The Contemporary Crisis in Theatre Ecology by Prasanna, Theatre Director

Prasanna talks on The Contemporary Crisis in Theatre Ecology as part of the Azim Premji University Public Lecture Series
Nov 16, 2013

About the Talk:
Theatre is a game of falsehood which is played to help us understand truth. It is also designed to enhance communicative skilks among human beings. It has become entertainment of late, machine made entertainment, to be more specific. By converting theatre into applied art, like television serials, cinema, advertisements, and internet programmes, we have brought an imbalance in the ecology of theatre. The talk will focus on the ecological as well as cultural implications of this development.

About the Speaker
Prasanna, theatre director, writer and activist, is one of the pioneers of modern Kannada theatre. He co-founded the influential theatre group, Samudaya, in the 1970s. He has directed plays in Kannada, Hindi, Punjabi and English for various theatre repertories including National School of Drama, New Delhi, Rangmandal, Bhopal and Rangayana, Mysore. He has published several plays in Kannada including Tadroopi and Haddu Meerida Haadi. He has also written Desiya Jeevana Paddati (The Practices of Desi Life, 2005), Yantragalannu Kalachona Banni (Unclasping Ourselves from Machines, 2009) and Desiya Aaahara Paddati (The Culture of Desi Food, 2013), all of which offer sustained reflections on the ways of living ethically in the modern world. He has recently published Indian Method in Acting, a pioneering effort at interpreting the methods of modern Indian theatre. Prasanna is also founder of Charaka, an enormously successful women's co-operative in Bhimanakone, whose products are found at Desi outlets in Bangalore and elsewhere in Karnataka.