{"id":84,"date":"2012-05-05T13:48:57","date_gmt":"2012-05-05T17:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newwww.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=84"},"modified":"2022-10-04T13:49:12","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T17:49:12","slug":"story-provides-passage-to-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/story-provides-passage-to-india\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cStory\u201d Provides Passage to India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ten Kalamazoo College students who are creating their own theater production this spring with guidance from a guest director from Varanasi, India, will take the show to Varanasi this summer and get a chance to see a country whose culture they have been exploring in class and on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cKahani\u201d project — which came about through a unique collaboration of the College\u2019s Theatre Arts Department<\/a>, Center for International Programs<\/a>, and Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership<\/a>\u2014combines many of the key elements of a K education: rigorous scholarship, critical thinking, international engagement, interdisciplinary exploration, social-justice discussions\u2026and don\u2019t leave out creativity and performance opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students are spending just seven weeks devising the scenes for \u201cKahani\u201d (which means \u201cStory\u201d in Hindi) before they present it May 10-13 at the College\u2019s Nelda Balch Playhouse<\/strong>. And they are required to attend both rehearsals and a class taught by guest director Irfana Majumdar<\/strong>, a visiting fellow of the Arcus Center. In the photo at left, Jane Huffman \u201915<\/strong> (standing), Joe Westerfield \u201915<\/strong> (seated), and Sam Bertken \u201912 <\/strong>rehearse for the play. Majumdar assigned readings of a novel and short stories by Indian women writers as jumping-off points for script creation, and many of those pieces explore gender and power dynamics within close relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead of using big issues like communalism, which are also very important in the world, I decided to stay inside smaller, closer human relationships, like within a family,\u201d Majumdar said, \u201cI think it\u2019s very important for men and women to explore these issues of gender together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the theater work Majumdar does is \u201cdevised work,\u201d meaning it does not begin with a set script. \u201cWhat is interesting about the project we\u2019re doing, and exciting,\u201d she said, \u201cis\u2026that it\u2019s really a lot about the actors. And since they\u2019re students and they\u2019re just learning to act and beginning their journey of theater, it\u2019s a way to really explore more of themselves and bring that into a project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chance to create a theater piece with fellow students has been exhilarating for senior theater major Sam Bertken<\/strong>, a 22-year-old from northern California.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Samantha
Samantha Jolly \u201915 (left) and McKenna Kring \u201915 rehearse for Kahani at Kalamazoo College, a play that will be performed by Kalamazoo College students in the Nelda Balch Playhouse on the K campus May 10-13, and in Varanasi, India, in July.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Three<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love the possibility for something completely new to be created,\u201d said Bertken when the group was about three weeks into the project. He said the students started off doing exercises to \u201ccreate a physical vocabulary\u201d and build trust and then focused on their compositional skills. To create potential scenes for the final production, they split into small groups and began voicing their ideas, one right after another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process has not been without its challenges, though. \u201cIt\u2019s tough,\u201d Bertken said. \u201cEvery time you come in you have to be really open to possibilities. The biggest problem is time. There\u2019s this balance of \u2018Are we including everybody\u2019s ideas?\u2019 and then \u2018Are we being efficient with our time?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they have had a great teacher in Majumdar, he said. \u201cShe\u2019s been able to make those of us who\u2019ve never done a devised theater piece feel very confident about our ability to accomplish this project, which is something to be said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in Varanasi, Majumdar leads a theater studio that\u2019s part of a nongovernmental organization called Nirman, which offers arts-based education for primary and secondary students and study-abroad opportunities for college students. It became one of K\u2019s 43 study-abroad sites in 2010, according to CIP Associate Director Margaret Wiedenhoeft<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cKahani\u201d project got started after K religion professor Carol Anderson met Majumdar during a sojourn in India. Majumdar and her mother, Nita, who also helps run the Nirman organization, then visited K about two years ago, and Anderson introduced Professor of Theatre Arts Ed Menta<\/strong> to the women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found out Irfana has a great theater background, and she\u2019s also a filmmaker,\u201d said Menta. \u201cAnd I thought, \u2018Wow, we gotta do something. The stars are lining up right to sort of have a convergence of theater, social justice, and interculturalism. What could be better? It\u2019s like many of the programs and aspirations of the College coming together in one project.