Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG) recently organised a meeting of tiatr and khell-tiatr artistes at TAG's Conference Hall, Campal, Panaji. The purpose of the meeting was to decide the correct format for tiatrs and khell-tiatrs.
President of TAG, Mr Tomazinho Cardozo brought to notice that most recent tiatrs did not follow the original format. He requested artistes to preserve the original format.
After a thorough discussion it was decided that the presentation of tiatrs must have the following aspect so that the uniqueness of Goan Tiatr is preserved, promoted and developed.
A story has to be divided into 6 to 7 parts. Each part can be called an act but in the language of tiatr it is called a ‘podd’ddo’. Hence a tiatr can have six to seven ‘podd’dde’. The story begins in the first ‘podd’ddo’ and runs without any disconnect through all the ‘podd’dde’ ending in the 6thor 7th‘podd’ddo’, as the case may be.
The tiatr begins with an opening song ‘kantar’, which may be a solo, duet, trio. Its theme has no relevance to the theme of the play.
Therefore, the script should be written in such a way that the part of the story in every ‘podd’ddo’ must have a meaningful happening as far as possible.
The history of the tiatr is a witness to the fact that no tiatr has become successful without comedy. Hence, tiatrs, since inception have always had comedy sequences in every ‘podd’ddo’ and the comedy sequences were directly linked to the theme of the play. In other words the comedy sequences in tiatrs were integral parts of the theme of the play.
‘Canto’ is a small song with mostly one verse and one chorus or two verses and one chorus. ‘Canto’ is the emotional expression of the tiatr through song.
Earlier, there used to be practically one ‘canto’ in every ‘podd’ddo’. Hence, in order to maintain the characteristics of tiatr, there should be at least four ‘cantos’ in four of the six or seven ‘podd’dde’.
Kantaram were also called side shows and their themes held no relevance to the theme of the story. In fact, up to three kantaram were presented in between two ‘podd’dde’ on the road scene to provided sufficient time to setup the new stage and also for artistes to change costumes.
Kantaram are of following type - solos, duets, trios, quartets, etc. In the past, if there were twelve kantaram in a tiatr, it always had at least two duets, a quartet and even a quintet besides solos. These form the uniqueness of the Goan tiatr.
Solos were referred to as ‘clown’. They use to have comedy as well as non comedy solos. Singing a solo in front of the curtain and allowing singing in different voices for one or two lines or for a chorus behind the curtain was also permitted in the past. The same trend needs to be strengthened.
If a song is sung by a male and a female singer then such a song is called a duet. The lyrics of all duets earlier were an interaction between two different characters. This needs to be preserved. There should be at least two duets in a tiatr.
Duos are sung by two male or two female singers. Lyrics of Duos, trio, quartets were interactive nature. They should be encouraged with at least one per Tiatr.
TAG observed the recent trend of singing in different voices. Pleasant to hear they enrich the quality of Konkani songs and should be encouraged. Hence, there should be at least one choral song which may be a choral duet, choral duo, choral trio, choral quartet, etc.
The songs had the following characteristics: Each singer was a different character in the theme of the song. The lyrics were composed in such a way that there was complete interaction between the various singers on the stage. Thus, every song appeared to be musical presentation on a particular theme. These songs were comedy songs as well as non comedy songs. Finally they were based on various issues such as social, political, religious, and historical. TAG will preserve this uniqueness.
A tiatr must have a minimum of 10 songs and maximum of 14 songs. These songs must include at least two duets, one duo, one trio, one quartet and one choral song be it choral duet, duo, trio or quartet besides solo songs.
TAG is of the opinion that the tiatrists should be innovative but should simultaneously ensure that the tiatr format is not disturbed or altered. TAG is of the view that the tiatr should be improved technologically without adversely affecting its unique format.
