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EDITORIAL  A New Sankirtana For The 21st Century? BY BHAKTA WALLACE DORIAN EDITORIAL, Jul 20 (VNN) — In Shakespeare's famous tragedy, Hamlet, in order to avenge the death of his father, Hamlet conjures up a plan that will reveal in a staged performance how his uncle, now married to his mother, killed his father by poisoning him. While hatching the plot he utters to himself the famous line, The play's the thing, wherein I'll capture the conscience of the king. Thus, plays and dramatic performance are very persuasive tools and can be used in a variety of ways as a means of showing the masses in general a direction to follow or the state of things as they pertain to the human condition according to time and place. Also, in the 1930's, the late Irish playwright, Sean O'Casey often wrote about the plight of the working class. The plays were so powerful and controversial that fistfights would break out in front of the famed Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Now that's what I call theatre! Something that will rouse the people whether they agree or disagree. As an aspiring devotee of Krsna these past 26 years and a writer of plays and screenplays myself, I have often said that the secret of really preaching to the masses in a dramatic, emotional and kinetic manner is to do plays and films especially for television since every household in the world has at least one TV set. Films of course are difficult because they require large sums of money to produce. But theatre, while regional, is accessible. Frankly speaking, there is hardly anything outside of the temple that is presenting anything Krsna conscious unfortunately. In 1986 Peter Brook the English theatre director did a 10-hour opus of Mahabharata for PBS that was impersonal at best. They were not Krsna conscious and so it was 10 million dollars wasted. Not even the word soul was spoken once. And naturally, Krsna was seen as a God as opposed to God almighty Himself. So now it is time for devotees to step up to the plate and tell it like it is or, as it is. While this idea of theatrical performances is not new, it has not been executed to any great degree this past 40 years since ISKCON has been on the world stage, pardon the pun. This may be due to many circumstances such as money, and/or lack of long term devotee participation because of a myriad of reasons. But the fact of the matter is this. As we enter the new millennium it may be essential to have roving and/or traveling theatrical sankirtana parties that can travel around the USA giving dramatic performances. This does not require a huge cast, maybe 2-3 male and female devotees (6 at most) committed to the common cause of dramatic performance. And because admission/donations would be given, the party themselves would be self-sufficient. Such an endeavor requires capital as well. But because of the concentration of book printing and distribution as well as other devotee projects not much credence has been paid to such a proposal. But in retrospect, since drama was something that Srila Prabhupada wanted pushed as much as his books, it may be time for those devotees especially who are moneyed or may have a desire to invest in and are able to donate to such a cause to begin contemplating in all seriousness involvement in such a pursuit. The Vedic Theatre Company was formed for this very reason. This endeavor will be just as instrumental in long term book distribution as well because the dramatic plays will automatically peak people's interest to buy and read the books. The idea being, adapting the temple skits and taking them into the world marketplace in a very professional manner like a traveling Shakespeare company or a small Barnum and Bailey circus. A Vedic dinner theatre is also my proposal for temples that have the space and manpower. Buy a book, see a play and have dinner. Simple. This would be ongoing. Remember, the musical The Fantastiks played something like 40 years nationwide before it finally closed. If you knew that a great production of Mahabharata' was coming to your town, village, school or institution (or even the park) wouldn't you be excited to go see it with your family? Sure!! The Vedas are very vast and there are unlimited transcendental stories to be tapped. It all depends on the proper editing and structure of such stories. ISKCON has good writers. 500 years ago, 100 years before Shakespeare was born, Srila Rupa Goswami composed two great transcendental plays in 10 acts, Lalita Madhava and Sri Vidagdha-Madhava all revolving around Krsna's pastimes etc. They are, for most audiences, esoteric to a certain degree and very heavy-laden and drenched in the nectar of many rasas. However, with a slight tweeking here and there, just imagine seeing the plays performed today that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself saw 500 years ago. In addition, when we talk of Srila Rupa Goswami, we are talking about Rupa manjari who is now in Goloka, Vrndavana in the spiritual world. And while on earth, he composed plays! So this is sanctioned by Krsna, God almighty Himself. Thus, we're in good company. Ironically, Rupa Goswami's plays read like something very reminiscent of Shakespeare in terms of rythym and meter but of course have Krsna in the center becoming transcendental. The problem with mounting such an ambitious undertaking however, is not the purity, (although that helps) but the sheer size of the cast numbering 20-30 performers. Where would so many devotees be begotten? And how long would they commit from rehearsal to performance? Would they be enthusiastic? What would be a fair salary? Therefore, it is essential that devotees particularly, consider funding such theatrical plays that would also bring back revenue and be a great boon in book distribution as well. It is very important that devotees come together with resources, money and manpower and begin to work in harmony and cooperation to make this happen. This is what Srila Prabhupada wanted, to propagate this philosophy of the Vedas, this Krsna consciousness that would save people from the ocean of repeated birth and death. So rather than splitting up and quarrelling, we should all focus our energy on this kind of preaching work. This is the new sankirtana for the 21st Century and must be given serious consideration as the only real means to awaken people to God consciousness and the chanting of the Lord's holy names in a practical yet entertaining way. http://www.playsthething.homestead.com/vyasa.html Contact VNN about this story  Send this story to a friend
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