evam

CHANGE OF URL

2008-11-28T13:08:00.005+05:30

Dear Readers,

This blogspot isn't active anymore.
We have a more pumped up, activate and fun wordpress account.
Check out- www.evamblog.wordpress.com

Keep reading and keep those comments flowing :)

Cheers
Team Evam

evam turns 4 today!!!

2007-09-10T11:44:00.001+05:30

evam celebrates its 4th BIRTHDAY today!

14 plays, 179 shows, 4 years

Thanks for being part of our roller coaster ride!

We promise to keep busting your stress!

Upcoming show:

"And now for something completely different"

on Sept 23rd at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore. 3.30 and 7.30 pm

To block tickets :www.evam.in

HYSSSSTERIA PLAYS on May 26.27 in Chennai!

2007-05-24T09:39:00.001+05:30

2 MORE DAYS TO GO... and we start the roller coaster madness ride ! "Best of Python Hyssssteria by evam-side a" -premieres this saturday afternoon at 3.15 pm!! If you still have no clue about what we are saying then read on!!

What ? Best of Python Hyssssteria by evam - Side A

What??- its the craziest british comedy ever inspired by Monty Python with dance and music thrown in - a rock show on stage!!!

When ? Saturday,26th May and Sunday,27th May3.15 pm,715 pm on both days Where ? Sivagami PetachiAuditorium,Luz Church Road,Alwarpet Damage ? Rs500/250/100(students get Rs. 100 ticket at Rs.75) Why ? For your entertainment we say!

BLOCK TKTS NOW! @the new look and fun www.evam.in or call 98402-22363 / 9840612333 Tickets also available for sale at the Landmark stores(Nungambakkam,Spencers Plaza and Citi Center) 4 shows of the high voltage roller coaster ride of entertainment!! Get on the ride now!!

last weekend of evam150 in Chennai!

2007-02-08T17:48:00.000+05:30

hi guys!

This weekend will be our last in Chennai for the evam 150 season...so if you havn't seen these plays before we hope to see you there! and if you have..we hope to see your firends there!

Last show
on Saturday 10th February
at 7:15 pm
at Sivagami Pettachi Auditorium

Last 2 shows
on Sunday 11th February
at 3:15 pm & 7:15 pm
at Sivagami Pettachi Auditorium

Ticket Blocking - just log on to www.evam.in*
[*Tickets reserved for you at the venue ]
or
Call 9840222363 / 9840612333
Door delivery at 4224 4224
Tickets are also available at Landmark [Nungambakkam,SpencersandCitiCentre]

See you there!
Cheers!

Introducing Online Ticket Blocking!!

2007-01-03T16:59:00.000+05:30

Dear Friends,

Buying tickets for an evam showing has now become easier, with the launch of our own Box Office at www.evam.in -

All you have to do is click on the show of your choice, choose the denomination of the ticket and the number of tickets and we invite you into 'club evam'.

No money transactions, no credit card payments – just convenience. Helping us stay in tune with you.

Tickets once blocked, will be reserved for you at the Show, by my Box Office team – you just have to collect them and pay. We hope you will all use this unique service to purchase your tickets.

I must warn you that the home page may take a tad bit to download – considering this is our first online effort – things will only get better from this point on.

So log onto www.evam.in and see you at our shows – looking forward to busting your Stress!

Cheers and Regards

Karthik Kumar
Managing Partner
Evam Entertainment
mailevam@gmail.com
Helpline: 98402 22363

This weekend!!

2007-01-03T16:43:00.000+05:30

We kick off evam 150 this weekend with ART and LOVE LETTERS!!

Serge, Yvan and Marc are 3 friends, 3 very close friends and between them they share a 15-year-old friendship. One day Serge buys a painting for a sum of 200 thousand francs, a painting which to Marc appears as a white canvas, which he describes as “shit!” Yvan is caught in the middle of the two as all hell breaks lose!
What happens next is the serious comedy-a story about you, me and our best friend!

ART plays on Saturday 6th Jan 2007 at 3.15PM and 7.15PM at Alliance Francaise.

What happens when the staid, dutiful lawyer Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and the lively, unstable artist Melissa Gardner fall in love, and the relationship gradually unfolds from what is written -- and what is left unsaid -- in their letters. The story of two real people- and their relationship explored through their letters written to each other over 50 years- funny, bitter and sweet- a love story not to be missed!

LOVE LETTERS plays on Sunday 7th Jan 2007 at 3.15PM and 7.15PM at Alliance Francaise.

Details

For Online Ticket Blocking* www.evam.in
(*Tickets reserved for you at the venue)
Tickets are also available at Landmark (Nungambakkam, Citi centre and Spencers)
HelpLine: 98402 22363, 9840612333
Door Delivery :4224 4224
Special Offers available at Venue, including 50% off for students.

Celebrating Evam 150!

2006-12-19T23:52:00.000+05:30

Come 2007 and Evam is back yet again with our latest season and whats more, we are celebrating Evam 150!!! If you are wondering what that means...in this season which will extend over Jan and Feb, Evam will be completing 150 shows! And because Evam 150 is such a big deal..we are bringing back a few oldies, 3 of them to be exact and we will be introducing one brand new production.
We kick off Evam 150 on the 6th and 7th of Jan 2007 with 2 of our best..
"ART" plays 2 shows 3.30 and 7.15 on Saturday the 6th of Jan at Alliance Francaise..
and
"Love Letters" plays 2 shows 3.30 and 7.15 at Alliance on Sunday the 7th of Jan..

All tickets are priced at Rs.100

We are also offering a discount on the tickets to all members of our Orkut community so to find out the details and avail of the offer please join and log in..the link is
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=2401889
We are also trying to organise an Orkut-Evam meet on one of the showdays so log in to find out more.

We will give you information about the other plays as we go along..

cheers!

Hamlet Hits Hyderabad!!!

2006-11-21T19:34:00.000+05:30

Swayamkrushi
In collaboration with the Dept of Culture, Govt of AP

Presents

HAMLET
-THE ORIGINAL SPOOF-
by evam

Hamlet –the Original Spoof by evam comprises of 3 incredible actors (Shakespeare used a lot more) who try and make sense of the grand Shakespearean tragedy in true evam style (possibly because many of us do not understand His style) – whacky, freaky and bizarre. If you can't make sense of Hamlet or Shakespeare – then this is the show for you – coz umm, well, we can’t either!! :D
A super audience-interactive show, and an absolutely rollicking ride guaranteed!!

The Date: 25TH November
The Time: 6 pm
The Place: RAVINDRA BHARATHI, HYDERABAD

Donor passes available at:
Walden Book stores - Begumpet and Banjara Hills
Swayamkrushi - Trimulgherry, Sec’bad

Call 040-27992420, 27990741, 9391169078, 986616873, 9392473000 or 9849988262 for more details!

Some Reviews:

"The funniest show you are likely to see in your entire lifetime"

"An irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Shakespeare original"

"Slick, fast, interactive with the audience and very funny"

"Hilarious is an understatement, it was the three member enactment of Hamlet that was the clincher. Rip roaring"

DON’T MISS IT!!

FOOLS!! by ASAP Productions

2006-11-02T10:47:00.000+05:30

Hey all,this promises to be a hilarious and fun filled play...
Fools plays at Alliance Francaise Nov 2-5 at 3.30 and 7.30pm..
Check it out...

-Aki/AB/A

Date with Bharat Dabolkar!!

2006-10-10T00:19:00.000+05:30

Dear Theatre-lovers of Chennai,
Mark your calenders

11th October 2006 for the blockbuster of the season.No dinner ,no supper just RAW unadultrated Comedy.An absolute laugh riot ,a hilarious play ,never before ,never again in chennai & a DATE with BHARAT DHABOLKAR (WRITER & DIRECTOR) @ Music Academy for the FUND RAISING OF MADRAS METRO ROUND TABLE 95's .

All proceeds from the above go towards the charities of MMRT 95 and RTI.The tickets are of the denominations
1000/-
750/-
500/-
300/-
200/-
100/-
Tickets available at- LANDMARK, AMETHYST, GANGOTREE, ODYSSEY & CELLCITY (ALWARPET & T. NAGAR)
For bulk bookings/Ticket enquiries please contact -
Tr.Sumeet Sanghavi-9840249157/Cr.Millie Sanghavi -9840028317/Niraj Grover -9841059840/Hemant Khandelwal -9840133681/Punit Sampat -98409 15797.

Profile of the Cast

Vijoo Khote/ Mangal Kenkre/ Liladhar Kambli/Atul Parchure/Shivani Tanksale/Dimple Inamdar/ Charudutta Bhagwat

Hope to see you all there for a rip roaring time .

Regards.,

Sumeet Sanghavi

Convenor Fund Raising 06-07.

Madras Metro Round Table # 95.

Cheers all,
AB.

Amadeus by the Boardwalkers!!

2006-09-15T01:26:00.000+05:30

Hey Guys,

Come Celebrate the 250th Birth Anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!!! –

Witness the life and times of the genius composer – in the Play "Amadeus" – written by "Peter Shaffer" – considered by many to be one of the finest English plays ever scripted!!!

"AMADEUS"

A Play By:
Peter Shaffer

Directed by:
Michael Muthu.

16th and 17th Serptember
Museum Theatre
6:30pm.

Tickets:
Rs.200 & 100.

Available at:
Landmark [All outlets], Fruit-shop on Greames Road [All Outlets].
Odyssey [Adyar], Amethyst, Pro-Music.

For bookings & further details call: 98410-07003.

A BOARDWALKERS PRODUCTION

-A.

Happy Birthday evam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-09-10T14:42:00.000+05:30

Woohoo!!! evam is officially 3 years old today..
the evam dream baby is growing..and how!!!

Sept 10th 2003:
first day first show of "ART by evam" evam's 1st play, performed in the banquet hall of The Park, Nungambakkam.

Sept 10th 2006:
as of today evam has designed and created 12 entertainers(ART, Python Hyssssteria,Love Letters,Death,The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park, evam Indrajit,Biloxi Blues,Chapter Two,The Cut,Hamlet,Python Hyssssteria 2-the sequel),performed 121 shows across Chennai, Banglore, Coimbatore, Mumbai and Ahmedabad :)

awesome stuff eh..

thanks to one and all- happy birthday to evam and the team..:)

thanks loads to all the people involved with evam.. and all the people who luv evam.. lets make it a rockin 4th year baby!!

and yes i repeat..WOOHOO!! :D :D

-Aki

GEARING UP, BABY!!!!!!

2006-07-12T07:22:00.000+05:30

PYTHON HYSSSTERIA 2:THE SEQUEL WILL PLAY @MUSIC ACADEMY ON 16TH JULY, 2006 AT 7.15 PM.......ONLY ONE SHOW IN CHENNAI......TICKETS AT RS500/200/100...... CONTACT 9840222363 FOR FURTHER DETAILS!!!

One fine, rainy evening, there was a cold breeze as i got off my hotshot bike which is very much the craze at evam:):) and walked to the office.... birds were not chirping and the sun was not glowing ....... however music was playing ... and that too very loudly... i walk into the evam office

Maddy is sitting in one corner, doing the homework of one of the dancers who every now and then peeps into the room and flashes maddy an apologetic smile.....

all the dancers are dancing to the theme of "the spy who shagged me" ... they have been for the past two million years and will be atleast till sunday..........

Kk is sitting at the main computer checking out Python sketches......

Ishwar is generally , arbidly sitting .... oh oh but later he started looking busy looking at a very fat file .......

Shoo-boy walks in and is talking about the two plays he had seen in the weekend.... "the cure of urvashi" and "...and sunshine follows the rain".....

amidst the noie and chaos rohini is curled up on the middle of the office, supposedly sleeping ..i say this because i gave her a giant poke and she didnt respond!!!!! kudos, woman!! only u cand noone else can pull this off:):);)

yes now after that very graphic imagery..... this is the gearing-up-in-full-swing happening for Python Hyssssteria 2 : the sequel!!!! come come one and all!!!!!!! bring friends, families, foes, known and the unknown .... and ofcourse, yourself!!!!

MORE LATER,

ADIOS AMIGOS,

NOOOOOSSSSHHHHAAAAA

POST - FIRST WEEKEND!!!!!!!!

2006-06-27T21:38:00.002+05:30

"It was like one of those much-awaited rock shows. First, an opening act by a band trying to find its feet to get you warmed up before the seniors blow you off yours. Evam's "The Cut of Hamlet" was somewhat like that."

.... and that was Sudhish Kamath from the Hindu, dated 27th June, 2006!

YEA PEOPLE!!!! Amidst all the craze of 20 actors doing line rehearsal, stage rehearsal etc etc even mind rehearsal..... i saw rashmi and bida muttering things under their breath... i thought they were a tad irritated with me before i faintly heard dialogues from the play!Anyways ... things were just crazy, chaotic, call it whatever u like .... backstage for Hamlet was one crazy dance by itself .. with each of Tmk's costume change lasting not more than 5 seconds!!!After all that ... we managed to get the show on stage !!!

For more details on the shows .... well keep reading the blog... i believe in giving out information inn installments!! ok not really but hey..... also check out out review in the Hindu by Sudhish Kamath @

"http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/06/27/stories/2006062700040100.htm"

come check us out on 30th June, 2006( 7.15 pm) or on 1st July, 2006(2 pm and 7.15 pm) @ sivagami pethachi Auditorium!!!! Be there ... or else!!!!

D-DAY ............ YEA YEA!!!!!

