The untimely death of two stalwarts of the Konkani tiatr stage ‘Tragedy King’ Mario Menezes and the most popular comedian Selvy within a month has probably brought to the fore the stressful conditions under which tiatrists work. Comedian Selvy has died at a young age of 48. The personal lives of the tiatrists may not be a bed of roses. Some of them hold a nine-to-five job and then they are into tiatr in their spare time. Many-a-times a tiatrist plays the role of a writer, producer, director and may even have a role to play in the show. It may also involve writing the script, to provide for necessary finance, getting actors for the show, booking the stage, conducting practice sessions, music, transportation, etc. Many-a-times there are two or three shows in a day at places which are far flung. Sometimes an actor may not be able to turn up for a show. All this can prove very stressful. While tiatrists could be making a small profit, they do it for the love of Konkani and to keep the age-old tradition of tiatr alive.
