SCIENCE OF DRAMATIC ARTS
Suman Kumar
Drama is a form of performing arts which is one of the oldest system devised by the human civilization to document the experience in performance for the other selves for transferring the knowledge and the information based on the fact. It is a live medium till date to transfer the knowledge of one to the other/mass/society for the common benefit. Dramatic arts being one of the most ancient nonviolent living practices of the human civilization to communicate the abstract feeling and experience of a human being based on the factual encounter with the object, audio, scene, act and the visual. It developed up to the artistic heights of glory with the deeper understanding of the science of the happening of a live dramatic experience for exploring and innovating new ideas and styles of presentation to make it more attractive, emotional and entertaining. It enjoys a highly paid profession for the artists of this entertainment industry which presents the captivating dramatic imagination with the use of scientific knowledge about the happening and innovating tools to present the artistic imagination into a live experience on stage or on any other two-three dimensional spaces. The dramatic/stage arts are still a living art practice whose basic tools: the subject/text/action, the actor/medium/the living being/body, the space/acting area/the base and the live spectator/the audience/the receiver are still necessary for the happening of a live dramatic happening. Dramatic arts actually founded the need of innovating the science for the better acting for living a life with the nature, environment and the other living being on this earth. Shakespeare has said : The world's a stage and all the men and women are merely players (As you like it). Drama is a pursuit and application of human ability to address the living society with the virtues of truth, relevant knowledge and understanding practiced in a systematic process to convert the abstract feeling/emotion/beauty through the use of voice and body in the backdrop of environment, memory, minds cape and the concerned individual/mass memory.
Drama is also a medium of mass communication. It is communicated by mind through the reflection in voice and body of an actor. Drama is a medium to experiment an idea for innovating a live projection through voice and body for communication with mass appreciation. Drama starts with the premise: May be a scientific premise that we are truth seekers and have wonderful new exciting Knowledge, information and understanding and feeling the responsibility to communicate this truth to the masses so that they will see the world in a more radical way, a natural human sensibility/perspective about the subjects in conversation/hidden/reality in the world. We challenge, encounter, struggle, fight, laugh, love, hate, pity, angry, detached, attached with various concerns and are ignoring the real facts and creating the problems for self/society/and the world. The scientific temperament or the science may help individual and society to discuss, revisit, and review them for finding the solution by living the characters and its acts with reference of the relevant background.
Devising/making/directing/mounting/writing the live scenography in combination with live actor and spectator is a process developed after thousands years of practice which is still trying to experiment and innovate the available and probable resources. Drama is such an activity which may be a favorite to many salves as human are born with a limited body but with unlimited mind/imagination to desire themselves as a character which matches a popular, great god, legend or hero which wins or loose. If wins it makes him happy or if he loses, it makes him sad. Drama evokes the emotional being and makes him feel the others pain, love, passion, humor, happiness in relevant/contrast of the situation. The creator and spectator both enjoy this happening. So, a drama practice makes you a better human being who is able to use its living body and voice as an expressive mirror of his mind to project his knowledge and truth about this world. The actor in the drama is the living key, a person who is acting on stage, on screen and television and enjoying the best of life. Acting is an attractive job which can be empowered through a scientific process in sequence premise, the idea, the character, and the structure of action, the entertaining audio and visual life and journey, the live acting, artistic presentation and appreciation.
We Indians are fortunate to own NATYASHASTRA, which is the Indian Drama Treatise, a great gift of knowledge and a classical/scientific system of practice to enjoy the art of drama. Which is founded by Brahama, the head of gods, to solve the chaos of the world by sharing the knowledge and information of the truth to the masses. Natyashastra claims that no subject, nothing in this world is outcast in the art of drama. But it should be for the benefit of all. Keep the problematic characters and situations away and have live encountered with the virtue and defects as the characters on stage in conversation and let the truth prevail. Keep yourself aliened with the humanity, positivity and life. For a better tomorrow. Science really helps great. Further if we decide to create a dramatic experience through a performance than first of all we have to establish a group of dedicated and talented individuals who are ready to offer their body and voice for a character thought to carry forward the idea of the subject. Think of a subject on which you want to act/device/create a live performance/the live dramatic experience. Subject can be of a great scientist, the problem of e-waste, environment, eco-system, superstition, pollution, inventions, humanity, Corona: The Virus etc. Once you decide a subject now you will need a drama script to work for a performance. The scripts available in general market in the name of drama are mostly stories of heroes and superheros who led a life of super survivor with their great human, passionate dialogue and action, won at end or loose with all virtue. They are meant to establish a great literature, a great character, a great philosophy, a very private-personal story of love, hatred, violence, velour, a sensuous passionate story to entertain common people looking for mental pleasure options. What you are looking is for performing your scientific concern on stage which is an act for the service for the humanity/eco-system: The world we live. So, stop looking hard for the ready to act script and start a process to create a script on your own idea in concern with science.