2006-06-24T10:17:00.000+05:30

THE CUT OF HAMLET BY EVAM WILL PLAY @ SIVAGAMI PETHACHI AUDITORIUM STARTING TODAY - 24th June, 2006(7.15 pm) , 25th June(2 pm and 7.15 pm), 30th June,2006(7.15 pm) and 1st July, 2006(2 pm and 7.15 pm) !!! Ticket are priced at Rs.500/200/100 ..... call 9840222363 or mail evamtickets@gmail.com for bookings and 42244224 for home delivery!!! CALL NOW...........

WE AWAIT WITH BATED BREATH........................

D-DAY is finally here !!!!!!!!!!!

STARTING TODAY....

Double the comedy...

Double the laughter.....

Double the madness.......

ONE DAY TO SHOW!!!!!

2006-06-23T06:57:00.000+05:30

"The Cut of Hamlet" by evam would play on 24th June,2006(7.15 pm), 25th June, 2006(2 pm and 7.15 pm), 30th June, 2006(7.15 pm) and 1st July, 2006(2 pm and 7.15 pm). Tickets are priced at Rs.500/200/100. For bookings call 98402-22363 or mail evamtickets@gmail.com NOWWWW !!!!!!!!!!

Location: evam office
Time: one day to the premiere of ‘The Cut of Hamlet’
Activity: Early morning cups of chai…. final props and costumes check… actors breaking a leg (literally!!!!)…trying to find a way to make TMK look somewhat convincing as a female even while dealing with the hoards of fan mail coming in….hounding the enthu 25 of ‘The Cut’ to sell tickets…. Hmmmmm 

When asked what they were thinking one day before show, these were the responses we got…

“All the world’s a stage …and we’re hiding behind it” (Karthik Kumar, co-managing partner of evam & member of cast)

“Oh Shit!!” (TMK, member of cast)

“I’m very happy show is happening in one day” (Rohini, co-production head, also writer of Miss India punch lines  )

“Ummmmmmm….” (Password, lights guy)

The third member of the cast and co-managing partner of evam, Sunil Vishnu K was unavailable for comment.

- Megha

YEA YEA ..... ITS FINALLY OUT!!!!!!

2006-06-19T07:44:00.000+05:30

THE FIRST EVER TRAILER EVER MADE BY A THEATRE GROUP IS HERE !!! CHECK IT OUT ON OUR VERY OWN WWW.EVAM.IN!!

For low bandwidth users i.e. with a connection speed of 56 kbps check it out on www.evam.in/trailer/double.htm

And the high bandwidth users can log on to www.evam.in/trailer/double1.htm

evam will start it Double Comedy Festival on the 24th June, 2006 with the first show of The Cut of Hamlet playing @ Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium ( 7.15 pm)!!!

THE EXCITEMENT BEGINS!!!!!!!!!

A day more...... AND ITS OUT..........!!!!!

2006-06-17T12:25:00.000+05:30

The cut of Hamlet by evam will play on 24th June(2 pm), 25th June( 2 pm and 7.15 pm), 30th June( 7.15 pm) and 1st July( 2 pm and 7.15 pm) @ Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium ........ dont miss it..... its mind-boggling humour!!!!

Its beyond bizzare.........

Its beyond bewilderment ........

Its beyond batty........

Its beyond bonkers..........

Its beyond barmy.......

Its also from Shakespeare's Britain ....

only that these berserk,unhinged men(ahem also women!!) have accidently landed in Chennai !! Has that deterred them from taking the city by storm.....????? NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

watch out for 24th June, 2006!!! THE MADNESS BEGINS!!!!!!!!!!

JUST TWO MORE DAYS ..................

2006-06-17T09:36:00.000+05:30

the Cut of Hamlet will play on 24th June(7.15 pm), 25th June(2 pm and 7.15 pm), 30th June(7.15 pm) and 1st July(2 pm and 7.15 pm),2006 @ Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium!!!

Just two more days to the release of the first ever trailer made for a play!!! Check out www.evam.in !!!!!!!!

evam waits with bated breath to have a glimpse of its first ever trailer, probably the first ever trailer made by a theatre group......

wait to watch the weird, whacked out, bizarre, loony and outrageously hilarious comedy ..... from the three misfits who have taken the city of Chennai by storm!!!

For the first ever time......

2006-06-12T07:12:00.000+05:30

This season, evam brings a one-minute, hot off the censor board, first ever trailer of a stage-production for the double-comedy festival that starts on 24th June, 2006! Three weirdoes from the Shakespearean era, out of nowhere, land up in Chennai. Bad enough they are trapped in a location and era far, far removed from their time, they are complete misfits even in the Shakespearean era …funny costumes, weird get-ups and moreover misplaced sense of identities, which have taken the city by storm!!

The video has an expert touch to it, having been shot on a DV camera, edited by Nandini and Sudhir, having been shot by a thoroughly professional outfit at photographer Sunder's studio and of course, Shoo and KK having scripted/directed it and sitting through looong hours of editing............Its now finally ready!

The trailer would be regularly screened at Satyam and Sree this month. Watch out for this video on www.evam.in from 13th June, 2006!!

Whats new ......THIS!!!

2006-06-08T18:17:00.000+05:30

"Take everything you love about iPod and shrink it. Now shrink it again. With 1GB (240 songs), 2GB (500 songs) and 4GB (1,000 songs) models, the pencil-thin iPod nano packs the entire iPod experience into an impossibly small design. So small, it will take your music places you never dreamed of."
-Apple Computer, Inc. , 2006

The first time I ever searched the internet for any information on the ipod nano, i read the lines i have quoted above! I wanted to make sure it really was worth owning... being a person who is extremely unexcited and emotionless when it comes to technology, my only response to that was "hmpphh!!"... My brother, who is a little too fond of anything with a microchip looked at me shocked, and waved a very disapproving finger at me !!

Three months later, I got an ipod nano for my birthday!! That was the first time I actually touched one ... what should i say ... now i am clutching it 24/7 with some sort of desperation! IT ROCKS!!!!!

So when KK and Shoo wanted one for evam i was so KICKED!! Now we own a jet black ipod nano, 1 GB, smart to look at, sleek to hold, easy to handle .... yes, i am not a technoloy-freak who knows the technical details about the ipod nano like the back of her hand ... but i must say... i am loowwwiiinnggg it!!

Once it arrived from Singapore, the Vijay brothers , our official techies, disappeared with it for a few days and returned with it , fully loaded with songs. Apparently it has passed some three different scans/tests to make sure it is OK!!

YEA YEA to all ipod owners and lovers!!

-nooshaa

right here, right now...

2006-05-16T08:20:00.000+05:30

workshop still going on .... great gusto.... script reading started.... accompanied by script interpretation..... good fun.... ppl enjoying themselves!!

Does that paraphrase well enough what you might find happening at vidyasagar post 7 p.m. everyday??

well, the workshop has progressed a long way from basic theatre exercises... to acting and improvising on more complex situations !! its a great way of understanding ppl at the workshop!
apart from this, we had a thorough session on LIGHTING and DESIGN by password - was really thorough and great learning !! Interesting....
Now, script reading has started.... interpretation also, which goes without saying!

GOOD FUN!!!!!!!!

FLASHBACK....FLASHBACK!!! CHAPTER TWO IN CHENNAI........

2006-05-12T15:42:00.000+05:30

our lights-man !!!

pre-show excitement...

last minute patching-up:)

chilling out during the show ....

show's over .... now for some food(@murugan idly shop)

AND ... WE HAVE KICKSTARTED , PEOPLE!!!!!

2006-05-08T08:56:00.000+05:30

Four days with TMK!! Acting workshops....
Two days with KK and Shoosha! Interpreting text and knowing how it would be to go on stage!!

Its been GRRREEAAATTTT till now :-)

The newbies in the workshop come from extremely varied backgrounds .... and age-groups too - we have people who have just finished writing their class ten board exams ( phew! time to chill!) to software professionals who unwind at the workshop after a tough day's work! Yes, we probably did bend the age-limit a little bit at both ends, but hey ! its turning out to be a lot of fun.... its really amazing how people who are over a decade apart in their ages get along so well to work as a team when it comes to theatre and getting comfortable with yourselves and with each other!

Exercises on body movement, body language, voice, understanding each other in a context other than "hi,my name is blah blah, i am from blah blah, so what do you do?" have been the major part of the content in the last six days !! At the end of the day, it's just awesome - knowing that you can actually do a whole lot of things you never thought you could do ... and knowing a lot more people much better .....And most importantly, what it actully takes to go on stage, and rOCK!!!

More about the workshop later!!!

thats all for now, folks!!!

:) :) :)

First step OVER......!!!!

2006-05-02T09:15:00.000+05:30

.....and the first step is done .... auditions almost over....atleast i think so ... guess i should verify that with shooshaa :):) he he... yep... three evenings of auditions , auditions and more auditions ....
To start with ......at the beginning of every audition, we had an exercise, which either KK or Shoosha would initiate!! We had to stand around in a circle, and pretend that we were an elephant ......... in deeeeeepppp slumber ....( i would like to add here that the poor elephants were relocated, sadly, from their natural habitats (of the cool AC-d evam office or AIR-CON as Rohini chooses to call it) to sweltering rainforests...... ALL the fan were switched off in the room we were using at VIDYASAGAR) ........... and so the elephant is sleeping.... it's stilll sleeping ..... and a man with a gun walks towards the elephant, points it at ..well, 'it' (referring to the elephant,still) ... and SUDDENLY ... the elephant wakes up .. yelling "YABALABADAGAVABARANADJKFG..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" ........ OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT!!!!!!

I truly believe that the best way to introduce new comers into the scene is to have them believe that it is ok to look foolish right from the start.... we needn't wait to get acquainted to behave similarly!!!

The auditions were fun... atleast for the team !!! Ppl who went up there made a great effort ... some were cool, some were kinky, some were nervous... but hey, i guess for all of them, it would have been a great experience!! It was great to hear the various interpretations of a random passage that we had chosen for them to enact... we had a range of ppl.. enacting scenes in parks and restaurants to being late for aerobics class!!!

So ppl, thats that ... and the wait to find out who finally made the CUT !!!!!

more later....

thats all for now, folks!!!

p.s. : PAVI IS BACK !!!!!!!!!!

ah..... to clarify the previous post

2006-04-25T21:24:00.000+05:30

that, by the way, people is team evam !!!! now in case you have not yet figured out, we had just got done with a show.... reason enough for those grins?

secondly.......

AUDITIONS SHALL HAPPEN FROM 29TH APRIL TO 1ST MAY, 2006!!!

thirdly.........

oh guys, send in your applications...........FASSSSSTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!

PRESENTING ..THE TEAM.....

2006-04-25T21:18:00.000+05:30

THE LAST TWO DAYS

2006-04-23T19:57:00.000+05:30

OK....there are two more days left and those of you are on the fence.... wondering whether it would be fun.... wondering if any of your friends would be going etc etc etc blah blah ..... THERE"S NO TIME FOR THAT... he he

A lifetime oppurtunity. evam's first workshop. In three years. A roller-coaster ride.

Hoping that would convince you guys!!!
HURRY AND GRAB THIS OPPURTUNITY!!!!!!!!!!

LAST DATE FOR APPLICATIONS - 25TH APRIL, 2006!!!!!!

(Not much time left for that;) he he!!)

Now, for those who want to make the "cut"........;-)

2006-04-21T21:51:00.000+05:30

Last date for applying : 25th April, 2006

evam's first workshop after three years of its existence - yes, its going to be the whole rigmarole of applications, auditions, casting and most of all FUUUNNNNN !!!!!!!!!! While we, at the evam office, sit crunching our brains with the schedule for "the cut".... here's a little something for all those of you are loaded with enthusiasm, positivity and the willingness to DO!!!!!!!!

The programme would begin with a thorough introduction to the different aspects of theatre a.k.a. – Lighting, Acting, Production Design and theatre as a business.Lets face it, all four are literally the pillars of any production which all of us should have some idea about... now, each of these will be allotted different duration of hours taking into account relative importance.This will lead up to readings of the play, “The Cut” by Ed Monk and will subsequently lead to a number of exhaustive rehearsals where the chosen ones will be given specific responsibilities of staging this play – ranging from acting, lighting, on-stage production to the business of theatre, leading up to the show itself!

Auditions would be held between April 25 –May 1st, 2006 based on both the applications as well as a face-to-face interaction with us.The 25 "chosen ones" who make the cut will be given rigorous training in all the apects of theatre listed above, and will be handled by professionals in this field. It will be one hell of a hectic summer for these 25 as they would be swinging from workshop to readings to rehearsals during the may-june period, but believe me, its gonna be a roller-coaster ride of fun! The chosen 25 would handle every aspect from acting to lighting to stage management ....

Now what is all this going to lead up to ?????? YES !!! 5 grand, public shows in Chennai on the 24th and 25th of June, 2006 and 1st and 2nd July, 2006.The chosen ones would be handling every aspect of the production nearing show dates….. And on the D-Day, the show would be entirely theirs!!!!!!!!!!

So guys, pull up your socks, give the watermelon juice a break, and stop cribbing about the heat...... Now is your chance to have the experience of a lifetime... and what is even more thrilling???absolutely no experience, whatsoever, is required to be part of this workshop; as we put it, all that is required is enthusiasm, positivity, and a willingness to do!!!

Write to us at evam@evam.in or call us at 98402-22363 to get an application form.
The last date for applying will be 25th April, 2006…..
Auditions will be held between April 25 –May 1st

So fellas, what are you waiting for?? HURRYY!!!!!!!
Rules and regulations apply!

