Arts
The ‘Chatroom’ just got edgier
Director’s vision: Tasmin Anthonisz Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
In 2007 Mind Adventures Theatre Company took on Enda Walsh’s “Chatroom”. The teen-centric play’s focus on cyber bullying and suicide explored through the self-descriptive ‘Chatroom’ were still vague concepts for 15- year-old Tasmin Anthonisz who sat transfixed in the audience. But a decade later, she can vividly recall the captivating set and effects. Of spotlights fading on and off the equally cryptic teenagers, leaving a lasting effect on her- now as a young director.
Next month Tasmin will bring to life her own vision for “Chatroom”, revamping it for a 2017 audience. Growing up in Colombo, she dabbled in drama- both acting and directing at her alma mater- Ladies’ College. Although she spent her early 20’s in the UK for her higher education, Tasmin occasionally took on the director’s reins in many of Theatre Junction’s plays- Dead Man’s Cellphone and Time and Motion.
Before watching Chatroom, Tasmin’s first taste of theatre came with her role as a munchkin in the Wendy Whatmore production of The Wiz (2007). But Tasmin was more intrigued by the drive of director Tracy Holsinger. “There’s something about the stubborn dedication a director has towards their vision,” she explains energetically, relishing the demand for perfection that comes with the job.
Her previous productions together with Theatre Junction have never stuck to a conventional genre. Instead her choices of scripts have always leaned towards the modern and the unsuspecting complexity of the everyday. Her gravitation towards the dark and gritty wasn’t sudden, but was a natural inclination. “Whenever I watch a movie, I don’t watch for entertainment,” she says. Her favourite movies such as V for Vendetta and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (which inspired her to study film) create a connection beyond the screen.
If you do peek into a Chatroom rehearsal, don’t be alarmed if it looks nothing like an intense play in the making. Practice time for the cast involves equal amounts of improvisation exercises alongside the usual blocking and rehearsing. The comic scenes and ad-libbing that goes on allows the six actors to add layers and nuances to their angsty young counterparts.
When they are rehearsing, the six actors stare back with teenage defiance, the all-important phone in hand or sprawled around the living room that is their rehearsal space. For the director, herself looking like one of Walsh’s characters, cross legged on a sofa, the space is strategic. “Art should be about changing perceptions, about evolving,” she says.
The ‘Chatroom’ taking shape. Pic by Ranjith Perera
To say that the audience will have a good view of the play is an understatement. Taking place at The Sooriya Village’s dining room, Tasmin’s vision is akin to a coffee house full of the ‘busy quiet’ of texting, typing or instagramming away. The menacing dialogue cuts through the 50 seater room. The characters, spread across, make it all the more casual. The script viciously funny, sometimes pleading or oozing with the smart aleck wit of every 15-year-old. The intimate space, allows words to cut through or fly past your shoulder. Tasmin’s artistic idea then only forces every audience member to be that one inactive person on a group chat who watches the initially casual banter blow up into something more dangerous. All against the constant bloops of message tones and tap of the keyboard.
The script’s relevance is why it stayed in Tasmin’s mind from a decade ago at the British School Auditorium. It would re-emerge in her memory while studying at the University of Manchester. Having transferred to Manchester from Liverpool, Tasmin admits that the move challenged her usually shy, reserved nature. During that time, her grandmother passed away. “It was the first time I experienced a close death” but she found comfort in a friend who had gone through a similar experience. The two would grow close; chatting on social media till a bout of miscommunication caused a rift in their friendship. “It can really have an impact on someone,” she remembers how vulnerable she felt during that difficult period.
For the director, the cast and the audience, Chatroom is all too familiar of the invisible struggles of growing up as a millennial, or the constant worry a parent faces from the moment their child learns to Google search. For Tasmin, it is also a chance to try a few ideas she has been holding onto during her undergrad days. Her idea for the play and its direction began back at the Student Union bar of the University of Manchester. Together with other creatives she would workshop the idea, a concept she hopes to start here with her new project- ‘Studiolusion’. Their Facebook page just launched, the creative lab will allow artists to bring in their creative pieces in the making where their fellow artists will help workshop the idea and provide friendly feedback- a support system for the budding writer, director, musician, dancer, etc.
When the play takes the stage or rather the dining room in two weeks’ time, Tasmin only hopes the thriller will reach out to someone watching. “Art has to reflect society,” she sums it up.
Studiolusion presents Chatroom by Enda Walsh on April 6-7 at the Sooriya Village. The play is in support of Sri Lanka Sumithrayo. Tickets will be available online on takas.lk from March 30.