Lavina Jadhwani is a Chicago-based director; her primary areas of focus include developing new plays and culturally specific work. Lavina is the Artistic Director of Rasaka Theatre Company, an Associate Artist at Silk Road Theatre Project and serves on the Steering Committee for the South Asian Theatre Arts Movement. Her work with Rasaka includes directing and curating the Chicago premiere of Yoni Ki Baat and the world premiere of culture/clash, the nation’s first fully produced South Asian short play festival. Lavina received LMDA awards for her work on Merchant on Venice at Silk Road and Urinetown and Arcadia at Carnegie Mellon University. She has been a finalist for the Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship, the 3Arts Artist Awards and the Luce Scholars Program. Lavina’s work has been seen at Apple Tree (The Devil’s Arithmetic, Number the Stars, Where the Red Fern Grows), Bailiwick (Kissing), Chicago Dramatists (Gandhi Marg), Remy Bumppo (thinkTank 2007 and 2008), the side project (Kiss, Yes to Everything, Before or After the Zygote), Stage Left (Foundations) and Victory Gardens (Access Project 2007 and 2008). As an assistant director, she has worked with Barbara Gaines, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott and Chay Yew. Lavina has taught classes in acting, directing, dramaturgy and production design at Northlight Theatre, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Reizenstein Academy, Carnegie Mellon University and the National High School Institute at Northwestern University (the “Cherub” program). She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (BFA, Drama; Masters, Arts Management) and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

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Acclaimed as the greatest of Sanskrit poets, Kalidasa is renowned for the descriptive beauty of his work. His sensitivity and eloquence in treating the themes of love and the sanctity of nature are best expressed in his lengthy lyric poem Meghaduta (The Cloud-Messenger) and in his drama Sakuntala. The latter work, considered the finest of the seven compositions attributed to him, was one of the first Sanskrit writings to be translated into modern European languages. The play was lauded as a masterpiece by the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and prompted William Jones’s estimation of Kalidasa as “the Shakespeare of India.” The Cloud-Messenger, especially well received by Kalidasa’s contemporaries, garnered similar laurels upon its translation into Western European languages and remains Kalidasa’s most popular poetic work.

Virtually nothing is known of Kalidasa’s personal life. Various legend-based biographies of the poet exist, the most popular of these identifying him as one of the “nine gems,” a group of first-century B.C. scientists and artists who resided at the court of King Vikramaditya of Ujjain, a legendary patron of the arts who may himself have been a mythical personage. More specifically, Kalidasa’s play Malavikagnimitra (Malivika and Agnimitra), whose hero Agnimitra was the second king of the Sunga dynasty, indicates with certainty that the author lived sometime after about 150 B.C., the approximate date of Agnimitra’s reign.

Kalidasa’s style has been the subject of many twentieth-century critical studies. Scholars point out that Kalidasa, who wrote essentially for an aristocratic audience, sought to convey positive and noble aspects of Indic culture, limiting himself to lofty themes and subjects. Some critics have asserted that Kalidasa’s achievement was limited by the narrow focus of his works. Most critics, however, cite the many moving accounts of mourning and despair in Kalidasa’s works as evidence that he recognized suffering as the lot of humanity. They further contend that Kalidasa’s religio-philosophical understanding of suffering as expiation of past wrongs led to his essentially deterministic view of spiritual emancipation through trial and hardship. Because he intended his heroes and heroines to serve as inspirational models of morality as well as perseverance, Kalidasa selected characters who were legendary or divine personages. Although critics continue to debate the breadth and universality of Kalidasa’s philosophy, they are virtually unanimous in their praise of his artistry.

The claim that the ancient Athenians invented drama may hold true for the West, but Indian writers argue that theater was highly developed even earlier in Sanskrit. No plays survive from those early times, however, and the dates of Kalidasa, the greatest of the Sanskrit playwright, while much disputed, are clearly centuries later–perhaps a millennium later–than Aeschylus and his fellow tragic writers. Abhijnanasakuntalam and Kalidasa’s other plays were written for a refined court audience. The dialogue of the upper-class characters was delivered in Sanskrit, the classical language, and that of women and commoners in prakrit, the common speech. Despite these lofty origins, Kalidasa’s plays have remained popular.

There is no tradition of tragedy in India, and Kalidasa’s plays always have happy endings. In Hinduism, everyone has an infinite number of chances to achieve enlightenment and liberation from the wheel of rebirth. A life that ends badly is only a prologue to another opportunity. Hence the basic premises on which tragedy is based are lacking.