....annnndddd ...... ACTION!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-04-19T18:11:00.000+05:30

YEP!! It's gonna be a lonnnggg summer... watermelon juice, Watching a boring movie in Satyam to stay in an AC hall for three hours, lots of cribbing about the heat( good lord! it wont be chennai without the heat and we wont be humans without the cribbing!!!) ... but evam is back in action!!! ( yea, we anyway never tire....... but you guys are going to be part of it this year!!)

Now most of you would be thinking this is another boring update about the "coming-up-next" of PYTHON HYSSSTERIA 2 ... thats been "coming up" quite a bit on our blog now!
Wellll, thats anyway scheduled for the summer, but first things first!!

now for the more immediate.....

this is what is up at evam ........

evam presents....

THE CUT
A Theatre Workshop culminating in a Mega Stage Production

25 youngsters ( Age group of 18-25) will be trained over a 2 month period (May-June ) to actually produce evam’s next production – The Cut.

evam is looking for enthusiasm, positivity and a willingness to Do!

25 youngsters will be shortlisted based on a face to face interaction.
Course Fee (if selected) : Rs 2,000 /-

Send in your profile to evam@evam.in and we will mail you the Application Form,
Or visit us at www.evam.in for further information.

The Cut by evam (Final Stage Production premieres in June ’06)

Will you make The Cut?!!

2006-04-19T15:26:00.000+05:30

"ACTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A small update on wats happened and wats up!

2006-04-09T02:49:00.000+05:30

A warning to the people who dont like long articles. The more or less detailed bangalore tour description is in the blog below this.

In short though,about our bangalore tour..

5 shows.4 houseful.3 Standing ovations.

Need i say more?hehe..

For those of you whod like to know more..please do read the blog below this.Its worth a read. :)

ALSO!!!

Although not all confirmed yet...plans are on for a bangalore tour again.. this time with a riot comedy!!

keep your eyes open people!!

- Akshay!

And then there was Rangashankara...

2006-04-09T02:39:00.000+05:30

Spiritual upliftment of the theatrical kind...
A magnetic bonding,a feeling of Wanting to perform,a feeling of Being wanted,a sense of being..

Oh hell,for those of you who are wondering what the hell this is all about..If some of you think im high on sum illegal drug and thats why im blabbering..chill out.. im just basking in the post-tour high tat most of us at team evam experienced last week..:)

Well,this blog/article/review/or watever u wanna call it..is just gonna be a brief(ok,a little more than brief maybe,heehee) description of what went down at bangalore..

The pre-tour excitement was high.Everyone was in high spirits. Lots of cheer everywhere,lots of best wishes flying all around..Finally the day(night actually) arrived.

28th March'2006 11.15 pm. Team Evam,most of them atleast,boarded the night mail to bangalore.

The preparations for the tour seemed to be adequate. If any of you out there are still wondering,is it easy to get something like this to actually work out?Think again. A large group of people,loads of costumes,LOADS of props,transportation of the brilliant sets,furniture,additional material for showdays,banners,posters,apart from each persons personal luggage,phew!

Quite easy,isnt it?lol..Well,it all went off smoothly without a hitch. The team managed to board the train on time,with all the other stuff..hehe..

The next morning,29th,we reached bangalore(which sounds better than bengalooru,btw). We stayed at Aurobindo Ashram in JP Nagar,a brisk 5-10 minutes walk from the venue, Rangashankara. Well, after dumping luggage, freshening up and stuff,we made off to the venue.
Ok,i must tell you a very important detail at this point. I wasnt around all this when it happened,i joined the guys only on the weekend,but more on that later,lol.

For those who havent seen the venue before,the hallowed hall of theater, some call it,Kala-mandir as the bangalore locals call it,its truly a magical experience. They get simply awestruck and that awe just increases as and when they find out more and more about the place and the facilities it offers.
For those who have seen it before,well its the same feeling,again.:)

The team then met the people from Vibgyor entertainment, the team from bangalore who would work with us and make us feel at home. Hardly took any time to settle in and make friends; and for those who know team evam, they know that for us,bonding with other people is never a problem.hehe..

So anyways,this day went by in setting up stage,arranging the sets and furniture,getting the carpenters to do their stuff,loads of work like that. Basically,making sure that all was set for the Real big day,the next day.

So after a pretty sleepless night,simply because everyone was so excited,dawned 30th.
The Big day.Why? Showday number one!

The team got to venue nice and early. After all, everything had to be perfect. Well,yes the team worked really hard and made sure nothing was left to chance.As showtime neared,the excitement grew,umm..would we be received well? would bangalore accept us,a chennai group? Would those people that came in,like what we gave them? Would more people come in based on what the first audience said?

The questions were answered at 7.30 pm.We almost had a full house on Day 1!! The cast gave a splendid performance,really inspired on by the audience response.Most of the show went on like clockwork.And as a response,We got it all.Laughter,applause, as well as the moments of absolute silence that you would need for those emotion-packed scenes.

All in all,a lovely start.But lots more to be done.The tempo had to be maintained,we had 4 shows more to go!

Friday,the 31st,came by and this time around the team was a little more relaxed.Simply because they were going good so far.Friday,however,was a BIG DAY in evam history.Evam completed its 100th show on the 31st of march'2006. Quite fitting that such a magical event should happen at such a magical space,Rangashankara. :)

A slight anticlimax was to hit us though.We barely filled half the seats in the hall. Yes,the audience did respond well enough,and we gave it our best shot,but still it isnt quite the same as a full house,now is it?

A slightly disappointed team evam made their way back to the ashram that night.Disappointed yes,but still full of energy,energy that was much needed over the coming weekend.

We knew that a friday half-house wasnt so much of a deal.It was the weekends when we could really pull in the crowds,because the weekends are our staple diet back home in chennai.hehe..

Two more joined the team on saturday morning(yep..me too..woohoo!) and we got the flashback of sorts of what had happened over the 1st 2 shows.That awe i was talking about a while back? Yes,it struck us too after we saw Rangashankara.

Well,team evam,atleast most of the team,took some time off to go shopping and sightseeing around bangalore on saturday morning.Not me though,i had just arrived!:D

Nearing showtime,and i realised what these guys were going through everyday.We got right into the spirit of things though. The usual tension of how many people would turn up was evident on everyones face.lol..quite an unwarranted fear,i must say,because,yes,we had a full house again!

And from here on there was no looking back.

The show was splendid,brilliant performance as always,with full energy,good crew and backstage work,and everything seemed to fall into place. The audience response was staggering. They not only laughed at all the jokes,but there was actually applause for most scenes when the lights dimmed for a scene change!
What was really stunning though,was the standing ovation we got at the end.Yes,a standing ovation.Puts you on seventh heaven doesnt it?:)

After the show we had a really special moment. We lit a cake,a surprise for the 2 Evam Commanders-in-Chief's that we have,KK and Shoosh!hehehe..We celebrated our 100th show by getting them to blow the candles and gorging on the cake ourselves :D :D(Well,they had some too,dont worry).We did the cake thingie a day later simply because more of the team was present and Shoosh who was missing for a while on some mysterious assignment,had managed to come back in time!

Saturday night was again worth its weight in gold for the amazing party that we had. Due to the varied crowd of both young and old that we get reading this blog,i am afraid im going to hav to censor the details of that night.LOL! Suffice to say,it was a bloody amazing night.As most of the crew will agree. Well,for the team who knows what im talking about,i can pop in a few key words,so u dont forget what up tat night! Cake, jeans, plastic miniatures, worm, laughter, tears, artificiality, accusations, confessions, fighting, friends season 9, good music, bad music, rule-breaking and a lot more. All this at the holy premise of Sri Aurobindo Ashram.Hari Om.

Ok,we all woke up late on sunday morning and were getting ready slowly, all lazy and tired from the previous days festivities,if i may call it that. This was pack up time,pack up fom the ashram and we checked out of there before heading out to the venue for our last day.

This time,the time we took to get ready for the show was minimal. In fact we had worked out timings so precisely, that we ran in with all the ironed costumes for the 3.30 shows at 3.20.:D:D
Ok,that was actually not planned,but we got away with it,so alls well that ends well or something..:D

No prizes for guessing,housefull again.Jampacked to be precise. Brilliant show,brilliant in all senses.
And then something happened at the end of the show which i will never forget. During the final applause,suddenly one person stood up.Then another did.Then a group did,and suddenly the whole audience did. For a change instead of the audience watching us,we watched them.Spellbound.

And by this time we realised,that come what may,or whatever anyone said,the bangalore tour was a smashing success.

Basking in that glow,but not losing focus one bit,came the last show at 7.30pm. More jampacked than any of our previous shows,with 20 people more than we had seats available,and asking them to adjust,we probably gave our best show that evening.

Standing ovation,yes.Stupendous response,yes.

Then came the biggest 'tension' part of our trip.hehe.We had 1.5 hrs to pack up EVERYTHING and make the train back to chennai. And during course of that half hour that we took to pack, i realised one more thing. Why we are called a team. The work done by us was brilliant. Every single person running around doing something or the other with such focus that a truckload of work got over in a jiffy.

It was a bit of a hurry making the train eventually especially coz of the amount of luggage we had.But we managed just fine,with about 10 minutes to spare.:)

We had loads of fun and did loads of work on this trip,and it showed on everyones face on the trip back.Tired,yet smiling.I cannot miss mentioning 2 of our favourite hangouts on the trip,lol. Nature fresh!!! and Shanthi Sagar! thanks u 2!lol..

Thanks a tonne to the team from bangalore which helped us out.

5 shows.4 houseful.3 standing ovations.We all miss Bangalore and Rangashankara already.The Bangalore tour was a grand success.Period.

TMK,on the trip back mentioned what major advantage we had over many others. Why we could give such wonderful shows that appeal to the audience like we do, time and again. Its a very simple fact,but one which makes loads of sense too.
The fact that we all know each other so well now, that for us every bit of work is just a new type of fun. We have gelled very well,no doubt. We know that everyone here can be counted upon,for something or the other. This camaraderie translates into this wonderful relation of cast and crew, which ensures that you almost feel at home while on the job. And so,we rock.

On a concluding note,id like you all to form a circle, hold hands, and bring a happy thought into the circle. Smile...and say...

EEEEEEEEEEEEVAm!!!! :D

- Akshay!

PS: we'll try and get a view from members of the cast about our trip,coming up sometime soon..

PPS: we r also planning on putting up a post of some of the memorable feedback and e-mail we have received till date.Thank you so much and keep em coming people!! :)

..... and presenting ..... TMK!!!!!

2006-04-01T10:31:00.000+05:30

... And finally the man of the moment speaks out !!!!! An exclusive interview with TMK... a.k.a. George Schneider....

TMK had some really interesting insights into his character i.e. of George Scheider, the protagonist of the play, Neil Simon as a playwright, theatre in Chennai etc etc.
On being asked what all he did to prepare himself to play the character of George Schneider, he said that they all as a team visited a psychiatrist just to get an idea of what a man who has lost a spouse would go through!! He said that the doctor did a runthrough of the different stages that a person would undergo. Apparently the doctor was able to predict the story line of the play when the character of George, and the situation he was in was described to him. There would have certainly been an added sensitivity to the character of George as he is a writer. A lot of nuances in George and Jennie's characters fell into place after this meeting, says TMK!
TMK also says that a lot of what the character experiences in the play is contrary to what he has experienced in his personal life - much of the 'getting-into-the-character's-shoes' has come from keen observation!!!He had done the same role seven years ago when masquerade performed "chapter two" ... but he sheepishly reminisces that at that time his perception of both the role and life in general were very different and so was his interpretation of the play!He admits that he is able to relate much more to the character owing to the simple fact of having aged a bit more ... "the play just seems much more real this time .... last time it was more of freaking out with the guys... it means a lot more to me this time",he says!
"Each of us are a George Schneider... in Neil Simon's plays, you would always see what he believes in ... its not for just sheer entertainment.. the entertainment comes from the fact that it is so wittily written!! My only words to the audience is that they would definitely see something of themselves in the play..."
Finally, a comment on his co-actors- I have known all my co-actors for so long now and I have worked with them on productions prior to this ... and we are so comfortable with each other that it is both fun and easy to work together!!"

GOING PLACES....... :)

2006-03-24T05:57:00.000+05:30

"CHAPTER TWO" by evam plays at RANGAsHANKARA, BANGALORE on March 30th(Thu) ,31st(Fri) and April 1st ( 7.30 p.m.) and April 2nd (Sun),2006 ( 3.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.).

Tickets are priced at Rs.100 ( March 31st and April 1st) and Rs.49 (March 30th - 7.30 p.m. show and April 2nd - 3.30 p.m. show) !!!

Call 98456-89985 for bookings!

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT BANGALORE FROM TODAY at RANGASHANKARA(JP NAGAR), ALLIANCE FRANCAISE, LANDMARK(FORUM) AD CROSSWORD! HURRY!!!!!

What’s Brewing???

2006-03-14T06:52:00.000+05:30

After that loonnnggg spell of what we refer to as the hibernation period …. Yes… evam is BACK!!!! And what is it that we are back with …..

Ok …get clued in, people ……

It is something that we are all waiting for very expectantly ….

Something to do with snakes……

Yes ….. the much awaited Python Hysssteria two is out y the end of this week!
This is a sequel to our hot favorite Python Hysssteria one which Chennai simply loved and which also traveled to Coimbatore.
Inspired by the popular TV show of Monty Python, Python Hysssteria entails an hour of pure laughter... It is almost as if it exists in a parallel world of comedy! Python Hysssteria two shows as much promise as its predecessor – It is a brand new set of sketches and an hour and twenty minutes of pure fun!!!
Python two is going to be performed at The Taj Coromandel, Chennai on the 17th March, 2006 as a supper theatre performance for the International Women’s Association. This is just a short sneak peek into our actual performance which would be performed much later…… wait for the new updates!!!!

