The tone of this article is going to more or less stoic. Why? I think it is because we’ve had way too much fun over the last one year. :) There has been tremendous learning for each and everyone involved in this journey of one year. We’ve been privileged to work with not only the very vivacious and prominent artists in the theatre and music fraternity but also with the budding and amateur youngsters, both talented and essential in our journey to take performing arts to a completely new dimension!
So to list down what it is that we have learnt over the last one year –
1. High Spirits!
Crucial element of any production is the how high your spirits are :))… unless you are kicked and passionately drunk about what you are doing … well then don’t do it!
2. Audience is God.. Almost!
It is common knowledge that money can never be the driving force in theatre. And at the end of the day, after all the madness and work that goes into putting up a show, its outcome is determined not by your father in law or mother patting your back! Yes, press reviews about the show are great, but that is only if you can coax them into watching your show in the first place!
However when someone whom you’ve never seen in your life before, walks up to you with complete sense of respect and awe in their eyes, and tells you what a good job you’ve done, you are happy that you’re work has managed to touch someone! Never take your audience for granted! … It is also a different subject altogether that no matter what the outcome we have a blast at the cast party!
3. Pamper your team ..
Your team is your strength – pamper them all you can. I mean they are working their backsides off for OUR production, where at the end of the day OUR team gets most, if not all the credit for pulling it off… you can be firm with your team, but at the end of the day, you have to learn to love them and let them be. (If any of our team members are reading this, go practice your lines!!!!!)
4. Love and let love!
Theatre in Chennai is extremely tight knit, but the kind of talent and performances that are being put up by theatre groups from our city are phenomenal! There is so much to learn from each other, and healthy competition is a great thing; but then let’s face it – none of us really make a lot of money and even if we do, it’s more or less put in for the next production instead of getting a Jacuzzi installed in our private beach houses! So why the green eyes.. love and let love!
5. Infectiously ambitious…
A lot of folks have asked us how on earth did we manage to pull off so many good-quality (as vouched by the audience and press reviews also, and not father in laws or spouses) productions in a span of one year – 3 musicals, 4 concerts, a total of 7 productions! We are an extremely self-critical team and honestly, looking back, we could’ve been so much better at each stage however the failures have helped us grow multifold. At the end of the day, we’ve been insanely ambitious and have successfully managed to infect everyone around us to believe that anything is possible. Like someone said, the bigger the better …. !
Now we do sound like a self-help management book, so its time to wrap up this post. Thank you for supporting us over the last one year, and come watch our shows or even better, be a part of Creating Magic, coz we’ve got so many crazy things lined up! See you all in the coming years….