Look for the elements of drama around you. Drama is a collective work. It involves living/non-living bodies, objects, talents and support of the administrative system with a proper space and financial investment. Make a group of persons from language, art and craft, science, drama-music-vocal, history subjects. Don’t forget to involve local folk-cultural personalities if possible because they make you special for the spectator (local/non-local/national/global/outsider). Create a group of talents: male/female bodies, musicians, choreographer, vocalists and a director/captain-guide for the performance. Sit together; discuss the points you find important, the dialogue and visual which provide factual information on the subject to be part of the performance based on the collected information on the subject. Articles, writings, books, characters on subject, the exciting information’s on subject’. You may paste the important points on the walls/boards of the rehearsal space. Fill the rehearsal space with the objects/settings/banners/boards/images you want to show in the performance. Which can be communicated through dialogue and action, remove them all. Setting should not be heavy, obstructive, space occupying. Setting should be supportive, light, meaningful, environmental, essential, may be minimal and artistic. Performance spaces are generally neutral which adapt as per your desire. But the actor is the essential element of a dramatic happening which can’t be replaced. So work daily, as much as possible on acting, on the voice and body and develop its tuning with the mind, with the abstract emotional faculty under control relived with own memory lane. Let the body come on the floor. Start preparing the body voice and mind. Do exercises to unlock the joints of your body, your vocal cord and scales/ranges of voices. Play the music and move the body as directed by the guide/teacher/captain. Move left, right, up, down, bend, walk fast, slow, freeze, count 1-10 loud, in whisper, in different mood, be a puppet, drive, cycle, run, climb, eat, drink, hurt, laugh, weep, imitate, play cricket, football, tennis, imaginative wrestling without touch/touch, speaking the information’s to be incorporated in the performance, repeat the speaking in a various style. Improve the vocal and movement possibilities without/with dialogues. Better keep exploring without text to make the physical, facial expressions loud enough to reach the spectator sitting at a distance ranging 15-100’. In training do it loud. You may scale it down in the final performance but in training do it loud. Keep increasing your breathing and stamina for better health and performance.
Performance is an organic living of an imaginative life by the actor for the communication. Drama is experienced with the living of a character. So, you have decided the subject, collected the relevant information then you will need a strong character to live them on stage through his expressive body and voice. Creating a performance through a process, a systematic process, a science in dramatic practice is an organic, creative, ever-changing, continuing stage of development; it is a practice in craft to rise up to the level of art. So, drama is said to be an essential combination of art and science. It is created with visual and dialogue within the context of a dramatic structure. This is lived by a character. Character is not what he says; he is that which he acts. So think of a strong character who is dedicated to the mission, your great subject. Build the character, a human like you, with the noble idea, believe in the truth he knows, try to review and implement the idea through an action plan and line up the action. Dramatic performance is all about the live confrontation with the visible/invisible strong opponent/character/society/community/situation/condition; and winning them with information/preparation/knowledge/will/passion/bravery/skill/physical power/logic/good wishes. You can plan your actions with the acts of main/lead character, major character, opposite character, associate character, assistant character, special or abstract imaginative characters, crowd characters, chorus. The glory of Rama is the contrast of Ravana. Confrontation of good and evil makes a good dialogue and action. Let the character set his journey achieve the goal and face the problems. Big problem is solved by big heroes. Develop a story line on the action plan. The plot and the dramatic structure. Explore scope of human emotional relationship/dialogue/conversation/expression with the reality/the fact. Once you have lined up the action of the drama, practice it with the actors in different roles/characters. An actor can play multiple roles in a play by changing character, makeup and costume. Whatever you say should be audible to the spectator whatever you act/express/emote should be visible to the spectator. Try to find the relevant/irrelevant logic for each character which makes him believe in his acts. Ravana was bad because he believed that his is the best way. So, he confronted the opposite Rama who is believed as best virtuous human being, not only by him but by all. Character is the combined expression of personal, private and social dynamics. Composing scenery with the environment should be balanced. Don’t create too many scenes. Create complicated relationship, but understandable in action and dialogue. Maintain the variety in acting with the use of variety in voice, songs, movements, dance. Avoid monotonous composition (standing in a line). Always make one thing important in the scene. All focus of fellow actors should be in the scene. Practice as much as you could but to correct-modify and develop not to repeat. Keep the team exposed to good theatre practice and performance on stage or screen to understand the composition, emotive characteristic projection. BELIEVE! YOU ARE ON A HOLY JOB OF DRAMATICS.