ROCKED AGAIN!!!!!!

2006-02-01T08:49:00.000+05:30

THREE HOUSEFUL SHOWS OUT OF FIVE!!!!!!!!!!
What shall I say, WE ROCKED SIVAGAMI AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last weekend, on the 28th and 29th of January, “Chapter two” played three more times in Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium. The special matinee show on the 29th January, Sunday was especially for students – all tickets priced at Rs.100. We had a packed house on Sunday afternoon and the two evening shows did great as well !! No glitches this time, hats off to our in house team of sound and lights crew!! The mood was great even after the shows with a large number of people coming backstage to meet the actors.

We are gearing up now for the two last shows of Chapter two for this season!
For all those of you who have not yet seen Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical play performed by evam ….. catch them on the 11th and 12th of february,2006 .. playing this time at the Chinmaya Heritage Centre, off Harrington Road! For blocking tickets please contact 9840222363!!!!!!

Well……. See you at Chinmaya, folks!!!

- Anushaaaa

FINALLY....... the shows....

2006-01-25T14:08:00.000+05:30

WE ROCKED THE FIRST TWO SHOWS!!!!!!

I wish i could use a bigger font to say those lines, but heck, i guess it is not possible!!!!
After a whole afternoon of running around for extension wires, masking tape, buying frames for jennie's eyeglasses, doing some last minute ppt work and a whole lot of collaterals, six o clock finally came. Shooshaa by then had become a tiny,tense mouse hiding somewhere in the sound booth, backstage people were just hoping things would go alright, KK and TMK were doing some last minute run-throughs ....well lets just say there was a heavy blanket of tension hanging in the air!!
Our saturday show, despite the little glitches with sound and light cues, was awesome- it was actually a fund raiser or the rotary club of madras, and we saw a large number of people, rotarians or otherwise!!! After a point, the hall was so full that we had to bring in plastic chairs, however ugly they might have looked, served a purpose!
I stand by what I said, the show was awesome, especially for a person who has sat through the script readings when jennie and faye hadn't even materialised to when TMK and Andrea are actually on stage performing the part where George admits among many other things that he misses his previous wife!!!! One could definitely see a bit of fear in all of them - how are we going to be received?? I think these guys pulled off a great show!!!
We were certainly better prepared for Sunday.... everything was done well ahead of time, we had a lot of old evamites coming back either to help us, or as audience!By six forty five, Sivagami was just packed!!!!!! It was extrmely heartening for us to see the audi that way!! After our huddle, we went over all the instructions that we had to keep in mind- our post-show analysis on saturday night had showed us a lot more things that could have been done to avoid the glitches!! The regular evam-audience was there waiting with bated breadth to see how this spell would go- I would, in retrospect and otherwise, say it went "awsum" !!!! The show started, and there was much more ease on sunday than there was on saturday, everyone was better versed with the cues, Andrea and TMK pulled off a great one when Andrea dropped a bottle of water (and the phone) in one of the scenes! Kunni was just awesome- especially in the second half - indeed being the "life" of the play....
Well here we are now... back to database calling, SMS campaigns and ticketing - getting geared up for the weekend - catch one of the three shows this time, people!!!

For you print-crazy people;-) catch our review at

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/01/24/stories/2006012400060100.htm

thats all folks!!!!

- anushaaaaa

Actors Speak......... part two

2006-01-21T12:10:00.000+05:30

I would like to start this off by first saying "hail kuniyammey"

Kuniyammey a.k.a. Karuna Amarnath - Chapter two's Faye ..... dressed in pajamas, donning a sleepy look kindly agreed to say a few words to sensationalize the blog a bit......I have been threatened the loss of life or body parts if I dont quote Kuni to the very T!! So, here goes.....

(The following points are exactly what she said in the order that she uttered them....)

1. " Jennie sounds staid and boring.... I BRING ALL THE LIFE!!!!!"

2. " We went to the psychiatrist...... WE ALL NEEDED HELP!!!"

3. On being asked whether this experience has changed her life in any way - "I have attained Nirvana"

4. to Andrea " I HAVE ALL THE FUNNY LINES"

I have done what you asked me to, so kuni, even if you get a kick out of watching a corpse floating around in Sivagami Pethachi....... spare me!!!!!!!!!!!!"

- Anushaaaaaa

Actors Speak..........part one

2006-01-21T06:53:00.000+05:30

(it was an oddly silent morning in the evam office! I had just met KK and had humbly asked him for an “interview” of sorts, when Our Man asked me to call him on his mobile…. Not just that, he said, “call me on my mobile right now and I will talk to you for five minutes!” I found that phenomenon rather strange and interesting as I was standing just three feet away from him, and made a mental note that this is probably the stage one may reach if they are repeatedly woken up for rehearsals! Five minutes later, I could hear him warn Andrea that a beast was waiting for her at the evam office waiting to torment her with questions!! Five more minutes later, Andrea walked into office very hesitantly, ready to make a beeline for the door if some ghoul was to attack her! Having woken up half an hour earlier than I normally would have and having to reach bleddy Stella Maris College in forty minutes, I sort of wanted to make the most of my morning! Before Andrea sat down, I pounced on her and told her that she would have to answer my questions!!!!)

Now, why did I write the above epic within brackets? Ahhhh ……. So that the following five lines will be put in context!!

I asked Andrea for the kind of “background” work that she had to do in order to get under the skin of Jennie Malone….. the heroine of our play. She said that she had visited a psychiatrist who actually gave her a very deep insight into how people undergoing therapy would behave; respond to different things, and how they would actually view life itself! She also spoke to a friend who was recently divorced, understood what course her life took after the divorce – what actually ARE post-divorce blues???

Andrea also had to modulate her voice a lot to sound thirty- something, as opposed to the Corie of Barefoot in the Park!

According to her, Jennie is like a miniature “Kannagi” – they don’t make women like her, she says! “She is so bloody goody-goody….. but Kartik Kumar is in love with her character”, she hastens to add, rolling her eyes!!!! After a while, she says that it I also the question of perspective, you could either scorn at Jennie for being the way she is or think of the annoying qualities in her as qualities in any woman, just heightened to extreme degrees!!! Quite the extreme, I must say !!!

- Anushaaaaa

CHAPTER TWO....... finally!!!!!

2006-01-18T18:58:00.000+05:30

SHOWS ON 21,22,28 and 29 OF JANUARY AT 7 p.m.
@ SIVAGAMI PETHACHI AUDITORIUM

MATINEE SHOW ON 29 JAN AT 2 p.m. @ Rs.100 ONLY

TICKETS Rs. 500, 300, 100*

*SPECIAL OFFER FOR STUDENTS - BUY ONE AND GET ONE FREE !!!

FOR BOOKINGS CALL 98402-22363

HOME DELIVERY CALL 52245224

WEEK (x-1)..........

2006-01-14T12:05:00.000+05:30

The past week has been packed back-to-back with rehearsals, ticket design and delivery, press revies etc etc !! One of the mot significant things that happened in the past week is TICKETS ARE OUT!!!!! Tickets are available at Landmark, Odessey, Satyam Cinemas!
One other very important thing that happened were the press meets! Journalists from The Hindu,ET Madras Plus, Mylapore Times came to got a sneak peek of the play where the actors performed two scenes from the play for them! They also got to speak to the actors about their experience so far, what have they done to actually fit into the shoes of the characters they are playing, and how the production has been coming along so far. More importantly, they chatted with us all about evam itself, how it has emerged in Chennai, how we have established ourselves in Chennai, how meaningfully we have been catering to our audience's tastes! KK and Shooshhaaa noted some important points about the kind of audiences we have, and how we structure our plays around the different moods through the year, for instance, performing a feel-good play keeping with the generally contented mood of Jan and Feb!! Watch out for play reviews in Mylapore Times, ET Madras Plus, the Hindu et al ...AND KEEP CHECKING THE BLOG THROUGH THE NEXT WEEK FOR HOT,NEW UPDATES !!!!!!!

- Anushaaaaa

Weekend promos!!!!!!

2006-01-09T16:22:00.000+05:30

Like hawks, we swooped over those innocent customers of Odyssey and Landmark, only to descend upon them with the ultra cool "chapter two" bookmark.... well excuse me for being so dramatic but I have just finished lunch, I’m like "yawn", and I am in desperate need of something to pep me up.....
Ok, now where were we??.... Ah yes!!!! Odyssey and Landmark! After the mega fiasco that happened on Saturday, what with the printing guy not delivering us the chapter two bookmarks which were absolutely essential for the promos, and Password a.k.a. Vj saravanan going berserk and kinda doing the erupting-lava act at the printing office (unfortunately, I wasn't witness to that as I was stuck at some seminar where they served stale Marie biscuits..Hmmpphhhh) and finally, the promos which were to happen on Saturday actually getting cancelled ............Sunday blossomed into this beautiful day…. Ok I myself am feeling puky now!!! Sunday promos just went brilliantly!! Sunday being the day when most people visit bookshops, spend the afternoon browsing through books and music that they have been waiting to look at the whole week but haven’t found time; Odyssey and Landmark were full, 2 p.m. onwards. People from all age groups traipsed in…….. most of them reacting quite positively to us! But, I reached the apex of amusement when this old man jabbed his finger at the bookmark saying, “Kartik, Kartik ….. Of Kanda Naal Mudal!!!!!” ……. Ok, KK! You have a senior citizens fan club as well... The list is getting loonnnggg!!!!

- Anushaaaa

Full Steam Ahead

2006-01-06T16:03:00.000+05:30

Database emails have been sent, danglers now flank every corner of ....err.. Landmark and Odessey, Posters have been put up..... and yes, rehearsals for "chapter two" are going on full steam ahead!!!! I walked into yet another meeting and found the stage-design for chapter two ready and up on the computer! Karuna, our very own "Faye", had her rehearsal with Andrea(Jennie Malone of evam's chapter two) postponed...by a few hours..... but they kicked off even prior to our Directors' arrival!
Post KK and Shoosha's arrival, dialogues were re-worked and re-done giving both the actors a brand new perspective on the characters they play, the movement, the demeanor, everything!! Interesting to note as a sheepishly passive observor, was the little dance KK resorts to doing each time he is deep in thought!
And with this, we start phase three( or should i say "chapter three" ........ ok..however corny that was, it was still worth it, i couldn't resist) of our operation i.e. watch out for evam promos.. coming up very soon !!!!
ok ok.... i shall next want to comment on the latest addition to our ofice the whiteboard. But that calls for a seperate update altogether!

- Anushaaaaa

Wassup 2006

2006-01-02T21:59:00.000+05:30

For evamites , New Year's began with a bang ! In fact, they religiously started the partying on the night of 31st December itself, in keeping with the ritual. A show of "Python Hysssteria" was staged in the Accord Metropolitan Hotel where evamites thoroughly enjoyed putting up a fabulous show. I guess Python does remain one of our favourites, and one of the favourites of our audience too.
The last week of December had each one of us on our toes - the office was abuzz with excitement - this was not just about our Python show for New Year's ! Coming up next, is our freshly brewed production "Chapter two" - also by Neil Simon !!!!! And hey, do not think of this as one more of Simon's play - critics all over the world claim this to be the best of all his works. What is interesting is also that it is based on his true life experience !
"Chapter two" is no longer just a raw script for evamites anymore owing to the number of thorough readings that have already been done. Characters have been dissected in all possible ways and feedback on the play/characters has been received !! The poster/bookmark/ticket design have been conceived! Walk into the evam office now, and you would see each one of us in our committees, noses screwed up and eyebrows raised in concentration !!Rehearsals are in full swing !!! This month, the atmosphere is gonna be almost "festive" in the evam office - guys, pardon me for saying that - 2 weeks down the line , i know that "festive" is not quite the word i would be using to describe it , but hey, enjoy it as it comes .

Thats all folks !!!!!
( for now, at least)

- Anushaaaaaa

Celebrate New Year's with evam

2005-12-30T16:35:00.000+05:30

hey evam enthusiast,

As 2005 draws to a close.. evam thanks all of u for your overwhelming support (read buying tickets and watching us!!)
and at evam we decided to end the year on a solemn quiet note watching programs on tv...

right??

Nooooooooo.. wrong answer!!!!!

evam invites you to the most funny new year's eve on this side of the vindhyas...

" HISTRIONIX! "
a evening of humour evam prizes evam music evam food

featuring
*comedy acts by evam*exciting games* stand up comedy by Karthik Srinivasan*
*live music from the 70's( keith peters, andreah jeremiah, Shyam, Siva and Wayne)* dance floor* yummy food

venue: the Crystal Ball room at Accord Metropolitan, G N Chetty Road ,Chennai
time: 8.30 pm 2005 till 2006

Rs. 4499(for couple)/2499(per person)
For Reservations Call 9840990004/6

so what are you waiting for ??? join us.. and we promise a rollicking ride into 2006, starting with our next production
"Chapter two by evam".
cheers!

team evam

evam entertainment
www.evam.in

Christmas at evam

2005-12-27T10:00:00.000+05:30

T’was the eve before Christmas. The city had an electric air to it; rife with the joy, excitement and anticipation that only the approaching New Year could bring. Stores around the city ceremoniously parked their "hired and badly malnourished" Santas outside their showrooms ready to accost the unsuspecting customer and infuse in them the Christmassy spirit. Bakeries overflowed with Christmas goodies and here and there a pine tree could be seen decked with colorful baubles and sparkling lights. Children especially love this time of the year. Time for Santa to bring in the loot and make it good. After all eating veggies, doing homework and being good is hard work you know. There's gotta be a payoff!!!

