Actors should have freedom to discuss whatever they feel with director: Rajendran

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 4: Natrang’s International Theatre Talk show witnessed a highly enriching narrative by Prof. K.S Rajendran, an eminent Theatre Director.
Describing this talk show as highly intellectual and enlightening activity, Director Natrang, Padmashri Balwant Thakur invited theatre enthusiasts from all over the world to attend it regularly on Natrang Jammu Facebook Page to get enlightened about the ‘Vision of Theatre’ of the most celebrated theatre personalities of the country and abroad at a single platform which is a rare and remarkable happening.
Introducing Prof. K.S Rajendran, Mahikshit Singh informed that Rajendran teaches at the National School of Drama and is a well known director of plays in various Indian languages.
He has worked extensively with Chennai-based theatre repertory Koothu-p-Pattarai. In 2007, he founded the New Delhi Theatre Workshop, which has presented well received productions such as Madhavi, Daar se Bichhudi, UrvaShe and Chimtewale Baba. His directorial work ranges from adaptations of Shakespeare, Brecht, Ionesco and Genet to contemporary playwrights and authors such as Omchery, Shankara Pillai, Shiva Prakash, Tendulkar, Alekar, Kambar, Indira Parthasarathy and Lalit Mohan Thapalyal besides Sanskrit classics by Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti and Shudraka.
His production of Shakespeare’s RICHARD III was presented at the Second International Theatre Festival organised by GATS at Beijing in September, 2011.
In a highly educative session, Prof. Rajendran, who is an authority on Indian Classical Theatre, presented many glorious aspects of ‘Natyashastra, its relevance and importance.
He asserted that we are fortunate to have a very old tradition of actor training which contains very well established systems of actors training in extremely codified system.
He also very interestingly informed that ‘Natyashastra’ is more practiced than read and in some classical art forms, people practice it even without theoretically knowing it. Highlighting its distinctive nature, he said that it is so vast that it cannot be read like western theories.
Speaking about his style, Rajenderan, who believes in team work asserts that an actor is always very important for him, actors should have the freedom to discuss whatever they feel with the director. Only when the actor is free, creative possibilities open. Moreover, he never tells his actors ‘how to do it’ because it is their quest and they have to find it, the actors are not puppets and it is unfortunate if they are not given freedom to differ.
Those who are coordinating the mega online event included Anil Tickoo, Neeraj Kant, Suresh Kumar, Sanjeev Gupta, Vikrant Sharma, Sumeet Sharma, Aarushi Thakur Rana, Mohd. Yaseen, Gauri Thakur and Rahul Singh.

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