Sakuntala is by far the best-known of Kalidasa’s plays. In Delhi there is a modern auditorium called the “Sakuntalam Theater.” The play was translated into German and English in the 18th Century, and greatly impressed the great poet and playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was influenced by it to create an “introduction in the theater” to his Faust and helped to spread knowledge of Kalidasa in the West. The initial consonant is pronounced “sh,” and you will often see the title rendered as “Shakuntala.”

Just as ancient Greek drama was part of a religious ritual (honoring Dionysus), so there is a religious aspect to classical Hindu drama. The play begins with a hymn of blessing which would have been sung rather than recited. The play would have been enhanced throughout by dances and songs. The “Benediction” is addressed to Lord Siva in his eight Rudras, or forms, mentioned each in turn and listed in the footnote on p. 169. The Creator is Brahma, who otherwise plays little role in Hindu devotions. Note the insistence on the multifaceted nature of the divine, so different from the Islamic insistence on its unity. For the devout Hindu, this play is more than a captivating love story: it is a religious drama on at least two levels. On the simplest level it teaches the doctrine of karma, that our experiences are influenced by our acts earlier in this life and in past lives. It is also an allegory of the relationship between the worshiper and the sacred. Each play is also expected to convey a certain set of emotions and attitudes called a rasa. Here the rasa is composed of various forms of eroticism and love. It also has a political aspect in that the playwright is flattering the royal line of the ruler for whom he is writing.

Source: Kalidasa: The Loom of Time. Penguin Books.

Brian LaDuca (associate member – SDC) is the Managing Director and Directing Instructor for University Theater at the University of Chicago and Lead Coordinator of the Joseph Jefferson Awards Artistic/Technical Team. In addition to co-curating the International Voices Project and directing the Canadian piece NIGHT by Christopher Morris, he directed the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Logan Arts Center at the University of Chicago where he recently was the Text Coach for a premiere collaboration between theatre students at the University of Chicago and Tony Kushner on Kushner’s new play BUT, THE GIRAFFE. He next will be assistant directing David H. Bell on HOT MIKADO at Drury Lane Oakbrook and directing ROMEO & JULIET for Babes With Blades in April 2011. He directed (with David Walters) the Chicago company premiere of RENT for NightBlue Theatre at the Theatre Building Chicago; other recent credits include directing and assistant directing at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Northlight Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and Northwestern University. Brian has produced and directed productions in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, and Illinois. Brian holds an MFA in Directing for the Stage and Screen from the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and a BFA in Performance Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. From 2000-2008 he was the Producing Artistic Director for C’est La Vie Drama in Chicago and the Artistic Director of Theatrix (Lincoln, NE) where he originated the now annual New Artists Festival at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln focusing on the development of new work by local Nebraska playwrights.

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Theatre is not only a way to build bridges between cultures, but a tool for artistic and cultural empowerment. One of Human Cargo’s objectives is to use the creation of new works as a means to expose and discuss social and political issues in the hopes of sparking an innovative theatrical/cultural/social movement that inspires audiences to re-evaluate their personal and global perspectives of the human condition. There has never been a production like Night in Toronto and Canada’s history; a play developed in Nunavut with Inuk and Southern Canadian performers, with material created in Inuktitut and then presented by its Inuk performer in Inuktitut to audiences in the South (when Night premiered in Ottawa it was the first time Inuktitut was spoken on our National Theatre’s stage). There is great value for Southern audiences to be exposed to an Inuk actress and the personal story she is telling about life in Nunavut and for Northern audiences to gain a deeper insight into the motivations behind many of Southern Canada’s erroneous actions. Throughout the January premiere and tour of Northern Canada, Night had a powerful impact on our audiences. People would stop us on the streets of Ottawa, Yellowknife and Whitehorse to talk to us at length about how the play made them feel and what it made them think about. I’ve been flooded by emails from audience members needing to share their thoughts and feelings about the play. Night is striking a cord in Northern and Southern Canadian audiences because it bluntly asks them to question how we as a nation can move forward from our wounded past into a healthy future.

I can say without a doubt that Night has had a profound impact on the participating artists. The merits of working in self-created theatre are profound. The majority of work we do as actors, designers and directors are on plays we’re hired to stage and often on a script that we have no personal investment in. Because the performers in Night created their characters and developed their own material, it has forged a deep sense ownership and emotional investment in the piece.

Enjoy the play!