It's also the season for togetherness. Family reunions..... big lunches and dinners around tables heaped with lip-smacking khana...... warm hugs.... and lots and lots of love.

The only problem is that not everyone enjoys Christmas the way we do. Not all children are fortunate enough to have a roof over their heads and have loving parents shower them with affection and gifts. Christmas time is always hardest on the orphans.

The Nivedita home in Neelangarai, run by Prasad and Vimala is a haven for orphaned and abandoned girls. One look at their bright faces and chirpy attitudes is enough to show that the home really cares for them. The atmosphere is so informal.... it actually feels like one big family. It was here that Team Evam decided to spread some much-needed Christmas cheer.

The Christmas party, masterminded by KK had one simple goal..... make it an evening the kids would remember. Everyone pitched in..... even the newbies. We took pizza, gifts, sweets, chocolates, balloons, cake, annoying party gear like whistles and paper hats and finally we all parked our "heinies" in the courtyard of the Nivedita home at 4 pm. Now came the problem..... how to entertain the kids?? Despite being an entertainment group, staging a play was simply out of the question. No point in depressing the 7 to 14 year olds with Neil Simonesque theatre. Mindless fun was the need of the hour. So what did we do? Why......"passing the parcel" of course! With a big pink balloon as the parcel and us and the kids as the ... uh .... passers, seated in a loose circle in the garden, the game began in earnest. Shooshaa was the first to fall. Must be his humongous hands or something. Anyway.... his task (please read as public humiliation) was to break dance for everyone. After his broken dance, Evamites and the girls fell at regular intervals. The punishments got wackier, performances got worse, eardrums got tortured, hope in the future of Indian dance got shattered and above all everyone had a rollicking good time laughing at each other. Once again, KK proved quite convincingly that he had made the right choice in becoming an actor and not a singer. By far the worst act awards had to go to Santosh and Vijay (the newbie). Santosh was forced to moan "Uyire" in a happy manner that nonetheless left us all in tears and Vijay tried to make an attempt at dance that ultimately resembled a jumping bean in heat.

After that craziness, we all headed indoors and distributed goodies to the kids. There was something so heartening in watching their flushed little faces savor the pizza and Christmas cake. Loud and raucous Christmas carols followed soon after with everyone pitching in (if only the Pope could have heard us!). Chaya with her Nikon played journalist and captured the event for posterity. And lastly little gifts like colorful bangles were distributed to the girls.

The evening finally ended with hugs and kisses all around. We could see that the girls were genuinely sorry to see us go. With a few heartrending farewells and assurances that we would see them again, we departed from the Nivedita home with smiles on our faces. This was truly an evening to remember.

--Vijay Janakiraman

2005-11-29T15:13:00.000+05:30

When the python hissed... (a review in MetroPlus coimbatore dated 24th Nov 2005)

Plays could be unlimited fun, showed evam with their Python Hyssssteria, writes ANIMA BALAKRISHNAN

It was evam's Second Coming to Coimbatore. But unlike Yeats' beastly lion-man, it was a python that hissed mad here. And it unleashed no darkness and terror, but a laugh riot. After `Art', performed a year ago, Chennai-based entertainment company evam was back with the weird Python Hyssssteria presented by the G.V. Centre for Performing Arts.
The lights never went off literally during the hour-long show as the actors strode the thin line between comedy and the bizarre, accompanied by music and dance. They brought to life 11 British comic sketches by Monty Python.
Monty Python, started by six young men in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, thrived on a series of comedy sketches and went on to shape the comic psyche of an entire generation. Evam brought alive the madness, stroked and threatened to bring to the fore the weirdness quotient lurking within every individual.
The capacity crowd of young theatre buffs and seasoned play enthusiasts took their time to warm up to the absolute craziness of Python Hyssssteria. The mission was simple — to make the world a crazier place and the promise hard to resist — a ride of our life. For many young ones, it was an ideal initiation into the world of drama as evam made theatre fun.
Comedy can be a dicey affair and the risks are high especially when the situations are simply impossible. "Python Hyssssteria is a very new theatre experience, for the comic sketches help break the ice with people. But you cannot go overboard as it will become slapstick," says Sunil Vishnu K, who formed evam along with Karthik Kumar.
With 14 performances of the play behind them, the actors were surely at ease, deftly handling hilarious lines with their timing spot-on.
Bizarre bytes
The spectators got a whiff of what's in store as the play unfolded with four actors churning out the most bizarre stories about being raised in poverty and it ranged from living in paper bags in a septic tank to being "assassinated" by their father every night. The actors slipped from one comic capsule to the other with ease though there were costume changes after every sketch.

The set was sparse with amusing stuffed pythons adorning the fence in the background. The set-changes after each sketch were fun as young dancers took over. The entertaining musical interludes kept the tempo of comic pieces going. "The choreographed set-changes gave the sketches the effect of a non-stop play," says Vishnu.
Each player complemented the other and seems to have understood the nuances of the variety of characters they played, well. Most of jokes were well-received but it was the final sketch between Michelangelo and the Pope that had every one in splits.

A queer Michelangelo asserts his artistic freedom by painting three Christs, 28 disciples, cabaret dancers and kangaroos in his Last Supper, and the Pope (called Popy by Michelangelo) takes objection to it. What follows is a hilarious exchange on whom to be included in the painting with Karthik Kumar as Michelangelo and Sunil Vishnu as the Pope being at their comic best.
The rest of the cast and dancers comprised Jimmy, Karthik Srinivasan, Manoj Kumar, Karuna Amarnath, Megha Radhakrishnan, Divya, Chaya, Aishwarya and Srinidhi. Sketches portrayed were exasperating like that of a person who wanted to buy an argument and that of an illiterate looking for a David Copperfield, which is spelt with a single `p', while the location darted from book shops to market place to that of a murder scene. "Python Hyssssteria is akin to a stress buster," says Vishnu. That it well was with its seamless comedy!

EVAM PLAYS CRICKET 9TH OCT 2005

2005-10-14T17:34:00.000+05:30

re-play by evam

field placement

pavillion

the ball

team costumes

cricket??

out!!!!!!!!!!

co'mon.. match fixing!!!

who is selected?

2005-10-14T17:28:00.000+05:30

play by evam

2005-10-14T17:27:00.000+05:30

post match analysis

2005-10-14T17:26:00.001+05:30

drinks n food trolley

2005-10-14T17:26:00.000+05:30

sponsors!!

finally..food :)

waiting for..yawn...food..

2005-09-15T16:36:00.000+05:30

"Shit on a Shingle"

"Ha.. I mean Ho Sir!"

"Attenshunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn"

"YOU BOY YOU"

"Day 1 at BILOXI"

2005-09-02T11:16:00.000+05:30

BILOXI BLUES is HERE!

Biloxi Blues by evam

2005-09-02T11:00:00.000+05:30

Directors noteevam celebrates Neil Simon by revisiting his classic story of 6 young men freshly recruited in the US army, and a comedy about their growing up.
For the first time evam is working with Michael Muthu as the director, and he lends his Midas touch to this tony award winning play. Highlights of the play are its intelligent lighting and set design.
The play is set in 1942 Biloxi Mississippi but the characters and story are universal striking an instant chord with the audience especially the youth.
Youthful, energetic, boisterous, crude, even cute, but a sure fire winner all the way when it comes to touching the hearts of audiences- killing them with laughter- it’s a SMASHING comedy all the way –evam style!

PerformancesPremiered at the inaugural Metro Plus Theatre Festival on 15th Aug 2005 to a house full show, the play promises to be the biggest show from evam till date!
Review - http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/08/17/stories/2005081700870100.htm

At Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, Alwarpet, Chennai On 10, 11, 17, 18 at 7.15 pm Matinee shows at 2 pm on 11th and 18th.

Grand Unified Theory....

2005-08-25T12:16:00.000+05:30

I have hit upon it- the world philosophy – the simplest truth- the theory that explains all states of existence – the Grand Unified theory…….

All Life- and by that I mean, Especially Mine –
Is made up of two states of existence –

One, in which,
I want to be that Dog lying on the road –
With not a worry in the world or any place to go,
Nothing to lose its hair over,
Happy, furry and asleep.

And the Other, in which,
I want to wake that Dog lying on the road –
Hurry it into a manic frenzy because all our days are numbered, and we are already up to the late nineties,
Make it squeal and leap,
Impassioned, balding and in search of god.

Two states of existence,
Its all in there- all of it- right there…..

Thank you.

Ps- the problem with a Grand Unified theory is that it friggin explains all.
What do I write tomorrow?
Be the Dog on the road – basking and furry?
Or the Dog on the road – undoing God and in a hurry?

Its scary when you are right…..you have the last word- and you hear the echo all night…..

-- KK

It's Playtime folks!

2005-08-03T13:18:00.000+05:30

"The MetroPlus Theatre Festival" kicks off from the 5th of August 2005!! Buy your tickets NOW at LANDMARK/ ODYSSEY @ Rs.300/200/100 or call 5224 5224 for DOOR DELIVERY!

For workshop details and any further info call 98402-22363!

Poetry

2005-07-25T15:03:00.000+05:30

i live
coz father is dead
dead or meat
balls is stinking sacriledge
pudding is numb

who goes catastrophe
we we you? he
rhapsody of clouds
bursting water
grave my womb
forced death

people say that
there is a man stuck in my throat

"i would like to thank Jimmy for inspiring me"

-- Shooooooooooooshaaaaaaaaaaa

silent SCREAM

2005-07-21T14:03:00.000+05:30

i lie asleep curled up in my bed
comfortably numb

no worries
no problems
no apprehensions
the embodiment of life
a symbol of love

i eat
i breathe
i dream
lost in a reverie

SUDDENLY
something jabs at my side
i scream in pain
SILENTLY
a rude awakening
needles poking at me
a knife cuts through my soul
BLEEDING ME
i send up a sigh to the skies

people say that an unborn child goes straight to heaven

---Jimmy

Shadow puppetry and vegetarianism

2005-07-18T17:19:00.000+05:30

So its around four in the evening, and I am waiting on the outside steps / seats of the amphitheatre / badminton court in alliance francais (god help me with the spellings, I have not even learnt the correct pronunciation yet). There is this workshop I am to attend at six, but since I am exceptionally anal retentive about being early more than being on time (which I can afford to do on account of being completely jobless in life) I have reached there at four (plus the coffee machine broke down at anokhi, again). Hmmm I just realized I seem to have more afterthoughts than thoughts. That being yet another example of being distracted at all times. I know it’s a surprise I ever passed school.

Now this is a technique I hope will help me get back into focus and address the topic at hand. This is quite simple really and is something you all can try at home. Change para’s. see simple aint it. Hopefully by incorporating this technique you will be able to eliminate the distracting thought and get back to the issue at hand.

I just realized that I have once again drifted off into yet another topic, i.e. explaining tricks of the trade rather than getting back. Hmmmmmmmmm Did it again didn’t I.

Why don’t I just leave space for a couple of para’s to make my mind believe that I can always come back to it later and move on with the story.

So its around four in the evening, and I am waiting on the outside steps/seats the amphitheatre/badminton court in alliance francais (for apologies and other such references please refer to the top). There is this workshop I am to attend at six, but since I am early I am just sitting around, going through old messages on my mobile, afraid of messaging anyone because then ill have to do that mobile chit chat which I was in no mood of ( no coffee that day you see). Anyway there is this group that’s setting up this massive cuboidal room thingy. It’s basically made up of metal frames that form a cuboid, a room for simplicity, covered on all sides by black cloth and a strip of white cloth running across its length facing the audience.

Now this structure is smack center of this stage area, but surprisingly facing its back to the concrete steps or seats. They had chairs laid out in front, what a waste of space I thought and then realized that if they set it in way such as to play to the audience seated on these steps, what they do inside this makeshift room can be seen by the number of people using the main building.

In any case, curious about everything as I am, (plus I was running low on phone battery so couldn’t continue checking old messages) I decided to go behind this structure and meet these seven men who were obviously way too busy.

*hang on be right back, tummy growling, must go
investigate fridge, cant type, need sustenance*

yay yay back now, bless the person who invented dosai maav, the many uses of which I shall go into some other time with before and after photos too, muahahahahahah curious?????? Well then you will just have to come back to read up on the many scintillating uses of dosai maav.

Where was I, oh yeah, structure set, battery low, yada yada yada, busy men, heheh busy men, too many weird thoughts. Come to think of it, there really is nothing funny that. Ewwwww. Just had an unwanted image form in my head. Quick, must change para

So there are these busy men……………………….. still not
happening…….

This is probably where another technique helps, word replacement, when a word or a phrase brings too many unwanted thoughts, then we must change it to something that means the same thing but doesn’t necessarily have the same effect on the warped brain in question.

So there are these seven performing folk artists, and I haven’t mis-spelt folk, and no its not someone saying the all familiar suggestion with an accent either.

Lord help me.

Maybe I should just try and finish the story some other time as everything seems to find its way to one topic.

I am so so so sorry for all those of you who were expecting an interesting and informative write up on shadow puppetry and vegetarianism that you could read and discuss over coffee, but I shall not leave you all high and dry either. www.google.com
Go pig out and get all the info ya need.

