Standing on the stage, facing a crowd, butterflies in stomach, fear of forgetting the dialogues — these are just a few thoughts running on the mind of a theatre novice. These were exactly the feelings of first time actors who performed Pie Five on Sunday. An initiative by Dramanon Hyderabad to mark their 10th anniversary, this theatre workshop was a collection of five short plays about the ups and downs in life.
“We had a great time being a part of the theatre workshop. Initially, I was very apprehensive about it but now that the play is over, I feel liberated in a very strange way. It’s a new beginning for me,” says Akarshika Prasad, who came to the city to find a job but surprisingly found solace in theatre. Her co-actor from the play The Governess, 16-year-old Ridheiy Verma, intends to pursue acting after her studies.
Out of the five plays which were staged, the one which got the audiences’ thunderous applause was The Catch. Its actors Amit Sachdev and Priyanka Priyadarshini are both IT professionals who are actors by passion. “The character I play required me to go deep into my soul and gain power to enact a pedophile,” says Amit. Further adding, “Every role was open for the actors. I am not sure what they saw in me and selected me for the role.”
Actors Sahas Ved and Satiz June from the play Surgery had to speak the dialogues in Hyderabadi Hindi. Elaborating on the preparation and challenges, Sahas shares, “We are not from Hyderabad, but our stay in the city made us acquainted with the language, however delivering it with emotions was another thing. But again that’s the challenge of an actor — to be what he is not in reality. As a team, we constantly supported each other. Sometimes when Satiz forgot the lines, I would give him a cue and vice versa. We really shared a great rapport during the workshop and acting further helped us to build a bond.”
