Boys Dont Cry - Forum Theatre by Yours Truly Theatre

I went for my first forum theatre performance today. As a volunteer. It was a great experience where I felt so strongly about some of the topics being discussed and even realized that today's youth is not as ignorant as society thinks they are. Infact, they know more about the world than the older generation does. The performance was at Yours Truly Alma. The play was also organized by the theatre company Yours Truly Theatre.

Forum theatre is where the audience get to act in the play being shown. A play, indicating some kind of oppression, is shown and then the audience are asked to share their opinions on the problem being looked at and also encouraged to take upon a role of the character and do it a bit differently; get the solution into the frame; so that the result is something completely different and positive. This kind of theatre is usually used to face problems in society and the ways of handling them. Its even called rehearsal for life, as you'll be resolving a problem in almost real-life situation where you would be pushed to your limit.

Boys Dont Cry was another show like this and it was based on the stereotypes the Indian society has on men. A lot of situations and problems were targeted and the audience was very engaging while discussing and also while acting. The fact that the youth and the people present felt so strongly about the fact that the male gender is supposed to be "strong" and that he cant portray his feelings outwardly like women was a very very inspiring and proud fact. Also, the short stories chosen were also all real life stories and the way the actors displayed it on stage was marvelous. There couldnt be another way the stories could be put so realistically. Even when the audience volunteered to replace a character, the other character pushed audience to their limit where the audience had to think out of the box without loosing his/her calm.

Forum theatre opens your eyes to what is actually there to the outer world even if you havent faced such kind of oppression. It also tries to find solutions for the problems and tries to make the audience aware of the fact that the solutions got should also be practiced in real life. Its a thoroughly enjoying form of theatre. More so, if you are a strong orator and love to discuss situations and problems society faces as a whole and the problems selected kind of people face in the society.

I, as an orator, thoroughly enjoyed this performance and, for once, only listened to the point of view of others, without adding my own thoughts and opinions. It was a great watch and it was time well spent. Thanks again YT for such a performance!

Paint is Good!

I volunteer with this organisation called The Ugly Indian (TUI). Its an organisation that recognizes dump yards, and places that need a complete renovation. Instead of repeatedly requesting the government to do the necessary things, they give a shout-out to their volunteers and to people living nearby to help them clean out the spot. Its called a spotfix. A spotfix was organised in a place called Indiranagar, around 15 km from where I live. I was so excited to go for the spotfix, that I didnt care where the location was. I left home at 7 to reach there by 7.30, but reached there 15 minutes later. Well, I volunteered, and for my first time, I got to paint trees red! It was a really good experience. Working with people for a better living. For the first time, painting two streets with red was good! A small contribution, but something that might end up being helpful for someone!

This was the largest tree I painted and the most difficult one too. Your hand really starts paining after a while. While carrying that paint basket and the paint brush, and painting trees in around two streets. The trees too, were huge, and some insanely impossible to paint. But, I got around painting a part of such trees. 

That day, I realized the happiness you get after a job well done, and how you feel after working in a team to finish something you always wanted to do. The very thought about volunteering and being able to do it. Not only at this level, but at higher levels too (will be cleared in coming posts). I will be working with this organization for however long I can, and try to fix every dirty spot on the roads of Bangalore!