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaime Grant<\/strong>, executive director of the Arcus Center, sees Majumdar as \u201ca perfect visiting fellow\u201d whose work can broaden \u201ctheater people\u2019s visions of what theater is for\u201d and \u201csocial justice people\u2019s ideas of what\u2019s in their toolbox to create change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you look at social justice movements throughout the world, theater is often part and parcel of that work,\u201d Grant said. And because the \u201cKahani\u201d project is a collaborative one in which everyone has a voice, \u201cthe process itself speaks to social justice,\u201d Grant added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project has been a perfect fit for \u201cKahani\u201d stage manager Kathleen \u201cKat\u201d Barrett<\/strong>, a junior majoring both in Theater Arts and in Human Development and Social Relations, a course of study that combines anthropology, sociology and psychology. She said she wanted a college experience that would boost her critical-thinking skills and challenge her thinking about the world. She also likes to keep really busy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m in various rehearsals from six to midnight most nights,\u201d Barrett said, \u201cbut I love what I\u2019m doing. And this production is such an amazing project that the faculty has put together for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKahani\u201d will take the stage at Nirman in July as the students travel to India for about 10 days, accompanied by Majumdar, Grant, Menta, and Professor of Theatre Arts Lanny Potts<\/strong>. For Barrett, the journey will be a return trip. She spent July through December studying at Nirman and then a few more weeks traveling through India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited to go back,\u201d said the 21-year-old, who grew up in the small northern Michigan town of Shelby. \u201cI loved India. I loved the city (of Varanasi). It\u2019s not Delhi. It\u2019s not modernized in a lot of ways. But it has so much character. It\u2019s one of the most religious locations in India because it\u2019s right on the holy Ganges River. It has so many stories and so many people and so much culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barrett, like so many others at Kalamazoo College, is also thrilled about this opportunity for her fellow students. \u201cI\u2019m so excited that they put in so much work, so much critical energy and then they get to go to India and not only perform it but see the world they\u2019ve been thinking about so much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That, too, will surely be an education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI love the possibility for something completely new to be created,\u201d said Bertken when the group was about three weeks into the project. He said the students started off doing exercises to \u201ccreate a physical vocabulary\u201d and build trust and then focused on their compositional skills. To create potential scenes for the final production, they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[231],"tags":[59,42,13,20,47,58],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-students","tag-anthropology","tag-arts","tag-service-learning","tag-social-justice","tag-study-abroad","tag-theatre"],"yoast_head":"\r\n\u201cStory\u201d Provides Passage to India - News and Events<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ten Kalamazoo College students who are creating their own theater production this spring with guidance from a guest director from Varanasi, India, will\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/arts\/\" rel=\"tag\">arts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/service-learning\/\" rel=\"tag\">service-learning<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/social-justice\/\" rel=\"tag\">social justice<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/study-abroad\/\" rel=\"tag\">study abroad<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/theatre\/\" rel=\"tag\">theatre<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/story-provides-passage-to-india\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/story-provides-passage-to-india\/\" class=\"pl-twiiter-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/story-provides-passage-to-india\/\" class=\"pl-linkedin-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a>","wordExcerpt_info":"<p><!-- wp:atomic-blocks\/ab-columns {\"columns\":2,\"layout\":\"ab-2-col-wideleft\"} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-columns ab-layout-columns-2 ab-2-col-wideleft\">\n<div class=\"ab-layout-column-wrap ab-block-layout-column-gap-2 ab-is-responsive-column\"><!-- wp:atomic-blocks\/ab-column --><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-column ab-block-layout-column\">\n<div class=\"ab-block-layout-column-inner\"><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Ten Kalamazoo College students who are creating their own theater production this spring with guidance from a guest director from Varanasi, India, will take the show to Varanasi this summer and get a chance to see a country whose culture they have been exploring in class and on stage.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The \u201cKahani\u201d project — which came about through a unique collaboration of the College\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/programs\/?id=30\">Theatre Arts Department<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/academics\/index.php?p=international\">Center for International Programs<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.kzoo.edu\/csjl\/\">Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership<\/a>\u2014combines many of the key elements of a K education: rigorous scholarship, critical thinking, international engagement, interdisciplinary exploration, social-justice discussions\u2026and don\u2019t leave out creativity and performance opportunities.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Students are spending just seven weeks devising the scenes for \u201cKahani\u201d (which means \u201cStory\u201d in Hindi) before they present it <strong>May 10-13 at the College\u2019s Nelda Balch Playhouse<\/strong>. And they are required to attend both rehearsals and a class taught by guest director <strong>Irfana Majumdar<\/strong>, a visiting fellow of the Arcus Center. In the photo at left, <strong>Jane Huffman \u201915<\/strong> (standing), <strong>Joe Westerfield \u201915<\/strong> (seated), and <strong>Sam Bertken \u201912 <\/strong>rehearse for the play. Majumdar assigned readings of a novel and short stories by Indian women writers as jumping-off points for script creation, and many of those pieces explore gender and power dynamics within close relationships.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of using big issues like communalism, which are also very important in the world, I decided to stay inside smaller, closer human relationships, like within a family,\u201d Majumdar said, \u201cI think it\u2019s very important for men and women to explore these issues of gender together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Much of the theater work Majumdar does is \u201cdevised work,\u201d meaning it does not begin with a set script. \u201cWhat is interesting about the project we\u2019re doing, and exciting,\u201d she said, \u201cis\u2026that it\u2019s really a lot about the actors. And since they\u2019re students and they\u2019re just learning to act and beginning their journey of theater, it\u2019s a way to really explore more of themselves and bring that into a project.