The program was inspired by the readings and videos which we discussed during the period of residency and from the study of the performing arts specific to our community.

After studying Gondhal and Lavani and Bharud I realized that for any of these performances there need to be explorations in a group as well as individual explorations. Following are some areas in which creative explorations happen during the production or in between the productions.  

• Music explorations
• Body movement explorations
• Writing explorations
• Costumes or set explorations
• Writing explorations

Himanshu Burte’s 2008 book Space for Engagement threw light on public places and connect people to the place of performance. He emphasized the fact that the place of performance should be more than just the place of performance. He brought forth that these places are institutional places with transactional, symbolizing, and engagement roles in society. He also suggested the introduction of a café, library, art galleries, or introduction of activities like workshops, courses, reading sessions, etc. which can help to establish a connection between the people with the place. This emphasized the decision of keeping the food kiosks on the site and reinforced the idea of this place being a practice hub for budding artists.

The conversions of ‘the Vessels’ and the readings of ‘Beyond the Proscenium’ gave a sneak peek into the varied needs and processes of performers, other artists, and owners of the place of performances. Following are the points which I carried forward

Program related needs

• A place to practice/ explore/ experiment in between 2 productions
• A place to create a chance to create a community to learn from.
• Activities and workshops in this place
• The design of space shouldn’t have a statement/style of itself
• Place of practice, place to mingle, place to eat (some or the other reason to meet)
• A place for jamming and experimentation

Spatial needs

• Informal
• Less barrier (physical, mental impression)
• Make it more accessible- not populous
• All-age people mix before/ after the event

Program:

• Place for Performance
• Place for Preparation / training (can be same or separate from performance space)
• Place of experiment – individual / ensemble
• Technical support (need protection from rain, dust) – a storage
• Place for Instruments storage
• Greenrooms
• Toilets for the people
• Food and drink kiosks

While Retaining the garden like sense of the place