The references
We need to do research on many parts of the play. It is an overall study carried out to get to the depth of the subject. We may have to visit places, meet people, read books, see movies, videos, and do a search on the internet.
References
Dear friends, when we have decided to achieve a specific goal; we need to work hard. We may have to do a continuous study, take prompt actions, and get the things done to their best.
It is said that the playwright has to get into the actors' role while writing a play. He has to do all the roles that he is writing. Of course, in his mind. Imagine how observant he has to be. How much concentration does he need?
The participative approach of playwriting at least for some time changes this. Here the actors turn into playwright. Every actor creates his lines. The language selected is of his choice. The actor, on his own, investigates the subject during improvisations and adds his contribution to the play. This means all the actors, and sometimes the backstage people participate in the process of the playwriting.
Some subjects are not familiar to us. Even the terminology is different. You need to learn new things and find the facts to make use of them. As a theatre person, you have an opportunity to explore everything around. I think that is what the theatre means, and which is its strength. Theatre, when we see it on stage, is like a small version of the world or more than that. Because it explores both the seen and unseen world, on stage, you may have to go anywhere and may have to speak any language and act as anybody. Being in theatre means you have this potential to become as you wish. You are supposed to play any role, and that role does not enter in you on its own. You need to make efforts. We are here to know those.
If the story selected is from history, we have to take proper care to put our images to match the particular period. The study will tell you about the clothes, sets and other property at that time.
When we did plays in which we portrayed characters from the history of the period some hundred years back, we had to see their pictures and their writings available in books, and we chose the clothes, the language, and other details matching their times. Here one has to spend enough time get the right books for reference.
Mythological characters will take you back to an imaginary past. That will make you read those old books to know about the characters and their background. If you are performing a play of present time, you need to catch the atmosphere which suits your theme
There was a theme on the life of fishers. We have the sea about thirty kilometers away, and we had very little knowledge about how they do their work. We were more interested now with the script idea in our hand. We visited the sea to see how they take care of the small boats. When they go to work and when they come back.
`A Landscape ' references
Once decided that we were going with `the birds,' we did all possible we could do.
We read and wrote poems on birds.
We tried to draw different birds on paper.
Playing with the clay and making small birds from it made our day!
We Collected and read books on birds.
We saw birds on the internet and found sites to hear their sounds or calls.
We tried to notice and name the birds we saw around.
We searched birds by their calls.
We tried to make similar sounds ourselves.
Students brought feathers and nests they found somewhere around, and we discussed those.
Stories about birds were searched and read.
Students now knew the word `ornithology' and even the experiments done on birds were familiar to us now.
We read about bird sanctuaries. Some of us visited the nearest sanctuary at Panajim, Goa.