ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!

I just got really tired of seeing 'Copy Paste Theater' staring me in the face every time I blogged on. But having nothing important or even mildly interesting to say, I opted for the advertising approach: Sensationalist headline, no substance in copy, weak ending.

How are you guys?

Who (like me) hasn't found a director yet ? Isn't that a bit sad and quite terrifying?

Ah, well. Love lots and for God's sake, someone intelligent, post!

(see? weak ending)

Copy-paste theatre

I have been attending the Bareeri workshop (theatre criticism workshop) at Ranga Shankara for the past three days. The Company Theatre's Numbers in the dark was taken as the premise for 9 critics to critique and brainstorm. For the workshop, Keval Arora and Sadanand Menon asked us to write a review of Atul Kumar's latest production. The original review i wrote is as below:

"The Company Theatre's devised production for Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2006 "Numbers in the dark" literally held a mirror to the audience and raised a few critical questions. The brochure cites the writings of Italo Calvino, Harold Pinter, Complicite and Jeanette Winterson as inspiration, and materials for adaptation. What is the meaning and responsibility understood by a Company when they decide to employ the definition "inspired and adapted from"?

We were each given a leaf on entering the auditorium and after a successive mirror-reflection of the immobile mass of spectators as against a lone artiste born to struggle, an introductory piece followed. By the end of the 10-minute monologue, a realization struck that except for the bits irrelevant to an Indian audience, it has been a verbatim performance of the very engaging introduction of Complicite's 1999 original production 'Mnemonic'. Including the leaf. Is this how we should now start to define an ‘inspired and adapted’ theatrical piece: without the new perception a hopeful audience looks forward to; not unlike the copy-paste job that a processor allows us? Or did The Company Theatre presume that it would be playing to a gallery of immobile spectators and not much is necessary except for the spectacle? My only perception was the uncanny coincidence. Simon McBurney had staged Ionesco’s The Chairs before the production of ‘Mnemonic’ and it is mentioned in the original script. The Company Theatre has also staged The Chairs a few weeks ago in Mumbai and Bangalore. This is as surreal as the production was incongruous. Keeping aside the artistic ruminations, what comes next is the very technical question of copyright. Ideas have no copyright, so the idea of the leaf cannot be faulted. I am assuming that a responsible group like The Company Theatre has taken the right permission from the right people to perform the 10-minute monologue of ‘Mnemonic’ as well as the rest of ‘inspired and adapted’ pieces used to stitch the production together. Recently, Bangalore theatre has seen a spate of copyright issues regarding theatrical productions and another addition would not be a feather in the cap.

The production value of ‘Numbers in the dark’ is definitely higher than the usual fare. The precise, surprise element which has become the trademark of The Company Theatre’s visual production was evident in more than generous proportions. The fragmented shadows cast by the black strips hanging in the background; the double reflection of light from the mirror the actors constantly peer at; the bright yellow light of a singular bulb enveloping the melodramatic recital of possible murders and manipulation; the dull, icy white light flooding the interrogation scene; the rain of white mini-parachutes in the final crescendo arrested the audience and possibly became a clever substitute for the lack of integrity in content and intention. It is however laudable the way seven amateur actors managed to hold the performance together, unlike the uninterested performance given by professional actors the other evening."

I was told The Company Theatre had applied to the British Council, Italian Embassy etc etc for the rights to perform and that Atul Kumar had apprenticed with Complicite etc etc. Yes, thats good news and what we expect from a reputed company when they perform for a national festival. The copyright issue became a major point of discussion and I was informed about Laurence Liang's Copyleft project which denounces the idea of copyright. We all know the state of Indian Theatre when it comes to monetary advantages. We know how amateur theatre struggles to mount a production. But in the name of 'inspired and adapted from', is it justified to lift 10 pages of script without batting an eyelid and performing it verbatim? What is the basic meaning of 'inspiration' or 'adaptation'? I know for sure that it doesn't mean 'copy-paste'. I have seen Simon performing the piece on tape and as the actor in Numbers in the dark, he addresses the audience like a moderator. Not only the text but the performance itself has been transported in its original format. Except that Simon was wearing a shirt (and coat) and our Indian actor an overall. What complication or difference in perception has 'Numbers in the dark' introduced in its performance of Mnemonic? Nothing. This disturbs me as a playwright, as a critic and as an audience. Yes, we will leave the financial angle of royalty and copyright because we are all so poor. But where is the creative process, goddamnit? What do I look forward to here as a member of the audience?