Cheers

Shall leave you with something a wise man once said. Mary had a little lamb, and some mint sauce. Bon appetit. That’s French, as in alliance francais where I was just a few days ago. So it’s around four in the evening………………………….

-- EEEEEEEswar

Ultrasonic Thoughts

2005-07-13T09:48:00.000+05:30

I am a new entrant to Blogosphere and I have been studying and attempting "to fit in" over the last couple of months. And I must say that initiative has caused the formation of this blog site of evam. Happened on a saturday i think. KK reacted enthusiastically "what the hell are you talking about?!".... and with that blessing, i have seen this site grow. Grow? Well..kinda. There aint nothing here but photos and press write-ups. Yes...i know...that’s boring and so "not-blog". So i send a stern SMS to KK, on a saturday i think, about how he is not blogging and to start writing and make it more active etc etc. He retorted, “if you are so smart, loser, why don’t you write us something??!"...actually he didn’t say it. He delegated "the process" to one of his 7 dwarfs.

Hitler Karuna called on my mobile and delivered a telegram -
"Article wanted from you. For evam, blog. For Friday launch. Submission on Saturday evening. Any rubbish will be discarded and writer shot".
Later another evam team mate, Vijay called and congratulated me on winning a free Webcam that was all mine for Rs.645/-.

So i have a goal now. To write a blog. What do i write about, i wondered. In fact i complained. I could write about past evam plays but our very own Saaransh has it on his blog called "left-right-centre-down under-up over" or something like that. Maybe i could write on events and all but Kiruba already has them on his blog. Movie reviews? Lazy Geek rules at it. Then i thought i could write about my performance on stage with evam. Like me as the scintillating "Spiro" in DEATH, or the extremely well-played comic "Vinnie" in THE ODD COUPLE or the double action in Python Hysssteria or the stylized entry in BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. But humility is of utmost importance in blogging. SO I can’t talk about myself here. Besides it aint in my character. Since i couldn’t find any relevant topic to write on, i decided that I would write about dolphins.

Dolphins are a great species. Contrary to popular belief that its a mixture of "a Smiley + plastic + mini airplane", it is in fact a mammal. And that means, it has sex and lays offspring. Baby dolphins are called DOLLS and are a great delicacy in Japan. Dolphins are known to hunt in groups. A technique used by wolves and alligators. They spot a school of fish. Then they drive them to a particular spot, they go round and round creating a cylinder of fish, then using their powerful ultrasonic sound waves or something, they stun their prey. Dolphins are known to have huge ego problems especially when it comes to SPEED. They are known to overtake speeding boats and ships to prove a point. Dolphins might be able to predict illness in humans, act as spies for the government and might actually have their own religion.

----
This article was contributed by Manoj Kumar. Legend has it that he runs **strawberries**.com
(Ed: - all offensive words have been changed to **strawberries**) :P

The new face (...well almost)

2005-07-04T21:47:00.000+05:30

At evam, the cornerstone of our work has been to provide an avenue for entertainment that provides both long-lasting and instant gratification to our audience. Some may ask as to how is it possible to attain these two conflicting goals. To answer that question, let us consider the example of evam Indrajit. As a play, evam Indrajit has a number of instances that provides the instant gratification that was spoken about earlier. For example, the scene where Aunty tells the writer that all his questions about his existence would be solved if he got married. As a part of the audience one is bound to laugh or at least titter because it is a statement we can relate to-the same scene having been staged at some stage of our lives.

Diametrically opposite are the feelings that the writer invokes in us when he says that Indrajit is someone who sees life realistically and yet dreams about it romantically. It’s a statement that lingers in our senses long after the lights go out. We lie back and think of lost ideals tempered by the vagaries of living in today's age.

It is going to be our effort to use this space to discuss the various issues that life throws at us. Yet why use this space for such a purpose when we can use this to just keep our audience informed about the happenings at evam. It is our belief that theatre in a larger sense is an alter ego of life itself and to perform theatre it becomes a pre-requisite to study life. The issues could be as random as Ivan's submissive nature, Mark's problem of letting go, Felix's indulgence in self-pity, Paul's stuffed-shirtedness to Auntie’s constant ramblings about food and to find the pattern in this madness of the four letter word: Life.

---Saraaaaaaaansh Mehta

2005-06-06T11:09:00.000+05:30

Will he, Wont he?

Indrajit evam Manasi

Dont miss the last 3 shows!

2005-06-06T10:54:00.000+05:30

3 Sold Out Shows!

T-shirts for sale

2005-05-31T13:42:00.000+05:30

At last here they are, evam T-shirts for the new season. The T-shirts are priced at Rs. 150. The proceeds of the sale will go to the various causes we support.

So go ahead and make a statement with evam.

Want to see Your Life in 3 Acts?

2005-05-29T12:32:00.000+05:30

Presenting ...
the play we have been working on for the last 3 months...
the play which was started by Bhagyam..
the play closest to our hearts...
the play which inspired us to leave our jobs and start "evam"
Our first production of season III

“evam Indrajit”- your life in three acts
in association with The Madras Players.

For more Details Visit our website www.evam.in

DATES and TIME – 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th June 2005 – 7.15 pm
5th, 12th June 2005 – 2 pm
VENUE – Sivagami Petachi Auditorium
And REMEMBER! we are having only 6 shows so be sure to pick up your tickets ASAP!

Tickets available at LANDMARK, ODYSSEY, FAB INDIA, AMETHYST

For Door Delivery just Call 5224 5224
For further details and/or blockings call the evam helpline - 98402 22363

We also have the iDREAM CONTEST which will help you follow your dream and bring it to reality! (a part of it atleast!) Write in less than 100 words about your dream and what you will/have do/done to achieve it + counterfoil of the ticket and stand a chance to win Rs. 10,000!

So hurry- before it becomes house full!!

cheers!
team evam

ASAP's Four Short Plays

2005-05-23T22:57:00.000+05:30

ASAP Production is coming out with Four Short-Plays, directed by AmitSingh and produced by Siddhartha on 24th, 25th and 26th May, 2005 at the Alliance Francaise, Backyard, at 7.30pm. The Four Short-Plays have been adapted from four plays of Anton Chekhov. Tickets are priced atRs.75 and are available at Landmark (Nungambakkam and Spencer's Plaza)and Amethyst or call 9841117773 / 9840757702.

Boardwalkers new play-The BIBLE

2005-05-11T09:02:00.000+05:30

Last month some of us caught up with a new play in town- a spoof on "Bible" which we found hilariously funny. For those of you who missed it- more shows of the play are happening between 11-15 May 05 at Alliance Francaise..

Here is a breif synopsis

THE BIBLE
THE COMPLETE WORD OF GOD [ABRIDGED]

Written By: Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor
THE PERFORMERS:FAHEEM MOOSA HARIHARAN ROHIT BHATT
DIRECTED BY:MICHAEL MUTHU

Taking off from where they left off – with “Hamlet” – The Boardwalkers are back with another hilarious comedy. “The Bible – The complete word of God [abridged]” – a comedy where the chuckling and the giggling and the guffaws don’t ever stop –

In the beginning a God like voice informs us that there was chaos. But why stop there? The disorder continues through the middle and the end of the Bible: The Complete word of God [Abridged], until the neat rows of audience have dissolved hysterically into the aisles –

In spoofing the Book it calls “the greatest story ever accepted as fact” – The Play combines shtick, word play, physical humor, sight gags, audience participation and jokes as old as Moses toes. The Audience can’t help but give in to the giggles and the guffaws, which are very hard to resist.

Performed first in Chennai by the Boardwalkers - at the Alliance Francaise Auditorium - for the Magic Lantern Theatre Festival – where the play was really received well by the audiences, and is Back By Popular Demand, for another run - All details have been enclosed below -

DATES:
11th – 12th – 13th – 14th & 15th of May 2005.

TIME:
7:15PM.

VENUE:
THE ALLIANCE FRANCAISE AUDITORIUM
[THE TOP STOREY]
NO. 24, COLLEGE ROAD.

TICKETS:
RS. 75 [CHEAP!!!]

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:
LANDMARK [all outlets], ODYSSEY [all outlets]
FRUIT SHOP [all outlets], PEBBLES [all outlets]
AMETHYST & PROMUSIC

Have fun!

2005-04-20T23:01:00.000+05:30

Bhageerathi Narayan

What's a few words about a Handsome Lady worth – when they come several moments after she is no longer with us…
What's idle reminiscing, when the moments have already slipped us by, while the lady has had her's, and left us to bring down the lights and tip the attenders…
What's the Show going to be like now when the Diva herself has called it a Wrap!
Really, what's the show going to be like, Bhagyam?

The bare facts are these from what I gather- Bhageerathi was young, she studied, she got married and had a child, she was a lawyer, and she was silly enough to answer a casting call by Madras’s premier English Amateur Theatre group…..simple!
She was also good at her work, a great mother, intelligent, witty, intense, a fantastic actress and later on… all this culminated in making her the most gifted director in the city – Simpler still!

And In this process,
Many of us got to say hi to her and introduce ourselves, Less than many of us worked with her and saw her evolve into a beauty, Some of us worked under her and learnt Life a bit, Fewer of us got to be her close Friends, only One got to marry her and stayed married so, and another still luckier one got her for a mother -
But everybody, all of us, remained admirers and fans and the loyal fawning public of her majesty, the Queen of Dignity and all that’s almost right with the world….

And then two days back… she left!

Some said she did it in style, well scripted, with a clean and dramatic ending – lone spot and all… she directed it perfectly. The funny thing is, that knowing her, she would have confessed to not having gotten it quite right yet, and there could have been so much more that remained doing….

I guess she saw perfection the way Picasso saw it, in her next work of Art….
We always saw perfection in the way she did it….the day before, yesterday and yeah upto that point that she kept doing – we saw perfection in the way she was.

Thereby Overall, the consensus is thus – Bhagyam went too soon.
She went when we all were still trying to catch up with her. She went when she had taught us the steps and we were still finding our footing. She left before we could answer her in detail, the question she so grandly asked ‘Whats Happening Ma?? Ennamma Pannrae?’. All in all, she went to soon, and had it her way.

To sum it all up, if there is any such thing, I must keep going back to the short description that I have quite often espoused in my short span of awakened living – a simple term which was a desperate effort to describe the Lady to anybody who didn’t have the joy of getting to know her….
‘Bhagyam Rocks!’
– sorry for falling back on slang and simplicity – but that makes the most sense to me…
and If you knew her, even a slight bit, you would be smiling in recognition of how gorgeously those two words capture the essence of the Lady!
And if you didn’t know her…. Too bad for you- Really, too bad for you!

To my guide who I promise to thank at my Oscar Speech, to the philosopher who gave me a direction and showed me the way, to the friend who showed me her beautiful mind, to my teacher, to Life……La Chaim!

evam Bhagyam-makes an exit

2005-04-19T15:53:00.000+05:30

1999: Karthik and me meet at MICA, Ahmedabad and are searching for a play to do in college- Bhagyam told KK “You have to do this play and it will change your life”.

We were not sure but still went ahead with the performance of “evam Indrajit”-the play in 1999 in Ahmedabad

The play rocked;our minds.

...rocked enough to inspire us to jump. We left our jobs to start “evam”-the company in Chennai in 2003.

That’s what Bhagyam means to us.

She is a stud- that’s how I would describe her … a beautiful woman., sorry-a strong willed beautiful woman,a brilliant actor/director ,a person with the warmth of my mother , inquisitiveness of my nephew and 'bonding quotient' of my friends. Her age? Never did matter—she was the youngest in the team when it came to energy ,enthusiasm and eagerness to learn, always ready to question ,debate and seek answers- you could see the sparkle in her eyes so often-no wonder she was so alive! Think of her- and you will always have a smile on you.

Never happy with her work- she is willing to go all the way to seek “perfection”. At evam – whenever we do a play we would always wonder ” what would bhagyam's verdict be when she sees it?” and when she would tell us - we would realise yet again that it will take a long time before she gives us a “pass” -leave alone ”merit”-making us resolve to work harder…

So much to learn from this tower of strength- that when we decided to request someone to direct a play for us this year and that too "evam indrajit"- the first obvious person was Bhagyam and her obvious modesty ”why me?”. She has been working with team evam over the past 2 months very closely as director for “evam indrajit” to happen in June. She insisted on working with youngsters- and design the play in a manner which will communicate to them –after knowing their perspective. Her objective- to translate this 1960's play in the language of today's youth- her method-we held workshops after workshops with youngsters till she finally came up with a design. She did casting and then..made her dramatic exit.

Technology and finance – she never was comfortable handling- but was willing to use and manage for the end objective- good story telling.

Team evam is still waiting for her to turn up today evening at office to block the next scene… still hoping its only a dramatc twist in the tale and not an exit for our bhagyam.

“what drama is there in our lives mate?”- she would repeat from the play-”indrajit”.... and the way she exited from stage .. on stage...performing- I know she wouldn’t have been happy– leaving halfway was not her style.

as for "evam indrajit"- we know you are watching..and we promise to do justice to your vision..

if my grammer keeps punctuating from “is “ to “ was” – don’t blame me bhagyam I promise to rehearse more.

Love you bhagyam- no grammatical error there!
evam will miss you. hope someday our play will get a “pass” from you.

