July 05 - South Asian American Theatre opens in Seattle

Pratidhwani, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and cultivation of performing arts from the Indian sub-continent staged a Hindi play titled HATYAARE over the weekend of July 15,16 and 17, 2005 at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre in Seattle. ‘Hatyaare’ – Hindi for ‘assassins’ or ‘murderers’ is a play set in mid 1980s, in New Delhi.

This was Pratidhwani’s Drama wing’s ( HYPERLINK "http://www.pratidhwani.org/Drama.htm" http://www.pratidhwani.org/Drama.htm) first main stage play in Hindi and it created a tremendous buzz in the Indian community in and around the Seattle area. A total of 4 shows were performed over the 3 day weekend – two in the evenings, and two matinee shows. All four shows attracted a significant size audience with both evening shows nearly selling out to capacity.

“Every organizer hopes to sell out their event. But most don’t expect it. We didn’t either. In fact, we had to get additional tickets and programs printed after a couple of shows, because the response from the audience was much greater than we expected. But honestly, we were not surprised”, said Agastya Kohli, who directed and produced the play.

The auditions for hatyaare were held in late February and early March, and the rehearsals continued from mid March through mid July. A cast of 11 played 13 different characters, supported by a production team of six.

The play received a lot of praise from every one who came to watch.

“We attended the opening show. Loved it! Presentation was tight and interesting, and the quality of acting was quite superb.” – Srivani Jade

“…my congratulations to Agastya and to the cast and crew of hatyaare. Nicely done and nicely acted! You all put together a laudable production and made the first official Hindi play in Seattle a success. Your enthusiasm was obvious and contagious and you ran an efficient and organized ship! Bravo!” – Sneha Mathan

“…I enjoyed watching the play… I think everyone did a very good job… I totally laud your efforts and you all should be very proud of the success that has come out of all the hard work.” – Joyce Paul

“I cannot recall in the recent past where I have spent a more worthwhile $7 and gotten so much more in return. Kumar and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It turned out to surpass all our expectations…three cheers for directing a totally entertaining and thought provoking piece.....I look forward to more of the same.” – Soujanya Yerra

“Aapko hatyaare ke prabal manchan par bahut bahut shubhkaamnayein. Bahut aanand aaya itne samay baad ek hindi naatak dekhkar… Waah! … Seattle kshetra ke pravasi Bharatiyon ko lekar itna saksham manchan bahut hi saraahniya hai. Main aasha karta hoon ki aapki agli prastuti ko dekhne ka su-avasar sheeghra milega.” – Mausam

“With the staging of Hatyaare, the Indian community in the Puget Sound area should certainly feel a closing of an important cultural gap. While Indian music and dance has thrived in the region, the absence of professional theater has been strongly felt. It is particularly creditable that the actors were only doing this part-time while managing their demanding careers and family life. … Hatyaare also achieved social commentary through its critique of middle class hypocrisy and lop-sided values. For those in the audience who largely come from such backgrounds, the play rang too true at times. The characters reminded us of people we knew- a sure sign that the play connected.” – Sandeep Krishnamurthy

“It was indeed a great pleasure watching hatyaare. More than anything else, it made me feel proud to see that we have so much of talent available in our area. You guys are doing an excellent job of promoting talent and Indian culture amongst people. Keep up the great work.” – Abhijit Karagudri

The million dollar question now is what’s next!? The Pratidhwani Drama Wing is not ready to announce the next production just yet, but what ever they do next, and whenever it hits the stage, it is destined to attract even more attention.

The bar for Indian theatre in Seattle has been set very high.

HATYAARE - Credits:

Written by: Dr. Narendra Kohli
Directed by: Agastya Kohli

Cast
Banarsidas Mukesh DimriShanti Nanda Tewari
Anil Pankaj Kakkar
Shalini Leena Dhingra Gray
Suresh Vikas Khandelwal
Paresh Vineet Srivastava
Urmila/Stree 1 Sakina Sadat Hussain
Vaijayanti/ Stree 2 Tulsi Keshkamat
Khanna Binu Chacko
Purush 1 Shobhit Agarwal
Purush 2 Arvind Ranasaria

Production Team
Director Agastya Kohli
Stage Manager Sanjay Mishra
Lighting Design Junaid Malik
Costume Coordinator Monika Bargaonkar
Scenic Design/Props Manager Shruti Dixit
Publicity/ PR Lubdha Khandelwal
Sakina Sadat Hussain
Shruti Dixit
House Manager Lubdha Khandelwal

