Day 8

23rd May 2019

Activities:

1. Today, we visited the National Gallery of Modern Art. We met with a curator who told us about the different exhibits on display at the museum, a brief history of modern art in India, and the ways in which we should attempt interpreting the works. Before coming to NGMA, we were told to identify one piece of art that impacted us and to write a reflective response about it, answering questions like: what drew you to the piece? What textures and colors does it employ? Why did it attract you? What did it make you feel? We spent a couple of hours exploring the gallery and engaging with the art.
2. After that, we had a long discussion about the artworks on display and what each of us liked most and why. Then, we spoke about what distinguishes theatre from other visual art forms like cinema and photography and sculptures and paintings. We talked about what unique opportunities and challenges the theatre poses, and what about it is attractive to each of us. We also discussed the role that time plays in theatre productions. We noted that some distinctive qualities of theatre include that it is time-bound, it is a shared experience, and that it is often defined in relation to space.

Questions considered:

1. How is creating for the theatre different from creating for other visual art forms? What can we borrow from other forms? How does the theatre’s limitations and opportunities influence the writing process?
2. How can you use time in theatre? How can the imposition of time be used to create tension within a play?