THE STORY TELLER - Isabel S.R. Vas

THE STORY TELLER 

photo credit: Arun PJ.

You will normally find the actors seated on little chairs and benches in some empty classroom normally occupied by Kindergarten students as their eyes lay intensely fixed upon a figure. She moves like the wind and every move spells an emotion. At the moment she is indulging in a monologue; or telling a tale, creating a cloud of imagination in the minds of her theatre friends. They are wrapped in curiosity as she slowly walks them through the suspense and then suddenly she reads a line that makes the room burst up in laughter. 

The joke is as infectious as her smile and the little spark of humour picks up force, accelerating into a laugh riot. The actors seem to have lost their focus. “Ladies, Gentlemen and all other species!” she exclaims; trying to capture their attention. Disciplined to that voice, the laughter ceases and they regroup to stay with her till she concludes the tale. So vivid is her skill of narrating, so intimate her gift of empathizing that by the time she has finished walking the listeners through the script, every prospective member of the cast and crew of the Mustard Seeds has already lived the play in their minds.

“The characters I write about actually live with me, walk with me and are continuously haunting me,” admits the story teller, who over the last 25 years, has left theatre lovers awestruck with her choice of scripts. Like most directors, she has her unique way of functioning. “I don’t know and don’t wish to know exactly how a particular play would shape up. Forming such a prior picture would be imposing too much on the actor,” she says, stressing that theatre is more about group energy than one person’s interpretation. She further explains, “The actor has his/her own understanding of life, an interpretation of a character which adds to the ideas and unifying vision of the director.”

Although play-writing is a long encompassing process which sometimes spans into months and years, there are moments that give her an unimaginable high. “Script writing is an extensive and intensive process spent empathizing with different characters; but the thrill I get when the first draft is ready is unbelievable,” she reveals how she turns into an excited little girl who ends up texting the good news to all the  Mustard Seeds. 

 

“Rehearsals are at first about the details of character, relationships, themes and movements and then suddenly one day that magic moment happens, when you see an actor bring the character you wrote to life.” So does she ever succumb to bias towards certain characters in the process of sketching their personality? “The writer has to empathize a little extra with the main character and his or her dreams and conflicts or else the audience will not. However, round characters make a good story with their positives and negatives.”

For decades now, she has been accused of tip-toeing away from the photographer, shying away from the limelight. “I like being this way; publicity for individuals is not a necessity. I would rather value visibility for the plays and theatre work we do,” she states her preference also adding  “ I would not like to end up constantly wearing a mask and faking a public persona. Too much publicity may endanger one’s genuine self, I’m afraid.” 

Representing a brand of accomplished women who are mature enough to not let the media scrutinize their personal life, she has maintained a fine balance between her work and home. “I appreciate being in solitude and this peaceful space is very important to a writer,” she suggests as the cuckoo in the garden sings in agreement. “Being alone is different from being lonely; I connect with different people and with a variety of friends.”

In fact it is this quality in her to see something beautiful in the most ordinary situations that has helped her enrich her work. “I pick up themes and dialogue from musings and whispers around the place – be it a bus, a classroom, a market place – which lead to hilarious exchanges. There is this genuine humanity beneath the humour and this excites me.”

Theatre fans know her as a director who would rather stand in the crowd and applaud her cast rather be on stage and bow to a standing ovation. “Theatre is to me creativity-in-community,” she points out, “It is a collaborative art, a philosophy of interconnections. It is not a solo game. A play needs to have a playwright, director, actors, light-and-sound technicians, musicians, make-up artists and a production team to make it successful and I feel all deserve due credit and praise.” 

A firm believer of the fact that every member of the cast is as responsible as the director; though in a different way, she admits having anxious moments backstage. “I have bitten my nails to the quick hoping that everything goes well. There are days when a certain actor’s performance flags,” she says, quickly adding that there is also that ecstatic moment which makes the play worth every drop of sweat and blood. “I have witnessed those magical moments when someone who showed comparatively low energy at rehearsals does something extraordinarily fine on stage. There is also energy in the audience and even if I am backstage I can feel that powerful encounter.”

Her connection with the audience goes beyond theatre. She began her teaching career at the age of 19 and has since evolved into an institution of her own. “I had a great time from day one. I still remember entering a 10 std classroom that included huge boys. They were certainly amused by my presence and happily my class proved to be funny and entertaining,” she recounts her first day as a teacher in school.

Tutoring a generation that has little patience to hang on to a boring lecture, she has managed to cut ice with the naughtiest of students.  “I would research the topic and present it to them in the most interesting way I could manage. There must be honesty towards one’s work; you can’t talk rubbish in class,” says the former vice-principal of Dhempe College, Miramar (GOA). She is very much aware of the young bunch of teachers and their attitudes. “As a teacher, you must come prepared and respect the responsibility entrusted to you. You should have respect for each person in the class,” says a teacher who has commanded respect more than she has demanded it. 

There is a sincere effort to ring in some changes in our education system with seminars presentations and projects of various kinds. “There are people in this world that can take a creative proposal and end up making it rigid. But then, as I share with my juniors, one must often work with what one has, instead of merely grumbling about what one lacks. You have to be creative to transform a class and what you need most is imagination and courage.”

The Mustard Seed Art Company – Goa’s only English theatre group – has been welcoming and receptive, a shelter to the birds of the air. “We like experimenting with variety of plays, locations and art forms. Not being primarily commercial allows us the freedom to explore different themes and avenues,” she says, illustrating how they once adapted a poem and enacted it. 

As a theatre group, they have always had faith in their effort to do something worthwhile and significant.  “Theatre can make a change; it can contribute to the climate of thought. When we performed the play ‘A Leaf in the Wind’ in memory of Domnic, who was very much a part of the Mustard Seeds and a very dear friend, we were ridiculed and taunted by many people who did not understand our work.” 

It began as an attempt to stay together; but today the members have multiplied and many have migrated across the seas. “We were rehearsing for our first play and as we neared the performance date, we realized that it was all going to end soon. We didn’t want to miss out on all the fun of doing theatre,” she reflects as she relates the genesis of the Mustard Seed Art Company.  Consistency has been vital to the group that has kept up regular performances for over 25 years despite their busy lives. She joyfully concludes, “It began as a theatre group, but it is now a family - a family of friends.”

 

·        The most touching compliment

At a gathering, a past student once confessed: “She was the same to everybody     in class”. 

 

·        Positive changes in Goa, post colonial rule

Democracy brought in a freedom of speech, education and employment opportunities for so many people!

·        Love for nature

I enjoy the rains, the monsoon is so exciting yet restful. I could say, I abide in nature.

·       Teaching tidbit

Look everybody in the eye; every single one in class has something in mind, which contributes to the energy being accessed.

 

·       Chalk or duster?

When I began teaching, I believed a great deal in the chalk in my hand. Today I believe the duster makes space for learning: it welcomes and invites everyone to contribute.