Questions? Email



	Pratidhwani’s ‘Hatyaare’ Kills! Pratidhwani, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and cultivation of performing arts from the Indian sub-continent staged a Hindi play titled HATYAARE over the weekend of July 15,16 and 17, 2005 at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre in Seattle. ‘Hatyaare’ – Hindi for ‘assassins’ or ‘murderers’ is a play set in mid 1980s, in New Delhi. This was Pratidhwani’s Drama wing’s ( HYPERLINK "http://www.pratidhwani.org/Drama.htm" http://www.pratidhwani.org/Drama.htm) first main stage play in Hindi and it created a tremendous buzz in the Indian community in and around the Seattle area. A total of 4 shows were performed over the 3 day weekend – two in the evenings, and two matinee shows. All four shows attracted a significant size audience with both evening shows nearly selling out to capacity. “Every organizer hopes to sell out their event. But most don’t expect it. We didn’t either. In fact, we had to get additional tickets and programs printed after a couple of shows, because the response from the audience was much greater than we expected. But honestly, we were not surprised”, said Agastya Kohli, who directed and produced the play. The auditions for hatyaare were held in late February and early March, and the rehearsals continued from mid March through mid July. A cast of 11 played 13 different characters, supported by a production team of six. The play received a lot of praise from every one who came to watch. “We attended the opening show. Loved it! Presentation was tight and interesting, and the quality of acting was quite superb.” – Srivani Jade “…my congratulations to Agastya and to the cast and crew of hatyaare. Nicely done and nicely acted! You all put together a laudable production and made the first official Hindi play in Seattle a success. Your enthusiasm was obvious and contagious and you ran an efficient and organized ship! Bravo!” – Sneha Mathan “…I enjoyed watching the play… I think everyone did a very good job… I totally laud your efforts and you all should be very proud of the success that has come out of all the hard work.” – Joyce Paul “I cannot recall in the recent past where I have spent a more worthwhile $7 and gotten so much more in return. Kumar and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It turned out to surpass all our expectations…three cheers for directing a totally entertaining and thought provoking piece.....I look forward to more of the same.” – Soujanya Yerra “Aapko hatyaare ke prabal manchan par bahut bahut shubhkaamnayein. Bahut aanand aaya itne samay baad ek hindi naatak dekhkar… Waah! … Seattle kshetra ke pravasi Bharatiyon ko lekar itna saksham manchan bahut hi saraahniya hai. Main aasha karta hoon ki aapki agli prastuti ko dekhne ka su-avasar sheeghra milega.” – Mausam “With the staging of Hatyaare, the Indian community in the Puget Sound area should certainly feel a closing of an important cultural gap. While Indian music and dance has thrived in the region, the absence of professional theater has been strongly felt. It is particularly creditable that the actors were only doing this part-time while managing their demanding careers and family life. … Hatyaare also achieved social commentary through its critique of middle class hypocrisy and lop-sided values. For those in the audience who largely come from such backgrounds, the play rang too true at times. The characters reminded us of people we knew- a sure sign that the play connected.” – Sandeep Krishnamurthy “It was indeed a great pleasure watching hatyaare. More than anything else, it made me feel proud to see that we have so much of talent available in our area. You guys are doing an excellent job of promoting talent and Indian culture amongst people. Keep up the great work.” – Abhijit Karagudri The million dollar question now is what’s next!? The Pratidhwani Drama Wing is not ready to announce the next production just yet, but what ever they do next, and whenever it hits the stage, it is destined to attract even more attention. The bar for Indian theatre in Seattle has been set very high. HATYAARE - Credits: Written by: Dr. Narendra Kohli Directed by: Agastya Kohli Cast Banarsidas Mukesh DimriShanti Nanda Tewari Anil Pankaj Kakkar Shalini Leena Dhingra Gray Suresh Vikas Khandelwal Paresh Vineet Srivastava Urmila/Stree 1 Sakina Sadat Hussain Vaijayanti/ Stree 2 Tulsi Keshkamat Khanna Binu Chacko Purush 1 Shobhit Agarwal Purush 2 Arvind Ranasaria Production Team Director Agastya Kohli Stage Manager Sanjay Mishra Lighting Design Junaid Malik Costume Coordinator Monika Bargaonkar Scenic Design/Props Manager Shruti Dixit Publicity/ PR Lubdha Khandelwal Sakina Sadat Hussain Shruti Dixit House Manager Lubdha Khandelwal Home \| News \| Calendar \| Directory \| Library \| Plays Copyright 2005, Roger W. Tang Questions? Email

Pratidhwani’s ‘Hatyaare’ Kills!