This September, Off-Kendrik is delighted to bring its 3rd annual South Asian American Theater Festival (SAATh) to the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA.
Watch 10 unique performances across 3 days (September 20th-22nd), representing the cultures and stories of half a dozen different communities in South Asia, as well as a guest performance by the Asian American Playwrights Collective. Plays will be performed in a variety of languages with English supertitles. Join us as patrons of theater and the arts to witness the South Asian diaspora come together to tell their stories. We highlight the best of local multilingual South Asian theater from the greater Boston community as well as from New Jersey and New York city.
Tickets and schedule: Find this year's lineup, schedule, ticketing, and more at www.offkendrik.com/saath
- When: Friday September 20th (6:30pm-9:30 pm), Saturday September 21st (2:30pm-8:30pm), Sunday September 22nd (2:30-8pm)
- Where: Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St, Watertown, MA 02472
- Tickets: www.offkendrik.com/saath
- Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/OffKendrik; https://www.instagram.com/offkendrik/
Mono- Loko- Katha
Mono- Loko- Katha ( Tales of the mind) is a collection of three original short plays on diverse topics of mental health- written by playwrights from their own experience. Off-Kendrik is grateful that they have shared their experience to raise awareness in the community. Mahua Sen Mukhopadhyay explores the emotional turmoil of parents with someone on the autism spectrum in the play Ujaan ( Against all odds). In Otikramon ( Transcendence), Jayati Banerjee looks at a family coming to terms with Dementia. Urmi Purakayastha talks about how the protagonist struggles with PTSD in Khwoto ( Wound) - the deep roots of the wound and an attempt to cope These plays are meant to create awareness, generate empathy and start a dialogue within the community
Direction: Sankha Bhowmick
When: Friday, 7th June (7:30 pm)
Saturday, 8th June (6:00 pm)
Sunday 9th June (3:30 pm)
Where: Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge.
A panel discussion will be held at the end of the program on Saturday(8th June) and Sunday(9th June), on the themes of the plays. The panel on Saturday will address questions related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the focus on Sunday will be on Autism. We hope to facilitate an open dialogue on these sensitive topics that are often considered taboo in our community.
Ticketing: https://www.offkendrik.com/monolokokatha
A Newton Festival of Arts Production : Friday May 17th, 2024 at 7:30 pm (Free admission)
Songs of Rabindranath Tagore with Classical Sarod : Saturday, May 18th at 3 pm (Free admission)
You are cordially invited to either of the above concerts. We are collaborating with Pt. Anirban Dasgupta to create a unique musical experience in which the vocal music will create a conversation with an ancient stringed instrument called โsarod.โ The Newton (Friday evening, May 17th) program is part of the 3 day Festival of Arts program and the one in Brookline is part of the Asian festival (Saturday afternoon, May 18th).
Both programs are free. Your presence will be greatly appreciated.
Setu Play: Friday september 29th to Sunday October 1st
Andha Yug (The Age of Darkness) is an English play (translation) on the carnage and destruction of the Mahabharata war on its final day. This play is part of the ongoing celebration of SETU's 20th anniversary. More info at www.setu.us.
A strong double cast will bring these powerful dynastic characters to life, along with dancers, narrators and chorists. An all-male cast, Purush, portrays 15 Pandava and Kaurava males and their allies with Gandhari being played by the only female actress. This, however, is "flipped" in the second all-female cast (Naaree) in which the sole female character is portrayed by a male actor.
๐๐ฟ๐ถ, ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฎ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ฝ๐บ (Naaree)
๐ฆ๐ฎ๐, ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฝ๐บ (Purush) and ๐ณ๐ฝ๐บ (๐ก๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ)
๐ฆ๐๐ป, ๐ข๐ฐ๐ ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฝ๐บ (Purush)
๐ง๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ - https://www.mosesianarts.org/timedevents/1656?
Each show is about 2 hrs and 30 mins, including a short 30 mins intermission.
Complimentary Indian snacks and tea will be provided. Free parking garage is adjacent to the theater.
๐ข๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐: Dharamvir Bharati
Based on English Translation of Alok Bhalla
๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด & ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: Subrata Das
AUG 19th to 21st 2022
Play: Kultarโs Mime by Sarbpreet Singh, Massachusetts. Language: English
Kultar's Mime is a devised play that tells the stories of Sikh children who survived the 1984 Delhi massacre. The play incorporates text from two poems : Kultar's Mime by Sarbpreet Singh and In The City Of Slaughter by Haim Bialik. The play, an unequivocal condemnation of sectarian violence and genocide, has evoked a powerful reaction from audiences all over the world that has affirmed the power of compassion to break the cycle of hatred that continues to plague humanity to this day.
