Tech and 10 minutes

Posted by DCA Theater on March 27, 2009 in January-June 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Rasaka Theatre

by Anita Chandwaney, playwright, actor, director, Dir. Playwright Development

After a very busy month we have arrived to our final weekend of rehearsals and tech.  I have visions of tech being a total nightmare - 10 new plays with 10 writer/director/actor teams all waiting for their turn to tech.  But we need them all there to ensure the entire program flows seamlessly (ha-ha).  I hope the technician the DCA assigns us comes equipped with an abundant supply of patience and good humor.

I’ve invited both playwrights for the plays I’m directing to our final rehearsal tomorrow in case they see any final tweaks they’d like to make before tech on Sunday.  I know as a playwright I am always awed at how much actors bring to a piece.  I always find that I have overwritten or gone off on some strange tangent ... like now.  Hopefully Devi and Mary Anne will avail themselves of the opportunity to further finesse their plays with the invitation.

I myself will be attending the final rehearsal for my play, Instant Recall, which will happen immediately following the two I’m directing.  Minita, who is in both the pieces I’m directing, is also the actress in the one I wrote.  Note to self:  keep my mouth shut during the Instant Recall rehearsal and be a well-behaved playwright and let Sonny do his job!!  Unless there’s questions that have to do w/ the text itself that are confusing because of the way I wrote it.

As an actor, Insignificance has come a nice way with Kamal’s dedicated focus on the moment to moment beats.  It looks like it will still have to be cut as Rasaka is remaining strict with the “10-minute play” designation.

Frozen

Posted by DCA Theater on March 27, 2009 in January-June 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Rasaka Theatre

by Kamal Hans, director, actor, Rasaka Board Member

So, we have had 3-4 rehearsals for each piece and it was decided that the scripts would be “frozen” on March 15th.  Well, the best laid plans…  In one of my pieces we received the 4th rewrite as of today!  Ironically, the rewrite is almost an identical copy of the first script!  Well, as luck would have it, this is the one piece I am acting in and I enjoy the challenge and “freshness” of the new script.

As far as my directing pieces go, well, one of the pieces has had intimate involvement with the playwright who has attended rehearsals and rewritten on the fly.  This has been a nice, if not dangerous, tool to have as the playwright could get overly involved and override the director; but we have been fortunate and all has gone smoothly there.  The other piece, has had almost the complete opposite as far as involvement from the writer.  The first revision from this write was minor at best.  So, we rehearsed the revised piece and found numerous changes would improve the script and tell the nice story even better.  So, we made suggested changes and submitted them to the writer – who signed off.  So far so good.  Next step is tech and all the administrative pieces…

Rasaka playwrights

Posted by DCA Theater on March 27, 2009 in January-June 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Rasaka Theatre

by Will Dunne, Playwrighting Instructor

It is a pleasure to work with this talented group of Rasaka playwrights and actors and watch ten new short plays evolve from a weekend of dramatic writing exercises, actor readings, and group discussions. We met first in August to find the plays and again in early March to refine them.

When we began the August weekend intensive, I was informed by the group that this would be the first South Asian American playwriting workshop ever. Ever? Wow! That added history and excitement—and responsibility—to the creative work that then began as ten enthusiastic playwrights each explored their personal material in relationship to universal themes and dramatic form.

As a result, some powerful dramatic voices that have begun to emerge and tell stories that not often seen on American stages. For me, the plays open the door to a cultural perspective that is in many ways as new as it is rich—- and yet in their uniqueness, insight, and humor the plays also feel familiar and true.

It is wonderful that these new scripts will now make their way to where they belong—in the hands of actors on a stage in front of a general audience. Hopefully, this event will be not the culmination of the Rasaka company’s playwriting efforts but only its beginning. Bravo!

Adopted Moms, Birth Moms, and People Who Throw the Baby in the Air

Posted by DCA Theater on March 26, 2009 in January-June 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Rasaka Theatre

by Angeli Primlani, playwright, director, actor

I understand a little bit why one doesn’t usually involve the playwright too heavily in the rehearsal process.
It’s not a problem for me as a director, although there is a weird dynamic - see, its like I’m the adoptive mother of two gorgeous babies and then one of the birth mothers shows up and I become a little self conscious. But not in a bad way, just in a delightful creatively tense way.
Then I got on stage to act in front of the playwright and I was suddenly made of thumbs. I couldn’t even read the words properly on the page. I second-guessed every line reading. Because instead of simply being the adoptive mother I was suddenly throwing the baby in the air in front of the mother! At any moment I was going to drop the baby! In front of her! Oh no!
I’ve deliberately kept myself a bit distant from the direction of my play, because I think it is pretty close to finished and I do not want to mess with the actors and director. And then from time to time I get anxious about it and wonder what is happening.
But do I want to be in the room while they throw my baby in the air? No, its really better if I wait until they’ve practiced a bit and can do it with ease. 

Rasaka staged reading becomes a film!

Posted by DCA Theater on March 26, 2009 in January-June 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Rasaka Theatre

by Anita Chandwaney: playwright, actor, director, Dir. Playwright Development

So one of Rasaka’s very first staged readings, Mausi, is now a film called Karma Calling, featuring 2 Rasaka founding members!
One thing really does lead to another doesn’t it? 
It’ll be screening at the Gene Siskel Film Center as part of the Asian American Showcase.
Rasaka aided in the development of the Sarba and Sarthak Das screenplay back in 2004 at the DCA’s Storefront Theatre space.
(wonder if the DCA knows it’s now a Hollywood player?)
I had the honor and privilege of playing the title character - a 60 something year old grandmother. 
Luckily (for the sake of my vanity but not my career), the director thought I was too young to play the role on film and cast her real life mom.
I wonder if any of the 10 scripts we will be presenting for INCUBATOR on Monday, March 30th will be developed into bigger projects…