A teacher of theatre, director and actor, Vidyanidhee Vanarase, also known as Prasad, is taking students of Madhya Pradesh School of Drama, Bhopal, deep into the world of Anton Chekov. The play, Suhane Afsaney, which he is directing with them is based on short stories of the Russian playwright. Every so often, Prasad receives a visit, message or call congratulating him on his latest achievement— becoming the vice president, Asia-Pacific, of the International Theatre Institute (ITI). He is the first Indian theatre practitioner to join the executive board of the institution.
ITI was founded in 1948 as an initiative of UNESCO soon after the end of World War II. The iron curtain separated the East and the West and chill winds of the Cold War blew over all nations. ITI aimed at creating platforms to foster international exchange and education in performing arts for professional artistes and beginners alike. In a world riven with political turmoil, ITI sought to engage the arts to create an environment of peace. Today, ITI is one of the largest networks of theater professionals from around the world.
“This is an important opportunity in terms of developing more possibilities for regional theatre in terms of global theatre. I will try to create more collaborative projects among artistes from India and other countries,” says Prasad, over phone from Bhopal. At present, 10 Asian countries are a part of the ITI network and Prasad says he will try to bring in other countries. “There is a possibility of the Indian Peninsula to develop an independent creative project involving Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and so on,” he says. “Most of the times we look at the West when it comes to international work. But there are many more possibilities of cultural and creative exchanges with the eastern and oriental world. We need to explore possibilities within Asia Pacific region,” he adds.
In Pune, the presence of the ITI is evident annually at the IAPAR International Theatre Festival of which Prasad is the founder-director. In the last seven to eight years, the festival has had experts attending from 36 countries, showing their works, conducting workshops and lecture-demonstrations and interacting with artistes and audiences in the city. ITI has enabled performers from India to travel abroad.
Prasad was introduced to theatre early as his mother, Dr Shyamala Vanarase, used to write and act in plays. He began to participate in workshops and act with a Pune-based organisation for children, Shishuranjan, till 1984, when he joined college. He participated in theatre competitions such as Purshottam Karandak, which gave him exposure to theatre. He joined the National School of Drama. “As an artiste, I like to explore the possibilities of human relationships. I look at how people interact with each other and try to find an understanding of life,” he says.
