Against all odds

How do you “manage” a show that begins to fall apart?

One fine day I got not one but three phone calls inviting my play to Tripura, Kolkata and Mumbai. I couldn’t believe my luck, and was jumping with excitement. After all, we do not have agents or impresarios who push our plays into various festivals. So such offers are like lotteries. I immediately rang my stage manager (SM) to get on the job, and contact artistes, buy train tickets, prepare and send technical details to the organisers, et cetera. Before I could finish, he informed me that he was already employed, and would not be able to function as my SM for the tour. That did not dampen my enthusiasm. After all, finding another SM would not be that difficult. And sure enough, I found another young theatre enthusiast ready to take on the task. It is another matter that I had to start from scratch with him, beginning with listing out the duties and responsibilities of an SM.

Once he had talked to all the artistes, and they had confirmed their participation, the process of buying train tickets had to be started in real earnest. So lists were made by the SM, of course typed by me (how can you expect a struggling theatrewallah to have a computer!), given to a travel agent, and the tickets purchased four months in advance. I couldn’t believe how smooth it all had been, and the visit had been tied up.

As the time drew closer, one of my actor’s got an important two-year assignment in a TV serial promising a large pay package! Since I couldn’t dream of matching that amount, how could I tell her not to take it on? Not that she would have listened to me even if I had! Thus began a search for a substitute actress. Extremely difficult, as all of them were busy. Whoever said there is not enough work for actors in theatre? Anyhow, we did find someone at last, so I started working with her. Just as I was less nervous about this change, another one of my actresses went off to Hyderabad to teach! Repeated phone calls later she too expressed her inability to join us. How would I ever find another substitute?

Before I could sort this out, one of my major actors told me that he would not be available on the rehearsal dates as he was part of the organising team of the festival in Tripura. Why did he not say so earlier? He said that he had relayed this information to the SM. The SM said he did not understand why the actor would not be available to perform if he was going to be in Tripura anyway. But what about rehearsals? I screamed. The actor kindly suggested that he would manage without one! No way, I thought. I will substitute him too.

And then — my lead actress informed, in fact, did not inform, but we got to know from other sources, that she was getting married on the same day as the last show! Well, this was the last straw. Exasperated, I decided to call off the shows, when all the actors got together saying that it would be unprofessional to cancel a committed show, so they would all “manage” somehow! Of course, the last show would have to be cancelled as the marriage could not be postponed.

The changes in tickets, with dates changing for each actor, destinations changing for others, modes of transport changing from train to air due to urgency, and back to train for reasons of economy, were being informed to the travel agent on a daily basis till he almost turned cross-eyed, and started blabbering incoherently.

Finally, the rehearsals! The seven, five-hour rehearsals scheduled got reduced to three, each of a three hour duration, with not a single one with all the actors together. One couldn’t come on time, the other had to leave early and two had other shows during this period. I was the only constant in the rehearsals with all this coming and going.

Anyhow, we did leave for this tour to Tripura and Kolkata. Good wishes were solicited from all well-wishers, and I’m glad to report that somehow, we did “manage”.