Reading-Day2

2005-02-28T18:51:00.000+05:30

Day 2 of the reading of evam Indrajit and as all of us sat around, there were a few more people from the previous day, as Pavi and Karuna(the overall team leads for Barefoot in the Park) had also joined us. The reading started with Bhagyam reassigning different people to read the lines of the different characters. Act two started and with most of the setting the same as the first reading, we all participated in the reading.End of act two and there was a minor pause, where some of the roles were reassigned.With this done, we plunged into act three. At the end of the reading, Bhagyam asked everybody as to what they thought about the two acts which had been read. Some interesting views were thrown up with some people thinking that there was a lot of redundancy in act two and three. The reason for this, some felt was that in act one Indrajit was questioning what he saw around him but it seemed to have been overdone in act two and act three. The question of how to approach people with this play seemed to polarise the team into two where some felt that we should just let people come and watch and decide for themselves whereas there were others who felt that we should let the audience know about the gravity of the play. In the end, we all split with homework from Bhagyam to read the script and suggest what we would like to add or remove...should make for an interesting second reading.

Reading-Day one

2005-02-28T18:48:00.000+05:30

Sat through the first reading with evam of the new play that we intend to do in june, evam Indrajit by Badal Sircar. There were 13 of us sitting in a circle and reading the play.evam Indrajit is a play that evam has been looking to do for a long while and it is also the reason why evam calls itself "evam". The setting consisted of an open terrace, a light wind, dimming light, with a moon of no particular form and 13 of us reading evam Indrajit. After we finished reading the first act, and we were asked to give our first impressions about what we had read, we thought we were not sure we had formed an opinion but as the discussion continued we all discovered a variety of things, some that we had not noticed and some that we had only subconsciously noticed but not attached importance to. It brought up an interesting topic about rules applied to women and whether the play itself was dated, in the sense that was it relevant in today's world and about Indrajit himself. Looking forward to reading act two today.

Barefoot in the Park - The Show

2005-02-17T23:33:00.000+05:30

The venue of the play

Delivery man(Manoj),telephone man(Sunil) and Corie(Andrea)

Mr.Velasco(Neelu),Mrs.Banks(Karthik Srinivasan),Corie and Paul(Karthik Kumar)

Paul and Corie in fight sequence

Team evam

and more

and even more

Our weekend shows - a report

2005-02-07T14:47:00.000+05:30

The walk barefoot, the sing barefoot for a cause, the light music concert,the movie screenings of "Barefoot in the park" at the Park and in the end, the play itself, "Barefoot in the Park". It was a culmination of the efforts put in over 3 months and in the end, evam did not let their patrons down.

Starting from the decor of the venue to minute details like oiling of doors, attention to detail was the motto of this production. It was an attempt to make this production, evam's best managed production. The area around Sivagami had an almost festive-like atmosphere as the audience started coming in from 6:30. The front-end team did a superb job at managing people and the show started by 7:15 with the wedding of Paul and Corie. The mime before the wedding had Aishwarya and Manikandan dancing with grace and elan.The play started and the audience was engrossed in the domestic life of Paul and Corie.During the interval, the Albanian restaurant scene was enacted outside the auditoriun with Mr.Velasco, Mrs.Banks, Paul and Corie and an entourage of dancers.The second half featured the ups and downs of their married life and how Paul and Corie dealt with them.

End result- a satisfied and visibly beaming audience

In the last show, there was a major problem with the lights. However, Ishwar, one of the crew members descended and took it upon himself to see to it that the show went on.This is to salute Ishwar and the evam team for having pulled off a great show and for having the fire to go on and "better themselves".

All those who came and watched our show over the weekend, please tell us what you thought of it....and we are back the next weekend!

And the show is here !!!!

2005-02-03T13:58:00.000+05:30

EVAM's play, `Barefoot in the Park'

Sivagami Pethachi(behind lifestyle, alwarpet):
February 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 at 7:15pm

Hotel Savera:
February 19 and 20 at 7:15pm

TICKET bookings:
Ph: 98842-77338

don't miss it !!!!!!!!

The Barefoot in the Park movie screenings

2005-02-02T13:39:00.000+05:30

You can read all about it at....

http://www.kiruba.com/archives/2005_01_01_archive.html#110702799155828819
http://lazygeek.net/

Kiruba, Guru and other leading bloggers in the city were invited to Park to watch the movie "Barefoot in the Park".

THANKS FOR COMING!!!!

The Wedding

2005-02-02T10:44:00.000+05:30

The Press Premiere
As twilight approached,the entire "Team evam" came together and assembled at the aqua pool side at the Park Hotel, Chennai. The setting could not have been more appropriate for Paul and Corie to start their marriage. At the reception were Mahita,Vijay and Vaishnavi welcoming the people from the press, the sponsors and the various friends and well-wishers of evam. The setting near the pool side had cabanahs for the people to sit and a small place decorated with flowers and candles where the wedding took place.As the time approached, the crowd managers took their positions near the pool side. The atmosphere was filled with love ballads by Ishwar playing them from the sound box. At 7:05, the priest(Sunil Vishnu) entered and met the guests who had come for the wedding.Then Paul Bratter(Karthik Kumar) walked in.The bride(Andrea) seemed to have taken a little too long as the groom started getting apprehensive. Then suddenly a figure in white dashed across the pool side and with her came in the bridesmaid and the best man.The couple assembled in front of the priest and seemed deeply in love.They exchanged their vows and when the priest said-"You may now kiss the bride" the entire entourage of the bride and the groom broke out into a dance, the energy of which seemed infectious.From here the guests were lead to Pasha, for the wedding party where the bride and the groom cut the wedding cake and left for their honeymoon to the Plaza for 6 nights.In the end, it was a superbly organised and executed show with every aspect handled meticulously and it was a pleasure to see such a team as this, in action.

-Your special correspondent

At the Unwind Centre (Barefoot in the Park)

2005-01-26T13:23:00.000+05:30

Evam, as a part of its fund raising drive for the palliative ward of thecancer institute, organised a light music concert at Vinyard,Nelson Manickam Road on 21st January, 2005. There was an audience of 80 people and theconcert started off with a group called Yaatra. They started with songs suchas "endrendum punagai","Ab ke sawan" by Shubha Mudgal and had a veryinteresting jamming session in between, with their drums and mridangam whichwas greatly appreciated by the audience.

Next was a group called SoulFire which consisted of students from Loyola. Asthey took their places on stage, Sunil, addressed the gathering and told theaudience about the cause of the palliative ward and told them as to how evamwas doing its bit to promote palliative care. Collection boxes were passedaround and the audience contributed generously.

The group Soulfire struck anice rhythm with "Enna ma kanna" and had the crowd swaying with its firstsong. The second number was an own composition "Kaathali yen kaathali" whichhad a nice lilting tune to it.The next song was Pal by KK and the crowdseemed entranced by the voice of the lead vocalist. After this brilliantrendition, the group went one step further and signed off with A.R.Rehman'sVande Mataram. At that moment, it was not so much the song itself but theenergy with which it was sung that made us realise that if songs still madeus feel this way, then there is hope for a better tomorrow for us as individuals, as people, as a nation and as humanity in all.

2005-01-21T19:19:00.000+05:30

The coolest, fastest selling evam T-shirt. We have like 5 remaining from hundreds made! The back of the TShirt has "Barefoot in the Park" written.The other merchandise include round-pin badges, stickers and CD's.
evam

WALK - On 21 Jan 2k5, 7am at THE PARK

2005-01-21T13:42:00.000+05:30

By Our Staff Reporter
The Hindu, 12 January 2005
CHENNAI

JAN. 11. A renewed commitment to a pioneering social reformer's dream, an innovative theatre group's series of shows and corporates walking the talk `barefoot', will bring to Chennai a string of fun and fund-raising programmes for a noble cause.

When the Palliative Care Unit of the Cancer Institute set up in 1954 by India's first woman medical graduate Dr. Muthulakshmy Reddy badly needed financial support, the EVAM theatre group stepped in to help by organising fund-raising plays. They found willing partners in a string of corporates and thus was born the `Go barefoot for a cause' campaign.

The partners include The Park, Royal Sundaram and Citibank. Besides, 10 colleges and 75 business organisations have agreed to partner in the programmes.

The schedule of events is as follows: `Barefoot in The Park' soundtrack launch at Landmark, Spencer's Plaza on January 15. The `Sing barefoot for a cause' edition at the same venue will have young college bands showcase their skills on January 15, 16 and 23. A special concert has been scheduled at Unwind Centre.

One of the highlights is the `Walk barefoot for a cause' rally on January 21, which will set out from The Park with the aim of raising awareness and collecting funds for the cause. In solidarity, more than 100 volunteers across the city will go barefoot the whole day in their respective spaces, ranging from corporate offices to college classrooms. The following day will have screenings of the Jane Fonda-starrer movie, `Barefoot in the Park' at The Park. The movie will also be shown on January 29 and 30.

EVAM's play, `Barefoot in the Park', will be staged on February 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 19 and 20.

"The programmes fit in with the belief of our 14-month-old group that entertainment can be the means to build community participation and theatre a medium for spreading awareness," said Karthik Kumar of EVAM. The group had earlier worked with Cancer Institute during the previous fund-raising campaign, `Iruvathu varai iruvathu'.

A range of merchandise ranging from stickers (Rs. 10) to badges (Rs. 50) and T-shirts (Rs. 150) will also go up for sale as part of the campaign.

Ravi Kannan, Head of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Institute, said palliative care was a low-budget but extremely crucial component of physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual support to terminally ill patients.

An estimated one lakh patients from all over India visit the Institute every year. Of this, around 65 per cent required palliative care. In spite of the great pressure on resources and dwindling international funding — once its mainstay — the Institute has grown from a cottage hospital with 12 beds and two doctors to have a research centre, Centre of Preventive Oncology, College of Oncology Sciences, Hereditary Cancer Clinic and Sanctuary — a patient counselling cell.

The message that oncologists seek to disseminate is "There is a life worth living after cancer."

Other writeups
http://www.newstodaynet.com/12jan/rf2.htm
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/n/i/carnatic/16/

Sing Barefoot for a Cause

2005-01-21T13:31:00.000+05:30

Praveen, Nayaab(above) and girls from MOP Vaishnav

`Barefoot in The Park' soundtrack launch at Landmark, Spencer's Plaza on January 15. The `Sing barefoot for a cause' edition at the same venue had young college bands showcase their skills on January 15, 16 and 23. The main aims of this event is to get more people to join the Walk Barefoot for a Cause event scheduled on 21 Jan 2005 and to sell merchandise to raise funds for the cancer institute.

A special concert has been scheduled at Unwind Centre today on 21 Jan 2005 from 7pm.
JOIN US!!!

Barefoot in the Park 2005....COMING SOON !!!

2005-01-21T13:18:00.000+05:30

The schedule of events is as follows:
Barefoot in The Park soundtrack launch at Landmark, Spencer's Plaza on January 15.
Sing barefoot for a cause edition on January 15, 16 and 23.
Concert at Unwind Centre on 21 Jan 2005
Walk barefoot for a Cause rally on January 21, starting from The Park
Movie Screenings of Barefoot in the Park at The Park on January 22, 29 and 30.

EVAM's play, `Barefoot in the Park', will be staged on February 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 19 and 20.

The Odd Couple (The Hindu, September 2004)

2005-01-21T13:09:00.000+05:30

Jimmy,Nayaab,Eashwar,Manoj,Karthik and TM Karthik(seated on sofa)

The Hindu, 24 September 2004 Friday
Review By Elizabeth Roy

EVAM HAS always been clear about their agenda. Last year it was four productions, each packing nine shows that promised wholesome entertainment. Often they pick well known and popular scripts that draw crowds. They give the production their best shot and the audience is won over into not remembering other productions (of the play) that they might have seen. They are always directed by Sunil Evam (and)Karthik,produced by Preeti Sanjeevi and presented by their sponsors, main sponsor for the year being Royal Sundaram.

Last week they launched their second year with Neil Simon's ``The Odd Couple," again a well-known script repeatedly performed and in a sensestamped by Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The two-hour long hilarious comedy tells the story of a very special friendship and what happens when the unlikely duo team up. Oscar, adivorced sports reporter, lives in his eight- room apartment in complete chaos and plays poker with his buddies. Felix is thrown out by his wife and finds the situation devastating. Oscar invites Felix to share the apartment with him.

Felix with his fetish for order, cleanliness, cooking and accountability drives Oscar up the wall. It is worse than being married to the stereotypical wife. Though the essence of the comedy is the conflict between the two characters, it is Neil Simon's take-on-life-and-reality approach thatlifts the play to a higher level, making it an intelligent comedy. Quite suddenly without warning you see him outside the situation, steppingback to watch the action. This perhaps is the greatest strength a comic writer needs, to dissect the human being who he sees as his alter ego,to create humour from the lives and troubles of everyday people.

Incidentally, ``The Odd Couple" which he scripted in 1966 is based on the life of his older brother, Danny, who, after his divorce, moved inwith another divorced man and the situation became the set up for ``The Odd Couple." In Evam's hands it was two hours of mirthful laughter for the audience. The play's success goes beyond even the direction to the two main characters — Oscar played by Karthik Kumar and Felix by Karthik Srinivasan. They shared a chemistry that directors can only hope for. Their timing was perfect and they played with changing the pace, with pauses, with sulks and silences. Particularly from Karthik Srinivasan it was a brilliant performance. (Karthik Kumar's make up could have matched theage his physical body communicated). Audiences loved them.

The poker-playing buddies also contributed much to the success of the play. Jimmy, Iswar Srikumar, Nayaab Anwer and Manoj Kumar playedwell-delineated characters; they presented an interesting variety, a group made up of very different individuals. And this, despite the factthat the script allowed them to be on stage only on three occasions.The Pigeon Sisters (Mili Chandy and Suzane Mathai) with a little more effort could have turned the hilariously disastrous scene into a classic as Neil Simon visualised it.The set design from Anil was elaborate, solid and paid attention to detail. Sound and light from Sunil and Amit were well executed and added life to the play. For the audience it was a good two hours of clean, intelligent entertainment and a great way to unload the tensions of the day.

