Indian theatre needs MBA graduates to plan strategies and increase profit margins.
Recently, various theatre groups have come to Bangalore to perform both contemporary and classic plays.
“Theatre needs a new business model and a new perception. Theatre today needs a push or a boost from the biz world,” says Abhishek Iyengar, a director with WeMove Theatre.
Though these plays are gaining popularity, funding is still an issue for most theatre groups in India.
“Theatre today has no funding, people think there are no returns in theatre which is actually not the fact,” says Abhishek. “It is just that because of a few idiotic theatre performances the whole art form is stereotyped. You even have bad films, that doesn’t mean all films are flops.”
An average cost of production for a small theatre group comes to about Rs 50,000 and a group like WeMove puts up at least one show every month. Sponsors feel apprehensive about funding the show as not too many turn up for the performances.
Abhishek, however, believes that western countries do not face the same problems. “People do not want to sponsor or support a play. With great money, great production can be done but that’s where the problem lies,” he says.
“In fact sponsors are always worried that we get only 300 people. What they really miss is that we get 300 genuine people who are wealthy enough to buy whatever the sponsor wants to sell.” He feels “digital media” is the biggest competition for theatre.
“People tend to watch more movies than plays. Theatre is not as popular as the film media. Audiences are slowly getting adjusted to this new trend so I can fairly say that it takes some time for theatre to grab the limelight,” says Abhishek.
He points out that people in the theatre circuit recognise and acknowledge their interest in theatre and their passion but it is “the common man who still sits dumb” when it comes to theatre.
A good business strategy is what theatre needs, he feels. “Theatre needs more MBA grads who can strategise the market and plan a production and get good returns out of it. Of course it takes more than one show to get a good return.” Abhishek rues the fact that one of the most ancient professions of the world has now become a hobby.
“People who work in various MNCs today think about theatre as the ‘next hep thing to do’. They find theatre a good alternative to their boring weekends. There are very few people who do theatre for aliving,” he says. But things need to change and he says he feels positive change will happen, drawing attention to the fact that theatre in India has already seen quite a few changes in the last decade.
“With more and more people tending towards theatre, people today recognise and acknowledge the fact that there is something called theatre and it still exists. There is lot of support from the print media for theatre and people today are open to spend their evenings watching a play and enjoying at the same time,” says Abhishek.
Theatre today has a lot more technology, such as sound and music, lighting and so on. There are also a lot more collaborations with other art forms like dance, music, etc. “A few years back doing theatre was considered to be taboo, which is not the case now,” he says happily.
WeMove is the only theatre group in Bangalore that performs plays in both Kannada and English. Since its inception in 2006, it has been a synonym for promoting different kind arts and artists. It provides opportunities to anyone with a keen interest and passion in theatre and takes them on without conducting auditions. In 2012 alone, it performed 25 shows.
(Udita studied journalism at the IIJNM, Bangalore, after studying in Kamala Nehru College, Delhi University.)