We are all writers (and actors and directors) here. Each of us know about the endless hours we spend even to get a 2-minute scene on stage right. It would be wonderful if what we write inspire other artistes and lead them to create something more or different from our piece. Playwrights anyway are never paid anything here, so just the possibility of starting a creative conversation makes us happy and feed our hunger. But what do we do when a director takes all our lines and directions (basically our play) and plonk them on stage and call it an inspiration/adaptation? I think an old foggy from early 20th century (and earlier) would call it disrespect. At this age, respect is such a vile word.

PEOPLE, I AM TRAVELLING FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. SO PLEASE CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION. IF POSSIBLE I WILL ALSO JOIN IN ON AND OFF.

A German Play

Early last month I was reading Ronald Schimmelpfennig's Arabian Night and I found his style pretty interesting. Harriet must be knowing about him as a couple of his plays have already been performed at the Royal Court. It has been performed in India also by Khoj and somebody in Mumbai...

Pinter-Beckett

Came across this Telegraph.uk.co article on Pinter taking up Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape". Ram, Pritham Kumar has also done this one, right? I missed all the BLT's productions on Beckett this year.

Stoppard

Hullo. Any reactions to the new Stoppard play?
And more loaded...
Any reactions to the new Karnad play?

http://www.geocities.com/qtpthescript/oct06.html

Motley etc

I'm sorry I've been away so long.

Got back on to the blog yesterday and immediately wished I hadn't! I feel as though we've been in this wonderfully Utopian space so far, nothing but the writing and the discipline and the craft, and now suddenly all sorts of uncomfortable realities are beginning to invade it.

Or am I just being naive?

My news...Rage sent the play to Naseeruddin Shah in the hope that he might want to direct it and perhaps also play Rustom. Of course, I was completely star struck by the whole affair and fantasised all the way to a fabulous production in January. But he got back about a week ago saying no, it 'wasn't his kind of play'. I would by far have preferred 'I'm too busy'. Not his kind of play makes me question the merit of the thing entirely.

Ah well.

So now the search for a director begins again, and with names like Mahabanoo Kotwal and Lilette Dubey coming up, I am having nightmares. (Thank God this is a private space!)

As therapy, I've begun my second play. It seems to be writing itself but it is such a lonely process in comparison to the first. Why can't we have a Vasind every year, dammit!

More soon and love.

By the way Harriet, I am re-reading "Being George Devine's Daughter" and am again struck by the storybook quality of your life. By that I mean both romantic and perpetually interesting. I wish I had read it before we spent ten days together in Vasind...I'd have had so many questions for you.

Some info

Just thought I'd throw in some mildly useful info.
Now that scripts are going out, some of you may be concerned about protection. If someone wants to lift your script, there's little that can really prevent them. Unless there's big money involved, you'd be better off just mailing the offending party a stinker, instead of calling a lawyer. We don't have agents. We don't have easy publication set ups. We barely have legal coverage. So...
Basics. You need to fixate the script in a definitive version and fix the date of creation. Write the date of completion on your script. Slap a Copyright symbol on the script with the date and add your name and contact details. You can also put - All rights reserved ... or ... Not to be copied, or distributed without the author's permission. You can then e-mail a copy to your self as proof of the date of fixation. Or you can send a registered post to yourself.
I also find that .pdfs are safer for scripts that you are sending out electronically. Try not to send out word docs as they can be easily modified and copied (unless password protected, encrypted or read only docs). Pdfs aren't pilfer-proof, but they make the copying a bit irritating. (You can simply disable the copy paste function while publishing the pdf, so recipients can't just select text and transfer to word doc.) There are work arounds, but the irritant factor is the first barrier you are throwing up.
This is the minimum safety that you can put in place at this stage. Anyway ... more later.
I'll get Anu to post links on quick templates that take care of your stage-play formatting for you. And any other resources that I can dig up.
Take care all.