Play: RangaShwas by Jilebee Arts, Massachusetts. Language: Marathi with English Supertitles
Rangashwas is a unique dramatic presentation of famous Marathi short stories. Those timeless stories from all kinds of genres like humor, social, political, and suspense will be enacted and narrated with the help of audio-visual effects and props in minimum setting. These situations or events from different stories will be connected through a common thread.
Play: Shikhandi by ECTA, New Jersey. Language: Language: English
Gender dysphoria and transgender politics has been carefully avoided in our society for a long time. Mahabharata, however, has dealt with this issue in a skillful way through the story of "Shikhandi". The story not only deals with the gender crisis but also draws our attention to the general issue of gender politics, which since the days of the Mahabharata has struggled to elevate women from a status of commodity to that of an individual with a purpose.
Play: Panchavati by Yaksha-Loka Boston, Massachusetts. Language: Kannada and English with English Supertitles
Panchavati tells the story of Ramayana in the vibrant living art form of Yakshagana. Yakshagana originated as a folk theatre in Karnataka state in India about 800 years ago and has developed into a mainstream theater form in south India since then. It is a unique harmony of musical tradition, eye-catching costumes and make-up, and authentic styles of dance, improvised gestures and acting with its extemporaneous dialogue appealing to a wide range of the community.
Play: Bikhre Bimb by ICS Theater, New Jersey. Language: Hindi with English Supertitles
A Hindi translation of the award-winning Kannada play, Odakalu Bimb by Girish Karnad. Hindi adaptation: Padmavati Rao. The play reveals the story of an unsuccessful Kannada writer who gains international recognition for her
debut novel in English. A gripping plot that reflects uncomfortable relationships and human failings.
Play: Raktabeej by Hindi Manch, Massachusetts. Language: Hindi with English Supertitles
Raktbeej was a mythical demon, who was difficult to kill because every drop of his blood that touched the ground, created another replica of his. In this contemporary take in a modern setting the play explores the continuous cycle of prey and predator in modern materialistic life. How people exploit others and abuse relationships to further their own agenda and climb up the social ladder and in turn get used by others and the cycle repeats itself.
Storytelling
VOICES by Off-Kendrik, Massachusetts. Language: Multiple with English Supertitles
Voices is a Storytelling show produced by the theater group, Off Kendrik. Modeled after the storytelling show "The Moth", it brings to light the first-person, true experiences of South Asian Immigrants. The primary event for Voices is the Voices Mainstage Show. This showcases carefully curated stories and is held every other year as a public, ticketed production. In addition Voices Story Slams open to the public are planned occasionally. Off-Kendrik will present a few curated stories showing various aspects of immigrant life as part of the VOICES production at SAATH Fest.
Solo Act
โUnveiledโ by Rohina Maik, Illinois. Language: English
Racism. Hate crimes. Love. Islam. Culture. Language. Life. Five Muslim women in a post-9/11 world serve tea and uncover what lies beneath the veil in this compelling one-woman show. Rohina Malik is a writer and actress who specializes in solo performance. She was born and raised in London, England, and draws upon her Indo-Pakistani heritage for inspiration for her art. She performed at Live Bait Theaterโs Fillet of Solo, and workshopped Unveiled with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and 16th Street Theater where it premiered and was a sold-out hit in May 2009 before coming to Victory Gardens Theatre in a 16th Street and Victory Gardens co-production in 2010.
Monologue and Reading: Generation Z presents:
โPartitionโ by Uma Paranjape, New York, Language : English
Scenes from a new play on Partition of India and Pakistan, written, directed and acted by Uma Paranjape. Uma is a 2 nd generation, young South Asian actor/playwright, based in New York. She was born and brought up in San Francisco, CA. She graduated from the University of Miami with a BFA in Musical Theatre and performed in multiple off-broadway theater, educational theater in NY and other places, TV commercials and of course Films. Her latest film is King Lahiri, directed by Chris Picone.
An Act/Reading by Pampi Das, Boston, Language : English
Pampi is a LGBTQ+ activist, playwright based in New England. She is the founder of In Divine Company, an activist multimedia contemporary temple dance theater collective. A 20+ year newcomer-settler-resident of Massachuset and Wompanoag land, Pampi is a darker-skinned nonbinary second-genx casteD-Bengali culture worker who flourishes the intersection of healing and education and develops community-centered art that releases creative potential and drives collective change-making.
Seminar
Panel discussion: Possibilities, challenges and future of diasporic South Asian Theater in the US. Panel will involve eminent theater personalities and academics.