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The chance to create a theater piece with fellow students has been exhilarating for senior theater major <strong>Sam Bertken<\/strong>, a 22-year-old from northern California.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:atomic-blocks\/ab-column --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:atomic-blocks\/ab-column --><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-column ab-block-layout-column\">\n<div class=\"ab-block-layout-column-inner\"><!-- wp:image {\"align\":\"center\",\"id\":85,\"className\":\"wp-image-85 size-full is-style-default\"} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-85 size-full is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"313\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/06\/Kahanipic3.jpg\" alt=\"Samantha Jolly and McKenna Kring\" class=\"wp-image-85\" \/><figcaption>Samantha Jolly \u201915 (left) and McKenna Kring \u201915 rehearse for Kahani at Kalamazoo College, a play that will be performed by Kalamazoo College students in the Nelda Balch Playhouse on the K campus May 10-13, and in Varanasi, India, in July.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"align\":\"center\",\"id\":313,\"className\":\"is-style-default\"} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/06\/Kahani.jpg\" alt=\"Three students creating their own theater production\" class=\"wp-image-313\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:atomic-blocks\/ab-column --><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:atomic-blocks\/ab-columns --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love the possibility for something completely new to be created,\u201d said Bertken when the group was about three weeks into the project. He said the students started off doing exercises to \u201ccreate a physical vocabulary\u201d and build trust and then focused on their compositional skills. To create potential scenes for the final production, they split into small groups and began voicing their ideas, one right after another.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The process has not been without its challenges, though. \u201cIt\u2019s tough,\u201d Bertken said. \u201cEvery time you come in you have to be really open to possibilities. The biggest problem is time. There\u2019s this balance of \u2018Are we including everybody\u2019s ideas?\u2019 and then \u2018Are we being efficient with our time?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>But they have had a great teacher in Majumdar, he said. \u201cShe\u2019s been able to make those of us who\u2019ve never done a devised theater piece feel very confident about our ability to accomplish this project, which is something to be said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Back in Varanasi, Majumdar leads a theater studio that\u2019s part of a nongovernmental organization called Nirman, which offers arts-based education for primary and secondary students and study-abroad opportunities for college students. It became one of K\u2019s 43 study-abroad sites in 2010, according to CIP Associate Director <strong>Margaret Wiedenhoeft<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The \u201cKahani\u201d project got started after K religion professor Carol Anderson met Majumdar during a sojourn in India. Majumdar and her mother, Nita, who also helps run the Nirman organization, then visited K about two years ago, and Anderson introduced <strong>Professor of Theatre Arts Ed Menta<\/strong> to the women.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found out Irfana has a great theater background, and she\u2019s also a filmmaker,\u201d said Menta. \u201cAnd I thought, \u2018Wow, we gotta do something. The stars are lining up right to sort of have a convergence of theater, social justice, and interculturalism. What could be better? It\u2019s like many of the programs and aspirations of the College coming together in one project.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jaime Grant<\/strong>, executive director of the Arcus Center, sees Majumdar as \u201ca perfect visiting fellow\u201d whose work can broaden \u201ctheater people\u2019s visions of what theater is for\u201d and \u201csocial justice people\u2019s ideas of what\u2019s in their toolbox to create change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you look at social justice movements throughout the world, theater is often part and parcel of that work,\u201d Grant said. And because the \u201cKahani\u201d project is a collaborative one in which everyone has a voice, \u201cthe process itself speaks to social justice,\u201d Grant added.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The project has been a perfect fit for \u201cKahani\u201d stage manager <strong>Kathleen \u201cKat\u201d Barrett<\/strong>, a junior majoring both in Theater Arts and in Human Development and Social Relations, a course of study that combines anthropology, sociology and psychology. She said she wanted a college experience that would boost her critical-thinking skills and challenge her thinking about the world. She also likes to keep really busy.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m in various rehearsals from six to midnight most nights,\u201d Barrett said, \u201cbut I love what I\u2019m doing. And this production is such an amazing project that the faculty has put together for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cKahani\u201d will take the stage at Nirman in July as the students travel to India for about 10 days, accompanied by Majumdar, Grant, Menta, and Professor of Theatre Arts <strong>Lanny Potts<\/strong>. For Barrett, the journey will be a return trip. She spent July through December studying at Nirman and then a few more weeks traveling through India.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m really excited to go back,\u201d said the 21-year-old, who grew up in the small northern Michigan town of Shelby. \u201cI loved India. I loved the city (of Varanasi). It\u2019s not Delhi. It\u2019s not modernized in a lot of ways. But it has so much character. It\u2019s one of the most religious locations in India because it\u2019s right on the holy Ganges River. It has so many stories and so many people and so much culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Barrett, like so many others at Kalamazoo College, is also thrilled about this opportunity for her fellow students. \u201cI\u2019m so excited that they put in so much work, so much critical energy and then they get to go to India and not only perform it but see the world they\u2019ve been thinking about so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>That, too, will surely be an education.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18031,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions\/18031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}