Christopher Morris

Night’s Creation Process by Christopher Morris

Night is a bi-lingual, cross-cultural production that explores the complex and precarious relationship that exists between Southern Canadians and Inuit. With a cast of four (an Inuk actress, a First Nations actor, a Southern Canadian actress and a Southern Canadian dancer) Night is presented in English and Inuktitut (with English surtitles) and runs an hour and twenty minutes in length. Developed over six years with a diverse group of theatre artists from Nunavut, Iceland and Southern Canada, Night was created in the darkness of the arctic winter during two four-week workshops in Pond Inlet, Nunavut and one four-week workshop in Akureyri, Iceland in collaboration with The Akureyri Playhouse. Developing Night over the last five years has made me realize the inherent value in bringing different cultures and communities closer together through socially engaging theatre. The opportunity to spend months collaborating with multi-disciplinary theatre creators from other cultures has enabled a group of performance artists to explore difficult subjects like suicide, cultural guilt and racism in a safe, artistic environment.
As an evolving theatre practitioner I’m continually trying to shake loose from the shackles of Canadian theatre’s historical practice of rigid British-influenced theatre. I find great freedom and endless possibility when working on cross-cultural theatre creations for the simple fact that there are no one else’s words to interpret or a dominant theatre style to create in; it’s a blank slate, an opportunity to re-define one’s theatrical language.

We are kicking it into high gear here at the International Voices Project… bringing you an amazing US premiere of the Canadian original, NIGHT, only a week after a hugely successful evening at the Japanese Consulate General at Chicago. This week it is IVP’s pleasure to present you a very inside look at the creation process behind NIGHT. Today, Tuesday and Wednesday you will get an amazingly thorough background into the development of this deep look into the Inuit culture of Northern Canada as well as getting a closer look at both playwright Christopher Morris and director Brian LaDuca. Please enjoy part one of this three day look into NIGHT.
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Night is a cross-cultural theatre creation that explores the clash between Inuit and Southern Canadian culture. Created by theatre artists from Nunavut, Iceland and Southern Canada, Night was developed over three years during four four-week creation workshops in the arctic darkness of Pond Inlet, Nunavut and Akureyri, Iceland. Night premiered at the National Arts Centre in January/2010 as part of their 2009/2010 Season and then toured to the community of Inuvik (North West Territories), the Northern Arts and Culture Centre (Yellowknife) and the Yukon Arts Centre (Whitehorse). In June/2010, Night will represent Canada at Chicago’s International Theatre Festival The International Voices Project (www.ptapchicago.org/ivp/). Night has been invited to perform at Iqaluit’s Alianait Arts Festival (Nunavut) in June/2010, and following this, will tour to the communities of Pond Inlet and Iglulik, Nunavut. It is part of the Thousand Islands Playhouse (www.1000islandsplayhouse.com) 2010 Season and will perform there in September/2010. Following this Night will tour to the Akureyri Playhouse (www.leikfelag.is) in Northern Iceland. Night is poised to make its Toronto debut at the Factory Theatre in April/2011.

Creation History

Three of Night’s five creation workshops have been completed to date. Workshop #1 took place in Pond Inlet, Nunavut from February 17th – March 18th, 2007. Directed by Christopher Morris, the creative team included the Southern Canadian Theatre Artists Michelle Fisk and Benjamin Clost, Inuit Theatre Artists Lamech Kadloo and Annabella Piugattuk and German Film Artist Holly Nullmeyer. A public presentation was given at the end of this four-week creation process. During this creation period, the ensemble of artists conducted Youth Workshops for the youth of Pond Inlet. Thirteen youth from Nasivvik High School created a twenty-minute play that dealt with searching for a balance between traditional and modern ways of life. It was presented to the community of Pond Inlet before the Night Workshop Presentation on March 16th, 2007.

Workshop #2 took place in Akureyri, Iceland from January 6th – February 5th, 2008 in collaboration with The Akureyri Playhouse (www.leikfelag.is). Directed by Christopher Morris the creative team included Southern Canadian Theatre Artists Jennifer Morehouse and Dancer Susanna Hood, Inuit Theatre Artist Lamech Kadloo, Icelandic Theatre Artists Gudjon Palmarsson and Anna Svava, German Film Artist Holly Nullmeyer and Southern Canadian Designer Gillian Gallow. A public presentation was given at the end of this four-week creation process.

Workshop #3 took place over four weeks from January 12th to February 7th, 2009 in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. Directed by Christopher Morris the creative team included Inuk actors Abbie Ootova and Kakki Peter, Icelandic actor Gudjon Palmarsson, Southern Canadian dancer Linnea Swan, German Film artist Sven Nullmeyer and Toronto designers Gillian Gallow and Michelle Ramsay. The ensemble of artists conducted Theatre Workshops with the youth of Pond Inlet, culminating in a short play that was presented to the community of Pond Inlet before the Night Workshop presentation on Saturday, February 7th, 2009.

Workshop #4 consisted of two Dramaturgical Sessions that took place at the National Arts Centre/Ottawa. Session #1 took place from May 18th – May 31st, 2009 and Session #2 took place from September 7th – September 19th, 2009. During these times Night’s Director/Playwright Christopher Morris worked closely with the National Arts Centre’s Artistic Director Peter Hinton and Company Dramaturge Paula Dankert to develop the workshop material into a script.

