About Joker The Theatre Group

Joker Theatre Group is considered an important Artistic Creativity Center for

theatre training and performance in cultural circles and it has developed a
reputation for being a breeding ground of new talent. For over 5 years Joker
Theatre Group has brought together an ensemble of professional writers, actors
and directors. It was founded by Sandeep Sharma in 2011, and so far the group
has produced many plays :Arjun, Aurangzeb, Waiting For Godot, Coffee
House, Hum Honge Kaamyab, Ek Aur Durghatna. It is currently performing
Dastaan-e-Ram, a play based on the Hindu scripture Ramayana, but with, what
the play director calls it, a twist of a social message about creating a inclusive
society.
Interview

1. ‘nhi school me hi shuru krdia tha, 12 saal ki umar mien’ replied Sandeep
Kumar, the founder of the Delhi-based The Joker Theatre Group,
when asked how it all started?

Meet Sandeep Kumar, who first started acting in his school at the age of twelve
and at the age of fourteen he won his first best actor award in the inter school
completion organised by the Delhi Public School, vasant kunj. Sandeep’s
interest in acting and his decision to be a theatre actor was influenced by the
likes of Ratan Thiyam , Habib Tanvir and Ranjit Kapoor. Sandeep first started
acting as a hobby but soon this hobby became the passion of his life. The year
was 2006 when he decided to leave his day job and pursue theater as a full time
profession. He says that leaving his job for acting was a 'instinctive decision'. In
his career as a actor Sandeep essayed more than twenty lead roles under reputed
theatre directors like Bhanu Bharti, Barry John, Gulshan Walia, Vidhu Khare
Das. And after performing various roles with diverse theater groups he decided
to establish his own The Joker Theater Group.

2. What is the most difficult part about being an actor and a director of
a theater group?

'Pehchan banana'-- Prakhar says the difficult aspect was to create an identity for
himself and the group among the audience."It wasn't easy, in the beginning only
our family and friends would come to see the performance, there were times
when we had to cancel a show just because no one turned up, we performed for
free for a long time. But now things are stabalized. I never imagined they ever
would be."

3. Why you started the Joker Theater Group, and what is your vision
about it?
"Theater for me is a pure, uncorrupted medium for expression. Uncorrupted-
because you do the show live, you prepare for it, there are no specific camera
angles or gimmicks whatsoever,” Sandeep asserts. He started the Joker Theater
Group, which he calls JTG in short, because he felt that Theater is dying, but he
believed that theater writing and acting could be learnt and taught and we
wanted it the legacy of Theater to live forever. That's exactly what i want to do
and what we are trying to do with JTG.

4. How is JTG helping in keeping alive Theatre, what kind of activities

it undertakes?

Joker Theatre Group is being considered as an important Artistic Creativity

Centre for theatre training and performance in cultural circles and it has a
developed a reputation for being a breeding ground of new talent. Joker Theatre
Group is trying to bring the artfulness to youth of all backgrounds and
demographics. J.T.G members, teachers and students are successfully running
drama program, organizing daily theater classes, and training exercises, creation
of short scenes and monologues, and preparation of new full- length
productions. "Our main target for the present is to open new centers for
theatrical education in Slum areas and near schools and to produce new plays
every month. We are also training young theater activists, though it is tough but
all of these goals are possible, and we look forward to making them happen
with the support from Government, Non-Govt. organization and corporate
Houses.'' states Sandeep.
5. . If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall
an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous?
No such incident as such. While doing a play you definitely experiment with
new techniques but there is no particular incident that I remember.

6. Your favorite playwright?

Though there are many playwright i am fond of, like Girish Karnard, my
favorite playwirght is Vijay Tendulkar.

7. What is your take on the effect of Cinema on Theater?

"Cinema or Theater to kumbh ke mele me bichde bhai jese hai", replied

Sandeep, who has a unique take on the whole Cinema destroying Theater
Theory. He believes Cinema and theatre have often been media where mutual
exchange of actors and directors has thrived. He mentions that a theatre actor
always has the advantage of staying in the character for a longer time. Theater
can be an avenue that actors who’ve hit a rough patch can consider for refining
their skill too and Cinema could be the ultimate destination of struggling
Theatre Actors.

8. What role Literature plays in Theater? and is there any Literary

piece you would like to see in the form of a play?

Literature, Sandeep believes, is the soul of the theater. This is where the good
scripts come from. Although trying to write a play himself, Sandeep's Theater
Group produces adaptations of famous works - Waiting For Godot, Coffee
House, Hum Honge Kaamyab, Ek Aur Durghatna. He believes that Theater
brings good art within the reach of people who are too lazy to read. He also
believes that a On-screen or a On-stage adaptation of a Literary work adds a
fresh 3-Dimensional perspective to it. " There are many stories of Rajan Khan
that i would like to see as plays because i really enjoy the way he analyses the
minds of his characters. It makes you think and explore your own mind and
analyze other people as well." Sandeep replies to the second question.