We spent today afternoon recording my part for RASA Day. I am playing the role of Kavyakantha Ganapathi Muni, a well-known scholar and poet and a devotee of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
Initially as we were playing the pre-recorded audio ( rendered by Sri G Kameshwar ) on my mother’s phone I was finding it difficult to lip sync with it as it was not loud enough . I was in fact wondering if Kameshwar Uncle could come and speak it as I was recording, but luckily with the help of Poorna Akka and Josephine, we connected to a blue tooth speaker and then everything went well.
This was my first experience recording a performance. I was telling my mother it was similar to the stories I record because we taped my part multiple times today! My mother said that while my storytelling and today’s RASA Day recording are somewhat similar, we only had a limited time for the shoot so we could not make change as much as we can in our story recordings.
I enjoyed meeting some of my friends in RASA. Since I spend more time in Bangalore, I have not seen them in many months.
Practicing with Ms. Usha Sankaran
Thankfully, my first RASA coach, Ms. Usha Sankaran coached me for this role. I enjoy going to Usha akka’s house. She coached me on gestures for each of the ten segments. She also coached me on lip syncing. Usha akka will continue teaching these skills in my class in the future!
I also enjoyed playing with Freddie the cat. Usha akka has four cats. She has two orange cats that will not let me pet them at all. Freddie and Nila let me pet them. It is fun to relax with the cats while practicing for my part.
Practicing with Cue Cards
Since we had to learn fast, my mom created a set of cue cards for me. She quickly drew some stick figures. We came with a simple system for communicating key gestures. The cue cards were helpful in the recording!
Preparing for Recording
My mother and I went to RASA an hour before the recording time. I wore the costume and the make-up. While the costume itself was simple, I had to wear a wig and beard.
It was an amazing learning experience for me to coordinate with the music while watching the cue cards and listening to the instructions of the person recording the scenes! Dr. Ambika Kameshwar was adjusting and coaching as we worked.
I am grateful to Dr. Ambika Kameshwar for giving me this wonderful opportunity. Since my part is done, I can just enjoy watching the RASA Day performance.
Parent Note
Ananth’s practice and recording session for RASA Day 2024 was fascinating for me to watch as a parent, as a Theater Arts for Holistic Development (TAHD) student, and as an organizer of a parent community. While we practice TAHD in different ways throughout the day, learning by performing is one important type of learning opportunity for Ananth. One reason is that Ananth learns best when he has specific, time-framed goals. Second, Ananth enjoys performing. Third, we learn varied skills and often we get ideas for what to do in the future. For example, Usha and I discussed developing lip sync and natural gestures, and using them to make reading enjoyable. Since Ananth has learned Bharatanatyam for over 10 years, it is interesting to see a different kind of movement experience in theater activities. While Ananth enjoys time-framed projects, he had to learn and execute quickly on this project. So, I created cue cards as he is a visual learner. Usha’s coaching and the cue cards gave a strong foundation and Ananth was able to adapt to the demands of the situation and in the moment adjustments with ease.