Artscope | Online edition of Daily News

Wrapped in utmost excitement, the audience gazes at the theatrical scenes. Trapped amidst the action, tension and drama, they stand on their toes. No longer can they drift away from the action which surrounds them. Everything is so close. The excitement and tension build around in a manner that they get lost amidst the enthralling action. Such is the excitement, thrill and excitement provided by the mini ‘Black Box Theatre’ that the viewers feel as if they too are a part of the drama.

Black Box Theatre

* The action and drama unravels in close proximity to the audience

* Very effective at grasping the audience’s interest

* The audience is very much a part of the drama

* Easier way to interact with the audience

* Performing in a Black Box Theatre Could be challenging to the actor

* Low production cost

* M Safeer is the first dramatist to make a Black Box Drama in Sri Lanka

Safeer

It was in 2008 that M Safeer, the acclaimed Sri Lankan dramatist first introduced the Black Box Theatre to the Sri Lankan audience. Sharing his creative adventures with the Artscope, Safeer said:

“In 2008 I went to Germany to attend the European Drama Festival on a scholarship as a South Asian delegate. There I was fortunate enough to watch many dramas. Most of those dramas were performed in small theatres. Driven by curiosity, I started investigating and finally came to know that this is the model know as the Black Box Theatre.”

After his return from Germany, Safeer researched on the Black Box Theatre. He felt that the Black Box Theatre is ideal to grasp the attention and interest of the audience. The action and the drama unravel in close proximity to the audience. This enables the audience to keep abreast with the pace of the drama. Therefore, performing in a Black Box theatre becomes challenging task for the actors. The margin for error is so little. Yet at the same time the theatre is ideal to showcase their acting talents to the full.

“Doing a Black Box Drama is challenging to the actors. Specially, since everything happens so close, they can’t afford to make any blunders. At the same time it also demands high level of focus on the part of the audience. ” Safeer explained.

The Black Box Theatre is by no means a new phenomenon to the world stage play. The Black Box Theatre first burst in to World Theatre in 1950s in America. Almost any warehouse or open space in any building can be transformed into a Black Box Theatre. This may even include abandoned stores, cafes or even your house itself. Therefore, it is very appealing for nonprofit, low-income artists. When it first burst in to the scene, it created whole different segment of dramatists. The Black Box Theatre provided them with a very feasible and affordable way to showcase their talents. Sharing his professional expertise, M Safeer explained:

“Back then, the Black Box Theatre touched hearts of many common people. The theatre talked of people’s problems. It was not restricted to the elite high-class. The impact made by the Black Box Theatre is such that it was even able to challenge the esteemed Broadway Theatre.”

The challenge was such that the elite class tried to halt the growing popularity of the Black Box Theatre. To counter the challenge put against the Broadway, they turned the Black Box drama in to an academic genre, only to be shown in universities. This made it accessible only for scholars. The move to make it an academic genre did give it some recognition and validity. But it halted the growth of Black Box Theatre and prevented common people from having easy access to the Black Box Theatre. However, during nineteen sixties and seventies, the Black Box Theatre caught the attention of the European dramatists.

They saw the positive side of the black box theatre. Europeans implemented the Black Box Theatre in their soil. They embraced ‘The Black Box Theatre’ within a very short span of time. During a very short time period, they set up number of Black Box Theatres at regional level. Even today the Black Box Theatre is a popular way of dramatizing their stage play. However the first hand experience on European Black Box Theatre aroused Safeer’s curiosity and spurred him to experiment with the Black Box Theatre in Sri Lanka,” I didn’t go to Europe to study Black Box Theatre. In-fact it was something that caught my attention by sheer coincidence. But it was very appealing to me and I felt the genre is ideal to rejuvenate the Sri Lnkan modern art.” Safeer said.

After gaining much needed acumen on the Black Box stage play, Safeer showcased his first black box drama in 2008 at a very experimental level. The Sinhalese translation of Manuel Schobel’s ‘Beanpole Really Really Wants to…’ is considered to be the first ever Black Box stage play in Sri Lankan theatre. Starting from there, he alongside with his young mates in ‘Inter Act Art’ society has gifted many black box stage dramas to the Sri Lankan art.

‘The Sri Lankan Theatre Festival 2011’ organized by the Interact Art Society will feature some of their unique theatrical performances in their own Black Box Theatre in Rajagiriya. These dramas include Pompenia, Beany, Zippy the Zebra, Mey Aliyata Geyak Oni, Caged etc.

Safeer believes that Black Box Theatre has the ability to attract people to the modern art. “People still do love art. True, the modern hectic, life style has drawn them away from theatre, cinema and art.

But I firmly believe that the Black Box Theatre can create a great impact and draw people towards the theatre. We can create Black Box theatres at regional level. Not only will it provide people with easy access to the drama, it will also create a new set of dramatists at regional level.”

Twirling with drama