Dana Roy on two experiences with Gill Robertson and Michael Sherrin

Dana Roy writes on two experiences with Gill Robertson and Michael Sherin - the adda at Ranan on 5 April 2015, and a day she spent at the Think Arts workshop.

Rejuvenation!

On 5^th April, 2015 Ranan was delighted to host an Adda with Gill Robertson and Michael Sherin, both of whom were in Calcutta to conduct the first part of an amazing four week workshop-rehearsal process that Ruchira Das of Think Arts dreamt up and organized. (more on this later)

Gill is this wonderfully energetic, incredibly engaging, red-headed crazy person from Scotland with a loud infectious laugh, who, incidentally, formed the Catherine Wheels Theatre Company in 1999. A company that has made a name for itself creating delicious looking performances such as White and Lifeboat (picture below) for young audiences. We were lucky enough to have Paul Fitzpatrick, from Catherine Wheels show us glimpses of these when he visited Ranan in 2012. What I would give to see one of these productions!

Michael Sherin, is an equally mad, fabulously eloquent actor and mover from Ireland, with an easy, deep sensitivity towards people hidden behind a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

So, what was the adda with them like? Well for starters it was pouring outside, but that didn’t seem to dampen spirits one bit. There was this wonderful energy and open spirit of exchange in the room. It was lovely to see so many new faces, in the Ranan space, some from Mumbai and Delhi, chomping on muri makha and sipping cups of tea. It was Gill’s great instincts as a facilitator that got everyone talking. One can safely say every single person in the room contributed something to the exchange.

So what did we talk about? Well it seemed like pretty much everything! In true adda style, the conversation started somewhere and then went of into another equally fascinating realm.

What is it like to create work for young children? How the importance of theatre for young audiences is perceived in Scotland. How these perceptions are relatively recent and how ideas about this have changed over the last 20 years. What kinds of shows are right for children? Or is the real question what kinds of shows do adults feel are right for children? Gill certainly felt that children can handle anything. She believes they should be able to see anything, instead of only having plays with morals or lessons termed as children’s plays. I was overjoyed and jumping, albeit, quietly in my head when I heard that.

So what kind of theatre should be made for children? Shows that are not patronizing, shows with high quality performances, shows with a decent amount of thought and development. Gill mentioned that it was humbling as an actor to do theatre for children, because children are not polite, if something doesn’t catch them, you will know it, and if something does, then they are with you till the end. She mentioned how it has been a huge unlearning and re-learning for her. “All I know is that you have to explore, you need to know nothing and that is when interesting things happen.”

The conversation then went on to how theatre that is not on the stage is so interesting, the charm of art in found spaces. Next we found ourselves telling stories of how different people saw the importance of supporting artwork, which included amusing stories of Viji Iyengar’s drandfather selling off antique furniture to support theatre. We shared with Gill and Michael stories of Habib Tanvir and of course Tagore. My take away thought for the day was this co-relation between art and society. Every culture’s growth in thinking and development, human growth has had a direct co-relation with the growth in the arts. Just look at any renaissance in any culture. It is so obvious when someone says it, yet how easily it is forgotten when we talk about developing a nation.

We talked of so may fascinating things, the role of artists in times of struggle, the role of arts to define an identity of a nation, art and politics, art and funding, tax benefits for artists in Ireland, (that country had its priorities right!) art and technology – fun fact - Catherine Wheels has an App based on their production Whitefor toddlers! We debated if theatre should be filmed and distributed to mass audiences as National Theatre and the RSC have taken to doing. If film can capture that elusive and magical ingredient of live theatre.

From the broad questions to the individual questions, is there something that stops you making your art, whether external or internal? What is your process of work? Gill feels it is about trusting what you have learnt and then forgetting it so that you can be open to the people in the room. Michael loves to put himself in difficult situations and find a way to work through it because that means you have to be open to answers from the different people in the room who are making stuff with you. He says, “I like the business of theatre because it brings people together.”

I love that this evening, went through so many different issues and thoughts, I know I came away with a little window into other countries, and a new perspective on my own work.

Sibendu Das’ words as on his relationship to the arts as a non-performer really stuck with me “Watching a show or being part of a discussion like this, being part of the arts vibe touches me. In my everyday life a little bit of art rejuvenates me… like drinking cold water on a hot day”

With that thought, I must let you all know that this re-imagined, revitalized version of the Ranan’s addas and atmosphere has been beautifully thought up and created by Anindita Santra and Vikram Iyengar.

So on the first Sunday of every month, you know where to come if you want a little bit of rejuvenation!

Workshop with Gill Robertson and Michael Sherin.

Think Arts is aiming to do something brilliant, address this vacuum that we have in the city and fill it with opportunities for children to engage with art, theatre and performance. So, one of the mad plans that Ruchira Das dreamt up was to convince Gill Robertson to come down and do a workshop with people interested in doing theatre for young audiences. Not just any workshop a four week intensive workshop spread over April and September. Of course, the workshop ran to full capacity, all slots filled with people travelling from Delhi and Mumbai just to be part of it. I am so glad she organized this in Calcutta, we rarely get to see workshops of this calibre here and so a lot of Calcatta-walas were able to participate.

I, much to my sadness, could not sign up for the workshop, due to various commitments, but I did desperately want to be part of it, even as an observer just for one day. And lovely Ruchira, Gill and Michael, all said “Of course, come along”

So when I got to the workshop, which had already been running for five days

I was apprehensive whether it would interfere with their process. I knew a team spirit must have been building up and workshop spaces are sacred, trusting spaces so I worried about what it would be like to be an extra presence in their midst, to sit and observe like a fly on the wall. I didn’t want to disturb them after all.

I needn’t have been worried. I walked into the lovely Emami Gallery, which had some really super artwork on display, and then walked into their workspace to be immediately put at my ease.

The group energy was so warm and welcoming, much less than being a fly on the wall I was rather unexpectedly absorbed into the activities by everyone in the room immediately and spontaneously. The team obviously had this open and generous spirit going between them, something that Gill and Michael, who were facilitating, both emanate from their beings.

The level of play was very deep, but easy, soft, organic and flowed. Everyone was present and engaged in the room, each one with their own different energies, open and receptive.

The sharings after an activity seemed to be something they had been doing regularly, it took no time for each person to share quite honestly their personal feelings, hidden fears, secret joys and messy discoveries while doing that activity. Simple feelings, deep and complex feelings, one could see each person was on their own journey in this workshop process, and the level of support and trust for each other and yet awareness of each person’s space and journey was astounding. It was, as Gill said, a really an honest search for what the unconscious self wants to create, it was a re-connection to the child inside.

I feel enormously privileged to have been allowed to be part of this, and feel quite an amazing connection with the glorious people in the workshops after spending just one day with them.

I saw some amazing things, people exploring paint, recreating the textural feeling of playing with mud through paint, struggles with literal expression, joyous revels in the abstract, grown men and women playing with all the innocence of children, silly happy games, or really focused rolling on the ground, reconnection to themselves, forging bridges to other people, an invisible but potent umbilical chord of energy that connected a performer moving around her painting. All of it really honest, stripped-down-to-the-core work.

The difference in the same bodies in the workspace and not in the workspace hit me immediately when the session ended and everyone went to change out of their workshop attire spattered in paint. The same warmth was there between people, but added to that was suddenly a context, more of who they were, they were suddenly people with houses and lives, and all that going on. But it is amazing how in the workspace, during the workshop they were bodies, each with their own essence and own personality but with none of the noise that comes with people, as if they had stepped out of their everyday skins to a place of openness where magic can happen!