The mundane acquires unexpected dimensions in solo theatre artist Jyoti Dogra’s Notes on Chai , a collection of snippets of everyday conversation interwoven with sound and movement.
The actor, who is here in the city as part of the annual contemporary arts festival — The Park’s New Festival 2014, held in association with the Prakriti Foundation, talks about her tryst with experimental theatre.
I heard that Notes on Chai was born from your recent study of music. Is that true?
No, not really. It is more about sound. I spent some time with Tibetan monks in Dharamshala and it is partly inspired by their chanting. I also worked a little with an overtone singer but I am mostly working with sound here.
The performance is based, as the name suggests, on conversations one has over tea. Can you tell me how that will play out?
Tea is the motivation that runs through the piece. It works as a springboard that moves into other issues—there is a shift from the seemingly superficial to an addressing of deeper insecurities and fears that one does not speak of directly. Language doesn’t always foster communication - it often creates distances. Sure, exchange of words is happening, but you keep a polite distance, not divulging your true feelings, your inner life and your experiences.
Like The Doorway , your previous production, this uses a very Grotowski style of physical theatre. You use bodily movement to tell the story, encumbered by lights, elaborate sets etc. What are the elements of this technique that appeals to you?
I am interested in this style because the focus here is always the inner and outer life of the actor. The process is more important than the production itself. Most theatre itself focuses more on the playwright or director’s vision, not the acting craft itself. However, I believe that the living person has enough material to create a performance.
You have acted in films such as Hyderabad Blues 2 , Satya , Gulaal , One Night With the King and Such a Long Journey yet you constantly profess that theatre is what you truly enjoy. What draws you to this medium?
Cinema is not an actor’s medium; it is a technical medium that is constantly being manipulated. As mediums, they operate very differently. Theatre offers more freedom and access, to both the actor and the audience.
You are both the actor and creator here. What are the challenges of this?
Well, theatre is usually a director’s perspective and he manages to get the outside eye. When you work alone, you begin to find a way to be that outside eye. Though I must admit, that I often ask close friends to see it and offer feedback.
Is it hard being a woman director—there are so few of them around?
I think it is as hard as being a male director. In this sort of experimental theatre, there is always the struggle of finding an audience, having infrastructure in place, getting support, being able to work and sustain yourself. I don’t think it is gender based.
Notes on Chai will be performed at 7 p.m. on November 20 at Spaces, Besant Nagar. Call 98401 54837 for details.
