anand Tiwari, Ira Dubey, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Shivani Tanksale, Ratnabali Bhattacharjee are all shuttling from one shoot to another. They are all also very committed to doing more plays, so each one’s schedule has to be wrestled with, so time can be squeezed out when they are all in the same room, at the same time. In fact our Sunday the 6th March show at Prithvi can only happen because Namit flies in from one theatre tour that morning, and leaves for another the next morning.
Project S.T.R.I.P. has another set of problems. Apart from the usual hassle that the actors are all busy with shoots, dubs and the like, there is also the additional problem of “look”.
In the play each character has a specific look, particularly the men. But they also have particular “looks” for other projects — sometimes clean shaven, sometimes weird hair, and sometimes full beard.
This truly drives me mad, because there is no guarantee what they will look like when they turn up to show. I guess I will find out at NCPA Experimental on Sunday.
Our brand new show Nostalgia Brand Chewing Gum, which opens next week at Prithvi posed us different problems with actors. When we were casting, weddings of best friends or their own kept getting in the way. Once we have cast — other shows, visa appointments and ad commercial shoots are some of the obstacles we have to clear.
As a theatre company we have lined up 15 shows in 17 days of 4 plays at 3 venues across 2 cities, starting Thursday night; an ambitious project by any standards. Then how come it’s the scheduling of actors that is my biggest challenge!