Theatre thespian Tripurary Sharma’s directorial Aadha Chaand took the audience into today’s esoteric arena of call centres and their loosely-built virtual world. He tells Utpal K Banerjee that he has used tap dance because this vigorous form reflects the spirit of the present day
Aadha Chand,recently presented by NSD Repertory, openly invites its viewers to enter today’s esoteric arena of call centres and their loosely-built virtual world. One quickly recognises the call centre as a centralised office-space: used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. An in-bound call centre is operated to handle information inquiries from consumers. Out-bound call centres, on the contrary, handle tele-marketing of diverse kinds. Taken together, they are locations for centralised dealing of individual communications: including letters, faxes, live support for social media, instant messages and e-mails. The ambience is of an open work-space for call centre agents; with a computer for each agent, a telephone head-set connected to a telecom switch, and one or more stations for the boss linked with additional centres, they become a corporate computer network. Increasingly, the voice and data pathways wade into the centres through the new technology of computer-telephony integration.
Aadha Chand,produced under the baton of the thespian Tripurary Sharma, becomes a civilisational work-in-progress. like its title of the half moon, it is a partially-realised virtual world. On the proscenium is, for instance, a totally computer-based on-line community milieu: designed and shared by individuals who interact in a custom-built, simulated world. User-voices float through: ether interacting with each other in the simulated world: or through text-based, two-dimensional or three-dimensional graphical models, endearingly named as avatars. Avatars are very picturesque, as they are rendered using computer graphics imaging (CGI). Individuals control their avatars using input devices like the keyboard, mouse and other specially designed command-and-simulation gadgets. The virtual world is seen to possess the quality of persistence and interactivity, enabling users to explore the inherent benefits of socialisation.
It is at the socialisation end that the play builds up false inter-connections and sham relationships. Because of the all-pervading influence of call centres and their enduring impact, unwary individuals get alienated from their home-grown domesticity and parental bondages. In the virtual world of call centres, new contacts grow, mature and eventually dissolve. Many ‘Angelas’ appear and disappear: in an atmosphere of virtual reality. Individual scenes are formed and re-formed in a break-neck tempo and do not seem to add up to anything more than a cloak of effervescent reality of an emerging culture that is only dimly perceived as arrived.
Extracts from interaction with the director:
Information technology stalwarts, like Alvin Toffler, provide an exalted view of the technology progress, employment explosion and reach of the information society. In the play, yours is a dim view…
I’m fully aware and I entirely agree that technology has achieved astounding progress. My point in the play is that the social world has fallen severely behind the glittering technology world. That is, society is unable to keep up with the demands made by technology in terms of mind-boggling changes and attitudes.
Could you give an illustrationIJ
The play tries to bring forth some of the experiences from the contradictions arising from all-round connectivity: being here and also everywhere. What is this here likeIJ And what is the construct of everywhere that we could be carrying in the call centresIJ The home and the work-place are almost opposite. The professional makes unprecedented demand on the personal and almost subjugates it. Identities are altered,voices manufactured and an individual at times is only a ‘product’ or a mere wrapping.
Your use of a pseudo-flamenco dance is a brilliant idea. It reminds one of the dance sequences in Broadway’s hit-play: West Side Story...
I have used tap dance synchronised in groups, especially in the beginning. I thought this form of vigorous dance reflects the spirit of our times.
Since connectivity, call centres and virtual world are very current ideas, did you use any Western script for your inspirationIJ
No, I didn’t come across any. But there are quite a few documentaries and video reports that exist and these I’ve consulted.
Your idea of contrasting glittering technology against modest home background with doting parents was splendid and could bear elaboration. But the American drawls, practiced in all call centres, seem to be largely missing…
Thanks for the suggestion. As regards the American drawl, we tried very hard, but it was difficult to acquire such accents overnight!