India Post News Service
CHICAGO: The Fifth Annual Theater Festival presented by Mandi Theater in collaboration with the Indian Consulate was held on the 7th of August 2021, at Prairie Center for the Arts, Schaumburg, a Chicago suburb.
The festival, only Multilanguage theater festival in the Midwest that promotes Indian culture and tradition through their performances, commenced \in 20217 Mandi Theater’s focus has been to serve the Hindi-speaking population yearning for the artistic experience in the USA.
Indian CG Amit Kumar was the Chief guest for the event. He appreciated in the performances were seven different participating groups, eight languages, and nine performances from across the country, including two dance performances with different genres and treatments. The even t was divided into two parts. The first was all the serious plays and performances, and the second session was all about hilarious acts. The event also was a tribute to the Indian Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore- the day started with showcasing one of his Playwrights- “Shesher Kobita- the last poem”, produced by Ebong Theatrix.
Shesher kobita was followed by two phenomenal dance performances: the first one was by Ratnavali Vasantotsav Natika; the dance performance depicted the celebration of spring by young girls. Then was the miraculous performance called “SanghMitra” (approx. 308 BCE – 229 BCE) was the daughter of King Ashoka. The whole act was in “Sanskrit language”- a dialect rarely heard in contemporary times. The act was also an effort to preserve the ages-old dialect.
ITA (International Theater Association) President Carmel Destefano and Don Shandrow board of director ITA presented the award to Mandi Theater for its constant effort to the Indian theater alive in the Indians of Chicago. The Award was received by the founder of Mandi Theater, Ms. Alka Sharma.
A few of the performances like “Walking with my Ancestors” not only got a standing ovation but also made us think over the real issues. It was a solo performance by Ama Oforiwaa Adunum. She did everything solo (Instruments, songs, dance, and acting) to share the stories of the enslaved women, men, and children who languished in the dungeons. Through her performance, she so graciously took us all into the lives of her ancestors, the plaintive journey, and the predicament they still live in, and her energy level was unmatchable.
Another extraordinary performance was by Coalescence theater group – “Behind the curtain of Covid 19”. Directed by Don Shandrow, the play looks at life in the time of COVID by Shareece M Sellem, traces the trajectory of the lockdown, and how COVID shapes the relationships and lives of five very different people. This was followed by an in-house play, “Khidki (a window)”- A Marathi play is a story of a window, a humble frame that can connect or divide the two worlds; what if it opens the enormous bag of experiences it has and takes you on a roller coaster ride of your own emotions.
The team planned a little break for the audience to be prepared and rack up all the energy because the second part had all the comic acts. First in the line was “RSVP” – Comic in the genre, the play “RSVP” displays the craze of Punjabi youth to immigrate to western countries by any means, including illegal and unethical. It is a satire and covered different aspects of patriarchy and gender inequality. The audience was literally bursting with laughter and rolling on the floor.
The last acts were Mandi theater’s own productions. “Baaton mein” is a play about the regular bantering of husband-wife. Its in-house production concluded the event “The God of Carnage” Playwright by Yasmina Reza, a French playwright, actress, novelist, and screenwriter. Many of her brief satirical plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. This act portrayed how the parents are and to what extent they can defend their kids and themselves. God of Carnage.
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