In an earlier blog post, I wrote about my first RASA Day experience. My first play with RASA was Jatayu Moksham and I played the Rama role. I had to practice the Rama role many times. Dr. Vaishnavi Poorna coached me and the group on the play.
RASA Day was my first drama experience. I discovered that there is an enormous amount of preparation needed for every play. My friends and I had to work a lot to get ready for the performance. I had to prepare with other RASA students. Since I had to meet daily and prepare with the group, I made new friendships. While the preparation for RASA Day was a lot of work, it was also very enjoyable. It was enjoyable to prepare for the play with many RASA students. Until the drama experience, I had not met any of the RASA students because I was an online student.
Roles
When I played Rama, I had to coordinate with other characters like Sita, Lakshman, and Jatayu.
- Rama (Played by Ananth)
- Lakshmana (Played by Bharat)
- Sita (Played by Rashmi)
- Jatayu (Played by Guru)
They were all experienced because they had been RASA students for a long time. For example, Rashmi (who played Sita) helped me adjust to the stage.
Entry and Exits:
I had to understand the different scenes, and I had to know when to enter and exit. For example, in the first scene, Rama comes to Agastya ashram and Agastya is already seated there. Rama had to put the bow down and do namaskaram to Agastya.
Handling Properties
I had to know how to handle the properties, when to pick the bow up, and when to put it down. Ms. Usha Sankaran (Senior RASA facilitator) made me a bow so I could practice picking up and putting down the bow in many different scenes.
Cues
In the play, we did the actions to recorded music, so we had to figure out when to enter the stage and when to exit the stage. I had to listen to the cue words when to enter the stage, and when to exit the stage.
Usha akka taught me how to listen to the cue words. My mother and I had to practice the cue words together. So, my mother and I listened to the recording many times to figure out the entries and exits.
Small Group Practice
Since this was the first time I performed in a play, Usha akka (Ms. Usha Sankaran) also coached me on the Rama role. Since many of my scenes were with Lakshman and Sita, I did many practice sessions with Bharat and Rashmi. I had to coordinate with Sita and Lakshman in many scenes, whereas, I was not with some other characters such as King Dasaratha. The small group practice helped me work with the larger group in Dr. Vaishnavi Poorna’s class.
Final Rehearsals
My first rehearsal was in Tattvaloka, but the final rehearsal and actual show was in Narada Gana Sabha. I enjoyed having Bharat and Rashmi at Usha akka’s house and practicing together. I started interacting with them more because of the play. By the time I went to the final rehearsal, I was feeling very confident. I was waiting with much anticipation for the show.
Even though there was a lot of work to do for RASA day, it was enjoyable. I had interacted with many RASA students and staff. I am looking forward to RASA day 2024.
One Response
Bravo Ananth, really proud of the way you have written about, smoothly handling of the props and the scenes with different characters..Amazing 👏🥰🥰..Well Done