Workshop #5 took place over six weeks from November 30th, 2009 concluding on Night’s world premiere on January 7th, 2010. Directed by Christopher Morris the creative team included Inuk Theatre Artists Abbie Ootova and Michelle Monteith, First Nations Theatre Artist Mike Bernier, Southern Canadian dancer Linnea Swan, Southern Canadian Theatre Designers Gillian Gallow, Michelle Ramsay and Lyon Smith and was stage managed by Melissa Rood and Elizabeth McDermott. During this rehearsal process the script was furthered developed, fully designed, staged and presented to audiences in Ottawa, Inuvik, Yellowknife and Whitehorse.

Steve Scott is the Associate Producer of Goodman Theatre, where he has overseen more than 150 productions; he is also a member of Goodman’s Artistic Collective. His Goodman directing credits include Horton Foote’s Blind Date; Rabbit Hole; Binky Rudich and the Two-Speed Clock and No One Will Be Immune for the David Mamet Festival; Dinner With Friends; Wit; the world premiere of Tom Mula’s Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol; A Midsummer Night’s Dream (co-directed with Michael Maggio); and four seasons of A Christmas Carol. Other recent directing credits include Souvenir at Northlight Theatre; Buried Child and Dealer’s Choice for Shattered Globe Theatre; The DNA Trail and Yohen for Silk Road Theatre Company; Frozen for The Next Theatre Company; A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing for the St. Lawrence (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival; The Teapot Scandals of 1923 and Falsettos for Porchlight Theatre; Ah, Wilderness!, God’s Country, and Judgment at Nuremberg for the Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University’s College of Performing Arts (where he is a faculty member); and a number of productions for the Eclipse Theatre (where he is an ensemble member), including John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation, Rebecca Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl, Keith Reddin’s Big Time, Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite, and Lanford Wilson’s The Moonshot Tapes. He has directed for a variety of other companies, including Theatre Wit, the Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, National Jewish Theatre, Theater at the Center, Lifeline Theatre, Organic Touchstone Theatre, and the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. Mr. Scott has served on panels for the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, the Chicago Council on Fine Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trust/Philadelphia Theatre Initiative. He is a member of the Jeff Committee’s Artist and Technical Team, a board member of Season of Concern, and an associate artist with About Face, Chicago Dramatists, and Colllaboraction Theatre companies. He was one of six resident directors for WBEZ’s series Stories on Stage, and has contributed articles to a variety of publications, including the Encyclopedia of Chicago. Mr. Scott is the recipient of five Jeff nominations, an After Dark Award, and the Illinois Theatre Association’s Award of Honor. As an actor, he most recently appeared in The Next Theatre’s production of Are You Now or Have You Ever Been…? (Jeff Award for Outstanding Ensemble). Upcoming projects include After the Fall for Eclipse, A Delicate Balance for Redtwist, and David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face for Silk Road.

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Below are some thrilling images from our sold out France performance at the Alliance Française on May 27th, 2010. The performance was a US premiere of the French playwright Matei Visniec’s WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH CELLO? directed by Max Truax in partnership with Trap Door Theatre and it was witnessed by nearly 150 individuals. The creativity behind the reading was second-to-none and lifted the play off the script and into the laps of all in attendance. Please enjoy these wonderful photos.

Part 2 of the the 3 part series tracing MOONLIGHT MODESTY’s translation into a English language U.S. premiere
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Then the next step was to talk with Steve Scott, the director, and Brian LaDuca, the Producer. Steve, Brian, and I have been having international meetings over the phone, and have been exchanging questions andopinions, and making choices on phrasing or words. In my previous blog, I talked about the “omission of a subject” in Japanese. When we do say a subject, however, there are many expressions that describe one subject. For example, there would be at least eight words to say “you”, depend on a social status and a relationship between the speakers! Also, there were countless exclamatory lines, such as “ah”, “hmm” and “mm”. One of the most important tasks in these meetings was to clarify the interpretation of those lines, which cannot be translated differently in English, but can be made distinctions only by the way actors read them. I know Steve’s script is full of notes about those nuances. There are variety of very interesting stories I’d like to talk about from our meetings, but I’ll share one of them with you today. One of the characters was describing how she felt when she was passing out. The literal translation of the original Japanese line was “Everything went white.” Can you see where I’m going? In the final draft, Steve and I agreed upon saying “Everything went black.” We both had to laugh how interesting and intricate this process was!
I hope you enjoy the atmosphere of this play, Moonlight Modesty, and that this will be an introduction for your further interest in Japan.