Copy Cat

Long time! Have good as well as not so good news to share with you. Let me start with the not so good one.As all of you know, Shernaz had given my script to a Marathi director Pratima Kulkarni who has politely refused to direct it saying that the theme as well as the content of the play has been dealt with before. I am fine with the theme(s) being ripped. My play deals with sibling rivalry, alienation, desolation etc, etc and hopefully I have succeded in drawing parallels between the "micro" squabbling between the two sisters and the "macro" riot unfolding outside. I think there is a paucity of themes out there, so what can one do!I can't take a likewise liberal view on content.
To the writers who came for the later workshop- The new play "Dreamcatcher" is about two sisters who are classical Indian dancers spending an evening holed up in a five star suite because their show has been cancelled due to a communal flareup. Their only contact with the outside world is the waiter who has been deputed to their room. As tensions escalate outside, the sisters are forced to confront all the ugliness in their own lives. A dreamcatcher also makes an appearance to indicate how the best dreams are meant not to stay but to wither and die and then reappear in some other form.That really is the jist.
Ira asked for the whole script so I mailed it to her. Needless to add, I can mail it to anyone else also if they have the time or inclination to read it.I would be quite concerned if the content of the play inadvertently resembles any other Indian play, in whatever language. I can't imagine any non-Indian play having a similar content as the setting is so 'desi.' But again if someone knows of any firang play, that is similar in content, do let me know.
At this stage in my writing career, I just can't afford to have someone claiming my play is derivative from some other text. Especially since I have been quite vocal about any form of creative writing being driven by "original ideas." I truly believe any reinterpretation including adaptations is "clever writing," something I no longer want to do after my shot at King Lear!So if there is any other play that may make it appear that my play has borrowed content, I would much rather withdraw it.
In some ways, this is so reminiscent of 2001 when I wrote my first play "Scars in my memory." :-(A journalist asked me if I had ripped it from "The Blair Witch project." I hadn't seen the movie and found it difficult to defend myself. When I watched it later, I just couldn't see any resemblance except both of them were "experimental." Then when the play began to get good audience and critical response, a doyen from Bangalore theatre started spreading I had actually ripped it from a film called "Spin the bottle." I watched that too and was pleasantly surprised at the non resemblance.
I am sure that Ms. Kulkarni doesn't know me from adam and her feedback is impartial and genuine. So that's all the more worrying. Do help fellow writers!
The good news is ( I can see Nadir and KRK sniggering with unhealthy delight as they read this!)- I have just got a web site done. I know none of you would believe me if I told you I did it on my publisher's advice. So I am not saying it. :-) Please visit me at www.vijaynair.net. The site is almost ready. Some pictures have to be included, that's all. Feedback is most welcome.To redeem myself
I also taught Dhruv Uno. He beats me all the time.I think I am revealing too much.
Bye!

Heart is paining..

hello writers...

got some news that makes me pretty damn sad...

looks like i'm going to be missing all of writer's bloc in jan.. gonna be acting in a play with the daksha sheth dance company which will be rehearsing all through january in trivandrum... really depressing but it's an opportunity i can't afford to pass up... took me a long time to finally say yes to it... missing being part of the festival is just too weird...

so, just thought i'd let you guys know.. hope all the writing's going well..

HELLLOOOO!!! WHERE ARE YOU BLOG RULERS?

I never thought I would have to ever end up doing this but hellooo Maia and Ram where are the two of you? The blog feels dead without the two of you posting. Don't give up on our space you two..... keep it alive! Okay lets spill some secrets Maia. I have one : Manu sings in her sleep. There. Your turn.