When you try something new, you pass every time

Here I am with my first ever Blog, penning down almost a decade of my life.

Theatre artists are just not like people whom you see every day in the crowd. We are bit, but completely opposite. We explore the world from where others stop and with a different POV. We are adventurous and Being Unlimited is what we believe in.

Through this #BeUnlimited blog I’d like to take you on a journey with me to the beginning of a different me.

Phase #1

Exploring an Actor

A month passed away and I had done nothing different in college. “This is not me” I said to myself and started exploring activities in which I could participate. Looked for couple of opportunities and by the end of the day I had one, an opportunity to be an actor in the college’s theatre group. Sounds interesting right? So I went back home, opened YouTube and started surfing for scripts.

Next day I was all set and was ready to show the director what I had. While standing backstage waiting for my turn, I saw 17 people performing and as every person performed my confidence went down by 100. I auditioned, and my audition went just exactly the same what I thought, poor!

Results Time, approximately 40 people performed out of which only 12 were getting selected. I got to hear from my batch mates, they got selected and that only 3 spots were left. It was obvious that I was not going to get a call …

… but then the director called,

And I was part of my College’s Theatre Group!!!

The director told me that I still need some definite training and that they are ready to train me and now my confidence level was up.

I tried something new and I passed.

–xx–

Phase #2

Exploring a Director

Two years later, I was standing tall with a great passion for theatre and with an experience of 23 plays. Sounds surprising right? But it’s true. My confidence was at an all-time high.

The director who auditioned me, graduated a month back and the Theatre Group was looking for a new director. Obviously I didn’t get a chance to nominate myself because the director nominated one of my batch mate who is a “Celebrity Kid”.

We performed under the direction of the “Celebrity Kid” and boy what a play it was, the audience stood up on their feet in mid play, didn’t clap but moved out of the auditorium. It was a big flop.

Obviously the “Celebrity Kid” gave up direction.

It was that time of the year when the biggest inter-college festival was going to begin and we were lacking a director. The teacher-incharge of the Theatre Group approached me and by looking the “Celebrity Kid” fail my confidence level dropped.

At first I said no to the teacher-incharge but then I agreed. It was time for me to try something new yet again. It was time to lead a group and become a good leader.

Finally, the day came. I was all prepared backed by 25 days of hard work and a good team. There were total of 7 acts including ours. I was not worried about competing with four of the directors, but two of them did scare me. One of them was a guy who won the event for the past three years and the other was Darsheel Safari Child Artist from “Taare Zameen Par”? We performed and we did great but I was not able to watch the other plays.

Never had I thought that I will be competing these guys. The judges of the event came up on the stage, and announced the results, Darsheel Safari’s team were the 2nd runner up, the guy who won consecutively for three years was the 1st runner up. Listening to these results I had lost all my hopes of winning this competition.

The judges announced my name as the winner of the competition.

Again, I tried something new and I passed.

–xx—

Phase #3

Starting a Professional Independent Theatre Company

It was my final year in the college, I was standing tall with a DIE-HARD passion for theatre and with an experience of 50 plays, winning an event four years consecutively, a ‘Principal Choice Best Dramatist of the Year’ Award and an opportunity to perform for government officials.

At this stage, my confidence level didn’t matter because theatre became a habit for me, just like breathing.

I was about to graduate in four months and I was recruited by Edelweiss through campus recruitment.

I started wondering, to be honest worrying, where I’ll be able to perform after getting graduated, and the answer was nowhere. I started looking up for theatre groups to join a week after which I realized that no theatre group was looking for a part time actor.

It was time for me to try something new yet again, this time to make it official Open a Professional Independent Theatre Company. So I did, I found Two And A Half Theatre.

Two And A Half Theatre is my child. The first play of Two And A Half Theatre was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet which was set in a small village of Rajasthan around the environment of Johar (Sati). The play got a huge response of 1050 people turning up, standing ovation by the audience and appreciation by chief guests.

Never ever I thought I’ll come this far with my passion.

And just like before, I tried something new and I passed,

But Picture Abhi Baaki Hai Mere Dost…

–xx–

Phase #4

Job

Like in every phase I was ready to try something new, similarly I was very excited for this new journey. As I mentioned I was recruited from campus by Edelweiss and the first few months were really great.

So you know theatre is just like breathing to me and six months later in this 9 to 6 job which obviously was getting extended to 8 or 9, I realized that there is no time left for my Two And A Half Theatre.

With every day passing by my frustration grew. My on job performance took a deep dive and my social life was also getting affected. My boss noticed all this and tried to confront me. But as a newbie, I was scared to tell my boss about my passion and the frustration was not settling. I confessed eventually and surprisingly my boss took it very well.

My boss came up with a bang on solution.

Sometimes things just fall in place with time, right time. You should always have the patience to wait for it.

Now I am almost completing a year with Edelweiss, no more frustration, no more irritation, no more social life getting affected and a yes for Two And A Half Theatre. I have performed 2 plays in the past 3 months, could not ask for more.

I tried something new and I passed.

–xx—

#BeUnlimited, that’s what we are known for,

You see an opportunity, go grab it,

Think twice but don’t think too much,

Never ever settle for less no matter at what position you are,

And in the end just remember – There are no Regrets, only Lessons.