I have never ever watched English plays. During my school n college, I had never heard any of my friends speak or discuss theatre as it was not anybody's interest even though Chennai had always been very active in English Theatre. I had this passion in me to be associated with acting, dancing etc. It had remained to be a dream and it eluded me for a long time. I didnt know anybody who was associated with Theatre r movies so naturally I didnt have the courage to take acting as a career and had to take a different career path in life. After MBA, getting placed in TCS made me very happy, but somewhere down inside there was still some hope.
One fine day, I was browsing about English Theatre and I came across a website which had all information about Theatre. I placed a query there and was more than happy to get a reply with the phone number. I spoke to the person who invited me for a workshop where I had to show some of my skills. I was appreciated but was told that I was just too raw. I attented few workshops and I was getting better and better, then came the very good news that I was selected for the play to be premiered on March 27th.
In the midst of all these happiness, I was getting too busy with work at office, given more responsibility and work. Naturally being in an IT company, staying up late in office is an untold norm and everybody is expecting you to stay long. But I had to attend the training workshops of the play most of the week. Never was a moment where I felt like giving up theatre because of the pressure at office, rather it made me more determined and I could manage my time better.
What do I say about the workshops, I got to meet so many different people from different walks of life making the whole experience wonderful. I understood one of the morals of life that "There is no one best way to do things". There were scenes during pratice which came out really well but the director was never happy rather was suggesting to try different things to discover unknown paths. The whole experience was fun.
And then the day arrived.....make up, dress rehearsal and for a moment I felt like I was breaking down with tension as I was told that the play we were staging was first of its kind. So to be part of something very inventive on stage for the first time made me feel great, at the same time more tensed. And then the moment arrived....my turn came....and it happened and happened like a dream......performing in front a decent crowd was a dream come true. I felt like a star for those moments when the crowd reacted with loud claps and laughter for most of my lines in the play. Everything went right about my performance, I was elated when my co-artists and the director praised my performace and more than all the reaction from the crowd made me go berserk inside. Flashed in all newspapers the next day, I became a kinda celebrity in my office when most of my project mates caught me on paper. I had kept it a secret in office but all in vain. The paper clipping was put on the notice board spread and the news spread like fire. Everybody walked upto me congratulating me. I was on cloud nine for few days after the play.
I thank everybody associated with the play. It has given me some of the most cherished moments in life. I love Theatre and would continue to be associated with it. I just want to discover myself in this journey.
