Koddiyattam and Kathakali artists lament the lack of well-equipped performance venues

At a recent contemporary theater festival in Ottapalam, a small town in Palakkad district, film and stage actor Santhosh Keezattur made a simple request: “We want to act, give us space.” He even asked the Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi, which jointly organized the festival with the Dialogue Film Society, to withhold his fellowships and awards for a year or two and divert funds for infrastructure construction. He went to the extent of saying.

The fact is that Kerala may be rich in cultural heritage but it has poor performance infrastructure. This is not only true for contemporary theatre. Be it music, folk arts or classical forms like Kathakali and Koodiyattam, performers and audiences are resigned to temporary stages lacking basic necessities.

Most ‘performance halls’, or auditoriums, are designed for public meetings or wedding receptions. A four feet high stage is available at one end of a large hall. There is no green room behind the stage and in many places actors have to walk through the audience to the stage. There is also no proper arrangement of lighting. In many cases, the stage background is so flashy and colorful that it distracts from the performance.

perfect stage

Theater space is not just a physical asset; It has to do with aesthetics and culture, says actor and director Ramesh Verma. “For example in traditional arts like Kathakali or Koodiyattam, both the performers and the audience have a clear notion of an ideal venue, regardless of where it is staged. But the demand for contemporary proscenium theatre is entirely different.

Ramesh, a former professor in the theater department of Sreeshankar Sanskrit University, says, “While it is hard to imagine a common performance area for every form of art, we can think of a common space that would cater to a wide variety of events. “

Pisapalli Rajeevan, a senior Kathakali artist who also works in theatre, says stage arrangement in contemporary theater is less of a problem as stage and lighting design are part of their production values. “The predominance of light is the biggest problem in Kathakali sites. I think during the development of Kathakali attention was paid only to its structure and grammar, no attention was paid to defining its performance space requirements. What I found today is that improper lighting and garish background spoils the visual effect of the costume. ,

Rajeevan feels that Koodiyattam is slightly better as it had the Koothambalam culture, which is still practiced in some dedicated places. These spaces add to the energy of the artist and the experience of the audience. But even the institutions that teach Kathakali do not pay much attention to the performance space.

According to Kudiyattam artist Suraj Nambiar, there are very few places that have ideal lighting, sound system and ample space. “We need to define lighting requirements in relation to space and the number of characters on stage at a time. For sound, Mizhavu and Idakka require different channels and different types of microphones. Kathakali In the U.S. we often find cymbals drowning other instruments.”

Finding a solution is not difficult; We only need to look at Koothambalam, a temple in Kerala, for a model. There was a performance theater in the complex of several temples in Kerala and some 16 of them remain today. These are made according to the rules laid down in the old texts like Natya Shastra and Tantrasamuchaya.

Backstage in Moozhikulam | photo credit: Achuthan TK

Today there are many Koothambalams outside the temples which are built on the temple structures. The largest and most famous among them is the Koothambalam in Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University, which is an aesthetic delight for any artist or connoisseur. There are other small, rigid, economical and functional performance venues run by Kudiyattam schools such as Nepathya Moozhikulam and Ammanur Gurukulam in Irinjalakuda, and arts and theater groups elsewhere.

Sooraj says that big performing arts institutions like Kerala Kalamandalam and Kalady Sanskrit University should include lighting and sound design in their curriculum. Because this awareness of space should start from the artists and they should be familiar with modern technology. “Nothing will change until artists start emphasizing proper lighting and sound.”

Flat lighting, poor stage and flashy banners behind the cast have now made classical art performances tasteless. photo credit: Tulsi Kakti

indoor theater

Rajeevan says that every district should have at least one dedicated space for “intimate theatre” such as Kathakali, Koodiyattam, Nangiyarkuthu and Ottamthulal, which attract limited audiences and require a small performance space. Such a move will create a momentum and one day we will have such arenas.

Years ago, the Kerala government had announced plans to build cultural complexes in every district. In fact some such multi-crore complexes are in the construction or planning stages. But we need performance space in every village and town, not just in cities. And we need a simple and unpretentious hall that can seat about 200 people, a stage that isn’t too many with plain black backdrops, green rooms, scalable lighting features and sound consoles. There is also no need for concrete structures or walls all around.

The design of a new theater should also factor into the post-Covid scenario. Many performance houses, especially Kudiyattam and Kathakali, are seeing a drop in viewership, as well as an increase in online viewership. Many organizers use two or three cameras and a switcher to provide an almost live experience for those watching from home. It is clear that new performance venues will need to take into account the need to stream camera positions that do not impede audiences, lighting options and fiber broadband.

In today’s world, where movies dominate the entertainment space and viewing aesthetics are important, it is important that our traditional arts also start paying attention to attract new audiences.

The author, a retired journalist, writes on the performing arts of Kerala.