Make me your puppet ...

These days the center of my life these days is my Acting class.

We have done a myriad of ingenious exercises so far in the course of the class…but there’s this one… so close to my heart…I am compelled to write about it. This one not only opened the knowledge doors to the art of controlled behavior and creating story from still poses, but touched my soul in an inexplicable way and also gushed a thousand feelings at the same time.

My very wonderful teacher has christened it as “the puppet and the puppeteer exercise” – where each one gets a chance to be the puppet and the puppeteer.

The puppeteer’s task is to bring their puppets to life, every single part to life and modeling the puppets in such a way so as to create a story.

When the puppet, you are a piece of clay with no brain, no imagination of your own. Just a still body for your puppeteer to model. As a puppet you have no sense of what next, no thought to be acted upon. Just be still and let your puppeteer move, carve, model you… every part of your body is in control of the puppeteer. Every finger…every toe…body posture...facial expression!!

The task of the puppeteer is more complex as it involves a lot of imagination, pliancy and creativity. Even though it has a nice ring to it and sounds cool – the result was no surprise when the teacher surveyed on which of the two parts was more liked.

Think about it – which one would you like?

Being the puppet won the round !!!

Each day, each moment we are in a roller coaster of thoughts, fighting to keep up with the competition, trying to be creative in thoughts, actions, projects…every place that we find ourselves in. So a simple break from the routine, to just be and relax its nothing but a much delightful break. And the outcome is anyways something so beautiful you’re your being a part of that creation is satisfying anyways.

Besides the chance to do nothing and just enjoy the exercise – there was something else I experienced. With soft music in the background ,eyes closed and the realization that you being molded into some beautiful creation has such positive vibes to it, that I (don’t know how to say it), but felt an inner connection with myself. Such calmness on the outside and so many visions unseen, so many echoes rising from inside - something that I haven’t experienced in a long time and it almost brought tears to my eyes.

I’d just say - try this exercise with your friends, siblings, family – put on each role (of the puppet and the puppeteer) and experience this wonderful joy ride.

Rock On !!!

UPDATE: Thanks so much David for the wonderful honor and encouragement by selecting this post as POST OF THE DAY

When I walked in that room, my mind was inundated with a gamut of emotions. So much apprehension, nervousness and ya that accent-complex! Being the only one of color (no I am not being racist or color-prejudiced), but it would have been solacing to see someone with a remotely similar accent or rather a different one than everyone else.

But anyways, one of the panoramas of emotion that I was experiencing was excitement- because I have always wanted to do this. Infact, when I came out of my mother’s womb, I was marinated with this and each thing I do/speak/think has a flavor of this in it. And that spice is ACTING.

Everyone who has been even in a seconds-contact with me can corroborate for me saying that ACTING is me. I am no pro-no professional-no star-no actor. Having being tagged as “Nautanki” by almost everyone, it can be safely concluded that every bone, muscle and nerve in my body loves to act.

By acting, I do not mean being pretentious…it’s just the dramatic and histrionic way of how I love to deliver. Be it some hand gesture, or facial expression or even a voice-modulation. Until and unless, there is some form of thesp involved, I feel insatiated about my message.

This acting class is my getaway from reality to fantasy and therefore into the reality of my being. Each exercise done,is a bundle of teachings and a profusion of intricacies of this wonderful art. Recreating your own behavior or recreating the story of a second person, reacting on instinct or the expanding and contracting of self – there’s so much to learn from each of these exercises.

I have to mention that the role of the teacher in every aspect of your learning stage is so important. My very wonderful teacher - Ms.Susan, can so adroitly make us so effortlessly do the concentration exercises and with equal ease, get the create the story ones. I have learned a new outlook on introducing ourselves as a means of transferring energy to one-another and it seems amazing.

There is so much to look forward in this class, that it will be a sin if I complain about the stress of hunting for an available parking spot in downtown Boston. I am so glad that I am doing something that I have always wanted to learn and do.

We get busy with work, earning money, fulfilling duties, shouldering responsibilities – and most of the time, our passions are sent on a back burner. It is necessary that we explore our inner-selves and do those things along with the mandatory ones – because they complete us. I feel complete after performing at an exercise in class , or even by melodramatically enacting a recent incident.

Its never too late to explore the passions within us and bring them to the fore-front.

It definitely makes a difference !!!