The Theatre Life | Kaavad Project

My association with Theatre I believe deserves a seperate page and here we are.

Thanks to a common friend, back in 2014 (abhisheka gopal) I got introduced to Akhshay Gandhi and his band of merry people, who were then part of Sva Collective. Names changed, people moved in and out, cities and countries, but my association with Mr. Gandhi and the others that joined us along the way, has remains strong and has led to several interesting collaborations and productions over the years .

Back when out theatre group was called Still Space Theatre, in addition to storming brains for new content, I used to create digital and print collateral for the various productions, workshops and initiatives, and manage the social accounts. Plus creation of any original artwork or properties that may be required for any of the productions. Check out Still Space Theatre here. (the group has been disbanded fyi)

Kaavad Katha : an ongoing association with Akshay Gandhi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our most popular productions, and one that I have had the privilege of being associated with since day one. Kaavad Katha is a contemporary reworking of the ancient Rajasthani storytelling form of the same name. In its current avatar, it is headlined by Akhshay Gandhi, who also writes and performs the stories. The performance is accompanied by handpainted life- size wooden screens (stage version), or a smaller handpainted box called the kaavad (for more intimate, baithak style sit-down performances), which are created by yours truly as per the stories created by Akhshay. Know more here.

You can know more about our journey here at The Kaavad Project.

Recent Collaborations | Manthan

Manthan brings together two ancient artforms, Kaavad Storytelling from Rajasthan as represented by Akhshay Gandhi, and Mohiniyattam from Kerala, represented by Divya Warier. Inspired by the mythologies around Samudra Manthan - the churning of the cosmic ocean – the performance takes audiences on a journey through ‘Seven Manthans (Churnings)’ while enquiring into the psychological, emotional, philosophical, and social experiences of being human. Last few invited shows: Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Serendipity Arts Festival, Bangalore Hubba, Museum of Art & Photography, Spoken Fest, Bhubaneswar International Storytelling Festival, Gessenerralle (Zurich). Check it out here.

 

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In the video below of a typical baithak style performance, you can see the kaavad box, and two of the handpainted wooden screens too.

 

 

Here is a short video of the stage version of Kaavad Katha. The venue here is Rangashankara, Bengaluru.

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Here are some of the handpainted wooden screens used in the above show, these were fitted with rollers at the bottom do they could be moved around on the stage while Akshay moves and performs with them.

Some of the other Posters and collateral created for Still Space Productions | Akshay Gandhi | Workshops | Initiatives

 

CONTENT CREATED FOR OTHER THEATRE GROUPS

It's my privilege to be able to collaborate and design posters and collateral for other theatre and performing groups now. Some of these creatives can be viewed here.