Tiatr mogi
College life is a stage that leaves an indelible impression on the lives of the students. Discipline, values, characteristic traits develop in an individual during this period. But then, when politics corrodes the basics of such an institution what will the fallout be? The aim of education is to transform even an average or poor student into an excellent citizen but when egoism and one up-manship become a routine of this academic journey, education takes a backseat and what reigns supreme is chaos and confusion, not only for the proponent, but for all the students surrounding the concerned student.
Script
The script is simple and encompasses twists and turns that seem unthinkable. But importantly, it is purely a tiatr script. Comedy is an integral part of the story and the characters involved are well merged with the plot. There are interesting cantos too, but they are less in number. With the talent in singing available in the cast, the writer should have utilized their talents in presenting interactive cantos that could have made the tiatr even more interesting and better in performance.
Comedy
The tiatr features clean and decent comedy even though the content is less. The script could have incorporated scenes of comic nature instead of limiting comedy to particular charactors. Comedy is not a genre limited to peons and sweepers. A professor with a comic nature, or certain limitations in his approach could have proved more effective. Certain students could have been entrusted the comic parts. The students in groups did possess comic timing, but that was not effectively tapped and developed.
Sets
The sets depicted a real educational institution and this is the strongest asset of the presentation. However the sets were not put to proper use. The opening song was presented on a blue curtain and that was the only drawback of the tiatr. If the road scene that is traditionally used to sing the opening chorus was not sufficient to hold the entire bunch of participants, it could have been presented on the sets with well choreographed background. When the main curtains opened it was a sorry state to see the faded blue curtain of the auditorium.
Acting
The tiatr features children of tiatrists and so it was natural to expect great performances from these children. After all, talent ran in their blood. Shanaya Pereira was once again the darling of the audience. Her portrayal of the character of a spoilt child was spectacular. Benzer plays the role of a decent and committed teacher, but his stage mannerisms spoke of arrogance. Alika was excellent as the ‘contracted teacher’. Movin looked and performed as a true principal. Jennifer, Rioma, Riosha, Semica, Amanda, Joeson, Maythan, Edgar Aniel and Beckham were truly students of different hues. Myron had a comic overtone in everything he did. Bladwin, Melanie and Elita handled the comedy section with aplomb.
Music/songs
The band led by Nazareth Fernandes (Saxophone) with Aidan and Nova on trumpets was effective. Clinton on keyboards delivered a good background score too. Manuel on the drums brought a lot of charm to the music. Presley was good on the bass.
The songs were in the tiatr format with good duets, duos, trios, and even a song ‘Nouko’ sung by nine artistes. Maythan’s solo was great. So also the duets. Comedian Selvy’s son Myron’s comic solo leaves the audience demanding for encores and each time he arrived he did something differently. This lad with excellent dancing skills definitely has a great future.
Direction
The direction was good. Managing children, and that too college going youth, is indeed a difficult task and Mario deserves a pat for managing them well on stage. Good songs, good comedy, good acting; College Life is definitely a rich presentation. A good performance to watch. A good entertainment; ‘divertiment’as it is called, is guaranteed.
