On Sunday, Nine Transwomen, part of the Arvani art project, will take the stage with a play at the amphitheater space, Gachibowli new, first stage in 2019, new Tells the stories of nine urban transwomen through nine rasas (navarsa).
The play was the result of a workshop to explore what it meant to ‘perform’ for a community of transwoman artists who have never performed on stage before. new Developed in a six-month workshop in collaboration between director Sharanya Ramprakash and the nine transwomen of Arvani Art Project. Nava is a fluid performance, growing with its performers, the stories becoming deeper and more intimate, finding new ground and performance language as they experience the stage.
Sharanya says, “She faced many challenges to reach the stage. At first it was looking for a place that would allow transwomen to come every day for rehearsals; It was also to be well connected by public transport. Then it was difficult for them to reach there on time, as most of them are either beggars or sex workers. It was a six-month process and we had to make sure it was meaningful. The only thing that didn’t require any effort was to persuade him to come on stage for a play.”
new on stage | photo credit: special arrangement
In Nava, transwomen bring their bodies, voices and stories together to reclaim their rightful place – the center. Artists take the stage to expand, challenge, and defy fixed notions about who creates Neo Rasa and who can be its heroes.
Artists Veena, Chandri, Shanti, Prarthana, Jyoti, Sandhya, Shweta, Purushi and Thara share a different Rasa, Chandri’s ‘Adbhut’ is about how she wore a saree for the first time. Shanti overturns our understanding of ‘Bhibats’ with a story about how she crawled through a sewage pipe to save herself from the ‘normal’ side. Prarthana reveals her secret to you in ‘Sringara’, Thara travels to meet her son and searches for ‘Karuna’, while Sweta searches for ‘Shanta’ with the memory of her childhood friend. Artists tell stories, sing, dance, laugh, laugh, excite and challenge the audience.
Sharanya mentions that when an actor is unable to reach the stage, that part is left blank. “There’s no replacement because no one else can tell your story the way you do. One of the actors lost her leg, so while she was recovering, her part was left blank. She’s bionic though.” Back on stage with the leg up and she’s happy about it.”
Nava will be staged at the amphitheater space on June 26 at 5 pm and 7.30 pm. It will also have a pop-up shop of his art. Tickets are available on Bookmyshow. Contact: 9700074079