First Draft Ideas Lab 2020-21 comes to a close
We had announced First Draft: Edition 2 just when we were getting used to our home-bound lives. We decided to go online for the first time and received an overwhelming response.
We wish to recognise the work the participants did during the pandemic and hope the plays gets staged when all this is over. Do read about them here: The First Draft Blog. You can also learn about the lab, access lab notes, check out our 2019 edition and other resources on the blog.
This year’s lab was facilitated by Chanakya Vyas, Karen D’mello, and Abhimanyu Acharya.
We thank the eminent guest lecturers who contributed their valuable time and energy for the participants:
Abhishek Majumdar
Amitesh Grover
Amy Russell
Gayathri Prabhu
Kim Solga
Sunil Shanbag
Philip Howze
Sitharamam Kakarala
Sophia Stepf
Sundar Sarukkai
Surabhi Jayachandra Varma Rekandar & Hansa Thapliyal
Swati Simha
We hope this crisis will be over soon.
A Zoom Call Re: Birds

About
A Zoom Call Re:Birds is a performative audio-visual experience that combines theatrical and old-school radio programming elements. Using a medium synonymous with the pandemic, this Zoom call moves away from what we may have come to understand of this platform, and weaves together a mosaic of fictional and non-fictional elements with mild participant interaction and moments of quiet reflection.
While the call is propelled by the creators’ curiosities about birds and their subsequent excitement to share, at its heart is a series of audio interviews with A. Karuppuraja, a young man from Pothakudi village in Tamil Nadu, who found himself at the centre of a grassroots movement triggered by a mysterious bird.
Watch this page for future calls.
Language: English and Tamil
Written and directed by Saudamini Kalra and Tushar Mathew
Graphic design by Sudharshan K
Sound design by Nikhil Nagaraj
Production Manager: Phalguni Vittal Rao
Translation: Samyuktha PC and Shuaibur Rahman
Karuppuraja’s story: A Karuppuraja in conversation with Chanakya Vyas
Publicity: Shubham Roy Choudhury
Dadi-Golunath story voiced by Yuki Ellias and Humhu
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