The writer: Suman Kumar
Suman has directed plays, explored themes, improvised situations, written musicals, devised stage versions on poems and other non-dramatic-texts. Shakespeare, Chekhov, Brecht, O’Neill, J. M. Synge, Bhishm Sahni, Premchand, Harishankar Parsai, Neruda, Muktibodh ,Simborshka, Dhumil, Rajkamal Chaudhary and Faiz were the sources for his dramatic mounting on stage. He has written about 30 performing scripts for stage.
Given Contemporary Hindustani expressions to the concepts, theories and practicespopular in the world theatre, theatre training methodologies and practices with an historical perspective. Written on Stanislavasky, Grotowaski, Michal Saint Danish, Brecht, Augusto Boul, Peter Brook, Kalidasa, Natyashastra.
Suman has frequently conducted, directed theatre training workshops for NSD, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad and is visiting faculty for the drama departments in the universities in India. He has conducted several expression-n-communication, Drama Therapy workshops for General Managers, Officers and Service Holders, Street and Specially Challenged Children.
He has directed a performance with Army Inventory Unit at Sikndarabad on the backdrop of Mahendra hills with 150 Army personals to Celebrate the Kargil Victory and role of Inventory battalion in army on the occasion of Reunion Party.
Khoobsurat Bahu, Phuhar, Othello, Mecbeath, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagoni, The Playboy of the Western World, Exception and The Rule, Agni aur Varkha, Chekhov Ke Duniya, The Playboy of the Western World, Train to Pakistan, Mahamahim, Das Din ka Anshan, Swarglok Me Democracy, Phuhaar, Black Board Bregade,Balchrit, Assi – Bahri Alang, Satyagrah, Boodhi Kaki, Kasap, etc.are the major plays directed by him.
Kunwar Singh Ki Tek, Nugra Ka Tamasa, Gadal, Parinde, Phuhar, Tsuipu The Dreamer, Kankal, Assi – Bahri Alang, Mahadev, Gagan Ghata Gahrani, Ek Tara Toota, Mahamahim, Abhishap, Samjhota, Das Din Ka anshan , Braham-rakshas , Kasap, Natwar Ne Bansuri Bajai etc are the performing scripts written by him.
Participated in an International Theatre Festival of Drama Schools at Copenhagen, Denmark in 1996 with a play "Tin Ka Nanha Sepahi" based on a Danish story " The Little Tin Soldier". Lead an Indian Cultural Troupe to Peru and Cuba for “Indian Festival in Latin American Countries” in 2012. His directed plays have been selected as best plays of Delhi and participated in Bhartendu Rang Mahotsav of Sahitya Kala Parishad, Delhi and Urdu Academy Drama Festival.
Awarded Natak Samman-2017, Hindi Academy, Government of Delhi. Mahendra Excellency Award for Best Playwright, 2012. Tilka Manjhi National.Award 2020 by Ang Madad Foundation, Bhagalpur; Best playwright award, Natsamarat, Delhi and Ras Kala Manch, Hisar, Haryana, Lok Kalavid Samman-2017 by all India Folk Artists Federation; Sangeet Sadhana Ratna – 2022 by Sangeet Sadhana Sansthan, Delhi.National Culture Junior Fellowship (04-05), Fellowship from National School of Drama on “ Production-Process”, Research Grant from Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Working as Director, Kathak Kendra, Delhi
Deputy Secretary(drama/ Intangible Cultural Heritage: ICH) in Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi since April 2012. Member of Advisory Commitee on ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) and Memory of World Register.
