Wellness, An Act of Theatre!

“Awaken the deep-seated intelligence of your body to bring greater presence, spontaneity, and credibility to your performances.”

Theatre is an arena where you have to constantly work from within. The better you are able to change your emotions the better actor you become. But that comes with a cost, some face peculiar problems when they to dig-in for their negative thoughts in order to put up a good show. There it becomes imperative for an actor to separate their real life from a reel. In real or reel life, no matter what acting method you select, at the end, you’re using the body and voice to communicate a story. You’re convincing others using that communication technique to ensure that you are a character capable of deep emotion with a complex personality. 

This new outlook has given away a unique transformation in itself. Theatre, a collaborative form of fine art has explored and created a meaningful dimension by using the body as the instrument that taps into its meridians and demands an actor be present in their performance, leaving them with organic, rich connected results. 

This art brings forward the canvas of seven chakras (or energy centres) in the body that exist along the spine and connect to different parts of our awareness. 

As an artist myself, I feel the beauty is that how each chakra allows an actor to think from a different perspective, utilizing the body, mind, and energy in a way that feels completely natural, giving you different parameters to think upon. 

Chakra work in a way to tap into what's inherent in the body; all we have to do is manifest it through our characters in a performance.

Think of the chakras exactly as key notes of an instrument. When combined with other notes, they form a chord and add layers to your performance. What do we yield from this? Rich, connected results that happen organically. Theatrical exercises teach you to unlock all your inhibitions. A free flow of emotions is the basic idea. It caters to free flow of energy all through the body. Lesser the inhibition better is your expression, and easier you will be able to let go of the unwanted emotions. This energy when presented on stage is experienced by the audience, and that is the difference between theatre and multimedia.

Creative Head at Atelier Theatre, Kuljeet Singh shares, “Theatre empowers one on various levels and within this ambit, there is nothing left which is not touched by theatre arts.” He further adds, “ Positivity conquered by the sixth chakra is a central point to any creative process. Theatre being a composite art, it not only effects overall well being but also potent enough to change the social framework.”

There are many theatre exercises and elements which provide insight and understanding to an individual about one’s body potential and its flexibility and control over various actions while giving great access to alertness. Aligned seven chakras give greater credibility to an artist to perform multi-tasks and enabling one to build a focussed approach shares a young theatre artist, Lokesh Varma who is the  Co-Founder of Darakht an independent film and theatre society. 

The theatre stimulates both mental and physical processes within an individual. Dramatic exercises allow participants to explore and connect with various emotions and characters. Taking on different roles allows participants to discover new places/settings, encounter new obstacles and people. Drama builds social skills, communication techniques, self-confidence and stress management. It improves energy levels, commitment, and creativity and teaches empathy and understanding. These exercises help you open up your voice, not just the vocal cords but the expression of voice. 

The yogic Kriyas, breathing exercises and meditations from Yogic philosophy are very much similar to the practices of that of theatrical realism and play a very important role. Kuljeet an ace artist himself shares his secret for his well being. Stretching and shrinking the entire body while breathing well is a magical exercise in itself and recommended for all as it’s a great stress buster and instil positivity leaving your mind afresh. 

Even if one is not into theatre but practising theatrical exercises helps to discover and understand one’s own emotions. What we commonly know as Emotional Intelligence. Daniel Goleman beautifully explains the importance of Emotional Intelligence as-

“If you are tuned out of your own Emotions, you will be poor at reading them in other people”