The blog world is his stage

This article is on the blog Spacing Theatre published in New Indian Express, Written by Asha P Nair.

Asha P Nair

First Published : 13 Oct 2009 01:12:00 AM IST

He is married to theatre. A director, actor and writer. Winner of various awards. But Chandradasan, the artistic director of Lokadharmi theatre company in Kochi, is also a strong presence in the blogosphere.

Spacing Theatre, his blog, would not just let you know about his new plays, but also about theatre activities happening all around. The blogwww.chandradasan.blogspot.com is slowly turning into a theatre guide for connoisseurs of drama. “When I began, it was meant as a production diary of my plays. Then I started putting in reviews of the plays I liked, the important theatre festivals happening and about my new plays. Now, I receive umpteen comments, which kind of motivates me to frequently blog,’’ says Chandradasan from Kochi.

His latest play, ‘Abhayarthikal’, when staged recently, had three theatre lovers from Bangalore come down just to see the play. They had been following his blog ardently. This has happened with Chandradasan more than once. “It has become a source of easy communication and a platform where relationships are made,’’ he says.

When his popular play ‘Karnabharam’ travelled to Kolkata for an event, Chandradasan did not fill his blog pages with that. Instead,  he wrote about a puppet play by a Slovenian theatre group which had caught his attention there. Reading it would make one want to see a puppet play.

‘The girl in the photograph’, a play done by Mazhavillu (the children’s theatre wing of Lokadharmi), the rural theatre at Thampakamukku, the production journals of ‘Abhayarthikal’, a tribute written for master playwright Vijay Tendulkar, review of ‘Kalivesham’  directed by Narippata Raju... Chandradasan blogs about all facets of theatre and happenings, which he thinks are worth sharing.

“There is a limitation in news sharing in general media; in blogs,  there is a reach that touches international levels,’’ he says. True; for, the appearance of his essay in a book published by Routledge had received comments from across the globe, minimizing the world to a little computer screen. It may be the reason why Chandradasan writes his blog in English.

Language, after all, is only secondary in blogging. There is a community group in the name of Lokadharmi, which Chandradasan keeps active just like his personal blog. But, one day, he would like his blog also to be a community platform. “I don’t mind if somebody interested in theatre wants to post a well-written piece in my blog and make it a sharing space,’’ he says. Probably, this is what he meant by Spacing Theatre.

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Courtesy; The New Indian Express 13 October 2009…