Evam is not quite finished with Neil Simon. In February they return to their audience with their mega production Barefoot in The Park.And before that in November they return with two of their early shows — Art and Python Hysteria. That's more food for laughter. In the meantime ``The Odd Couple" will go into four more performances on the Septmeber24, 25 and 26.

Death - A thriller Comedy

2005-01-21T13:05:00.000+05:30

Milli,Jagan,Jimmy,Sunil,Manoj,Viniti and Prassana

'Death by evam', is an adaptation of Woody Allen's play 'Death', and when co-scripted with evam it lends itself into becoming a Thriller Comedy, the perfect recipe for wholesome entertainment. Richly garnished with mystery, intrigue and mayhem, the basic ingredient of comedy is tossed with love and romance, and served with a secret portion of Joie-De- Vivre (Joy of Life).
Through this exciting play, evam explores the meaning and importance of death and in turn Life- our life, with its dreams and failures, loves and betrayals, highs and lows, friends and foes.. all of whom we sometimes take for granted... True isn't it? In this mundane existence of 9-5 jobs and partying, who wants to take a break and think about the lives we lead, or of death... and when we do think of death.. isn't it always in future tense.. and not in the present?

But that may not be true, isn't it? Death is not a big glamorous dramatic event you can plan for, it doesn't have a face or footsteps or a soul - it's just a factual end which can happen to anyone anytime anywhere... but what we do have in hand right now is this moment, a moment... to savour, a dream... to achieve, a promise... to keep, a love... to acknowledge, a life... to live!
So do it now, and don't wait for tomorrow because life is in today's seconds- not in tomorrow's years...

'Death by evam' explores the one night adventure of a comb salesman - Richard Kleinman who is woken up from his deep sleep at 0230 hrs in the wee hours by his office colleagues only to drive him out of his house, the purpose - to be on a vigilante committee to catch a maniac who's on the loose in a mad cap city. The play traces this one night in the life of Kleinman, his encounters with various interesting people from different walks of life, their interpretations and theories on death and hence life! The play brings about the absurd humour of one man's plight amidst a city plagued with mystery, confusion and chaos. Amidst all this the mystery remains - who kills whom, and who is the Maniac....

The performance is backed by a 40-member team (23 people on stage and another 20 members in the crew, backstage and marketing teams). This team was formed out of the 'evam mega talent hunt auditions' which were conducted in March 2004 where more than 300 persons, young and old had auditioned. It has taken the expertise of many professionals from varied fields to come together to put this spectacle on stage in Chennai.

Last year, evam performed three mega stage productions- 'ART by evam', 'Python Hyssssteria by evam' and 'Love Letters by evam' to packed houses and this year promises to be bigger and better entertainment starting with contests, promotions and excitement leading to seven shows of 'Death by evam' to be followed by three more mega stage entertainers in Chennai.

The dates of the performance are June 11-13, and June 25-27 at the Sivagami Pethachi auditorium, Alwarpet at 1930 hrs. There will also be a special show on June 27 at 1430 hrs.

Python Hyssssteria (chennailonline.com)

2005-01-21T13:00:00.000+05:30

Papa(red tshirt,top),Sunil,Manoj,Jimmy,TMKarthik(with ears closed)

Python Hyssssteria’ marks a successful comeback of evam. With a brilliant star cast, great direction, simple sets and apt costumes, lights and music, all the ingredients of a successful production have been fulfilled.

Python Hyssssteria is a collection of Monty python’s 16 sketches from “The Flying Circus”. Fondly known as the ‘Beatles of comedy’, the Python’s (comprising of six men, one American and five English) inspired a whole generation of comedy writers and artists. They were an instant success in the UK with their unique approach to the works of Edward Lear, Oscar Wilde and Lewis Carroll.

No doubt, evam has rendered justice, showcasing the original work of the Python’s. Keeping all the nitty-gritty in mind, justice has been done not only to the sets but also to the costumes. The direction is commendable ensuring continuity despite 16 different plots requiring 16 different sets and characters.

The music is well chosen and adds weight to the dance sequence interspersed to change sets. The idea though unique, left more to be desired in terms of choreography. Focus on the costumes of the dancers would have added more grace to the dance. The sets were kept simple with some chairs and tables. The props included stuffed Pythons and a bird, which peered at the audience.

The lead cast includes Karthik k, Sunil Vishnu, Jimmy, Karthik Srinivasan, Manoj Nair and new talent like Ajai Titus and Amrita Ramkumar. The cast’s treatment of the comedy ensures that one is rolling with laughter.

The 16 acts vary greatly from one another guaranteeing no repetition. The sequences range from a disciplinarian Headmaster's nonchalance towards a student’s death due to excessive lashings at school to the unbelievable tales the characters come up with to describe their past lives of drudgery and poverty going to the extent of narrating their lives in a box.

This production is a MUST WATCH with the art of timing perfected to ensure that the humour is fresh and nerve tickling. This HSBC-sponsored production was presented at the Sivagami Petachi Auditorium from the 14th of January to the 18th of January 2004.

2005-01-21T12:15:00.000+05:30

Happy Birthday !!!!!!!!!!!
evam

Art (The Hindu, Monday, Dec 20, 2004 )

2005-01-21T11:29:00.000+05:30

Karthik,Sunil and Jimmy
FRIENDSHIP TURNED SOUR: Marc and Serge have an argument as hapless Yvan looks on wondering whose side to take. Pic: K. Ananthan.
Art is all about friendship - its strengths and frailties. And, Evam managed to transport the audience to the time they spent with friends, writes SUBHA J RAO

EVER CAUGHT between two warring friends? Then, you'll understand the predicament of simple-minded Yvan better.
The proverbial good man who spends his time in a dusty stationery store owned by his fiancée Catherine's uncle, he is the one you'll identify with most in Yesmina Reza's `Art', staged recently in the city by Chennai-based Evam.

About Art
Yvan does not argue with anyone - he agrees with all. But, an ego-tussle between his two buddies — dermatologist-turned-art aficionado Serge and the smug out-of-the-box thinker Marc — turns his idyllic life a little complicated.
The root of the problem? Serge buying a `white painting with diagonal white lines' for 200,000 francs.
Marc is stunned that his friend could actually pay so much money for `nothing' (after all, what is white on white?) and tries to get Yvan to toe his line of thinking.
Yvan being Yvan, tries his best to make peace, but ends up being called an amoeba and told in no uncertain terms that "Whatever you do, don't be pleasant."

Painting trouble

The plot is pretty simple. And, if you wondered how much trouble a painting could possibly cause, you'll be in for a surprise.
Each of the trio drags every little problem, real and imaginary, out of the closet in his attempt to prove he is right. The usually unflappable Serge tells Marc that he hates the way his (Marc's) wife Paula reacts to someone smoking.

Marc, who is disappointed and worried that a painting has taken his place in Serge's life, directs his anger at Serge and gets labelled an enemy of modern art. His carefully chosen barbs, timely sniggers and `tolerant' tone achieve their effect - that of irritating Serge.

As for Yvan, caught amidst a stepmother he hates, a mother who feels neglected, and Catherine, who wants her stepmother's name on the wedding invite, friends are his only solace. And, when an evening with friends goes from bad to worse, he is devastated. His whining tone and passiveness is refreshing in the battle of words between Serge and Marc.
Most of the laughs were reserved for his innocent one-liners or paras, like the one he attributes to his shrink.

When he studiously read from his paper: `If I am who I am because I am who I am, and You are who You are because You are who You are, then I Am who I Am and you Are who you Are. But, on the other hand, IF I am who I am, because You are who you are, and You are who You are, because I am who I am, then you Are Not who you are, and I Am Not who I am', the Nani Kalairangam, venue for the play, erupted into laughter.
The 90-minute play ends when Serge, realising that the painting led to fissures in his friendship with Marc, allows him, in one sweeping moment, to render the painting no longer white.
And, the trio stays happy ever after.

Good response
For a city where English theatre is not very active, the play, brought to town by the GV Centre for Performing Arts, elicited a good response.
But, some things never change.

Despite a graphic request to desist from using cell phones, some chose to ignore the message, much to everyone's annoyance. That itself was proof of how involved people were in the play.
Karthik Kumar was brilliant as the smug Marc and Jimmy as the offended Serge. But, the audience sympathy was reserved for Yvan, played with perfection by Sunil Vishnu.
Sunil and Karthik of Evam said they were happy with the public response. "The audience was neat... they laughed at the right times and did not reduce the play to a farcical comedy," said Karthik.

Sunil felt there was a lot of reaction from the audience. "Each audience perceives the play differently... the crowd here was educated and a discerning lot. It knew when to laugh and when to enjoy in silence."

However, Karthik says he would like to see more youngsters attend plays. "Tomorrow's audience is the youth and they must attend shows."

The play was well rehearsed and the diction just perfect.

During the interludes and scene changes, Iswar of Evam entertained all by mimicking the playing of different instruments and acting as a modern-day sutradhar.
The people seemed impressed most by the gripping story and the pace at which it moved. Also, the flowing diction and the stage setting.

"The show had a mixed audience and each one of them seemed to enjoy. Even the occasional use of four-letter words did not stand out because they fell in place perfectly with the dialogue," felt Rajini Varadarajan, Trustee of the GV Centre.

About evam - The Hindu (Tuesday, Sep 09, 2003 )

2005-01-21T11:23:00.000+05:30

Sunil Vishnu and Karthik Kumar

IN AN environment where investment in theatre may seem like courting commercial suicide, two young men are daring to prove otherwise. Karthik Kumar and Sunil Vishnu K. have launched Evam, an entertainment management company that plans to promote theatre in the city. The company will shortly kick off with three English plays ("Art by Evam", "Barefoot in the Park" and "Zoo Story"), the first of which will be premiered tomorrow.

Evam also proposes to provide Chennai with quality entertainment in cinema, short films and musicals. "We guarantee fare that's neither crass nor arty," says Sunil. The two young men believe that, if things work out, they will be successful pioneers in professional entertainment. Theatre is not a new field for these two young men, who had formed a group (Sankalp) when they were students at the Mudra Institute of Communications (Mica). But why did they choose Chennai as their base to launch this business centre? A study of the market revealed the lack of enough theatre activity in Chennai when compared to Mumbai or Bangalore. Hence, the two believe that the city offers untapped potential.

As things stand, Chennai has a couple of English theatre groups and a small number of Tamil amateur players who stay largely with comedy. There are very few serious stage troupes. If anything, it is the tearjerkers on television that have a great appeal with the middle class. Sunil and Karthik refuse to be cowed down by such facts. "We are not here to fight any medium. If the average man wants television, I feel our job is to give it to them. So we are planning a 20-week slot with one story a week, in Tamil, on the lines of Balu Mahendra's `Kadhai Naeram' and Suhasini's `Penn'." That's next on their agenda, after which they plan to enter tinsel town as filmmakers. Work on the television fare has already begun and nearly 10 stories are ready. Cinema, in any case, is not new to Karthik. He was seen in a brief role in "Alaipayuthey" and plays hero in P.C. Sreeram's "Vaanam Vasapadum".

As opposed to the amateur theatre groups, Evam is a professional firm. At the moment, they are slogging to widen the viewer base for English plays. And they know that the student community is a target worth trying. "Today's youth ventures out frequently for entertainment — a cup of coffee at Qwikys, a film at Sathyam or a jig at a disco joint. So now each of these is our competitor. All we are saying is give us a chance too. And pricing our tickets high, we know, is no way to woo them. So we promise quality enjoyment at reasonable rates ... "

Thus from creating to packaging and from promoting to the actual selling, Karthik and Sunil are engaged in every aspect of work. But where does the money come from? After the course at Mica, Karthik and Sunil worked for a couple of years and saved substantially before they took the plunge. And forsaking a secure, cushy job to realise a dream is no ordinary decision. "Sure ... our parents are quite anxious but we are confident it will work." This is the right time to change tack and take off, they feel. "I cannot see myself as a software professional developing a paunch in a couple of years sitting in front of the computer," adds Karthik. They are both 25. If we are not prepared to take risks now, we never will, they say.

Sunil is from Bhopal. His parents live there. He has worked all over the country and has now chosen Chennai for a lucrative livelihood. The cast of their first play "Art by Evam" includes Jimmy, producer, Radio Mirchi, besides Sunil and Karthik. And don't wonder who selects the stories and writes their scripts. Who else but these two? Young men and women with a creative bent can knock at their doors for a response.

Preeti Sanjeevi, their junior at Mica, has already joined them. More than money the two are investing a lot of time, energy and talent and things augur well for them. Big names such as HSBC, Nescafe, The Park and RPG figure in their list of media partners and sponsors. "When we go and meet them, we are businessmen, dressed in formals with ties and tucked in shirts. We believe in attire that suits the occasion. Even in our plays we've decided never to compromise on costume. It has to be apt," they say.

Their agenda is clearly chalked out. But with one as ambitious and hardworking as the other, will ego come into play? "We set off together only because we jell well. There's no room for individual ego trips. We can't afford it. Too much is at stake," they chorus.
(Evam's first shows for the public will take place on September 18 and 19 at The Park and on September 26, 27, 28 at the Sivagami Pethachi auditorium. Tickets available at Landmark and Genesis. Or contact 98410-45448)