Kalasuruchi will be presenting the English play ‘Speak Your Mind’ at Suruchi Rangamane in Kuvempunagar on Dec. 8 at 6.30 pm and at Kalpakshetra, 581/1, Vijayanagar 4th Stage, 1st Phase, on Dec. 15 at 6.30 pm.
Script: George Freek; Direction: A.K. Monnappa; On Stage: Ruth – C.V. Keerthi, Richard – K.V. Krishna Kashyap, Mildred – Anuradha Nandakumar, Harry – A.K. Monnappa; Behind the Stage: Music (Design & Execution) & Set – Narasimha Kumar; Lighting – Ramesh Gubbi; Production Assistance – M. Pradeep Kumar.
Kalasuruchi was founded by Sindhuvalli Ananthamurthy during the year 1985 and since then, it has been active in many genres of fine arts. The team now consists of dedicated people from various walks of life with a simple intention to take part and contribute to appreciation and performance of various art forms. While theatre has been its core focus, the team has also been active in performing and organising other art forms like Classical Music, Light Music, Harikathe etc.
Kalasuruchi has produced some major Kannada plays like “Vamsha Vriksha”, “Bekku Baavi”, “Haddu meerida hadi”, “Mandra”, “Bhavadajjukeeya” etc.
For the last few years, the team has been producing one English play per year. “Chandalika” by Tagore and “Hard Places” by Farhad Sorabjee, “Breath of Vyas” by Dileep Jhaveri, “Comrade Babble” by Alex Horiwitz, “Free Outgoing” by Anupama Chandrashekhar, “The Prophet and the Poet” by Vijay Padaki, “Stiffled” by Annie Zaidi were earlier productions
‘Speak Your Mind’: Ever since her father died, Ruth has been concerned about her mother Mildred. Ruth’s husband Richard has his worries too, as Ruth’s reverence for her father’s memory seems to cloud her judgment. An unexpected guest in the form of Richard’s boss Harry turns a simple dinner party into a stage for confessions and accusations.
This play examines, on the one hand, the mother-daughter and wife-husband relationships, while on the other, it shows how a cancer-surviving widow is trying to get on with her life which her father-fixated daughter is trying to put obstacles to.
George Freek has an MA in English at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. His plays have been produced by the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, the Changing Scene in Denver and various other college and amateur theatres. He has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts — the latter for a Residency at the New American Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, USA.
A.K. Monnappa is a former IAS Officer who has handled multiple portfolios from Agriculture to Bioenergy. He has been involved in theatre activities since childhood. He is a Founding-Member of METF (Mysore English Theatre Forum). He has been instrumental in setting Mysore Literary Association.
Anuradha Nandakumar is past District Chairman of Inner Wheel. She has acted in many plays in Marathi, Kannada and English. She is doing a lot of work in many social sectors especially for specially abled children and women.
C.V. Keerthi, a Post Graduate in English Literature, has had a variety of experiences. Airline Cabin experience, Engineering faculty and now a Lead Coordinator in a national-level NGO.
K.V. Krishna Kashyap is a Theatre Artiste, Emcee & Flautist. He has studied LTCL (Speech & Drama) – Trinity College of London. He has performed over a 100 shows and hosted over 4,000 shows in the last 10 years. He has directed the Shakespeare play ‘Macbeth’ and won first prize at the National-level Shakespeare SLAM competition.
Narasimha Kumar is a multi faceted personality who has contributed in multiple departments in Amateur theatre of Mysuru. He has contributed in set design, has been an actor and has designed and executed music for several plays.
Ramesh Kumar Gubbi has been part of Mysore Amateur Theatre for over 40 years and he has acted, directed and worked on backstage. Perhaps, there are no teams in Mysuru which have not been benefited by Ramesh’s expertise and benevolence.
Pradeep Kumar has been a Ninasam & Rangayana student and is associated with many Mysuru-based theatre teams. He has acted in number of plays of Samatento, Kadamba Rangavedike, Rangavalli and Kalasuruchi among others.
This post was published on December 7, 2024 6:10 pm