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Date/Time
Date(s) - 25/05/2018
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Location
Alliance française du Bengale

Categories


Synopsis:
(Mirrors of the Soul)

“Mirrors of the Soul” is an intense journey that mirrors the deep-seated insecurities at the heart of the
mystery of change as time passes along the maze called life.

A savant climbs out of imprisonment.

He wakes up shuddering on the thin rope between life and death, lost in utter darkness.

He searches for light and discovers hidden possibilities.

But he is subjected to the complexities of human life. To adapt to these process, he would need to
change by surrendering and submitting to the adult identities, while holding the tension of the struggles
within, linked also to the traumas and shame from his childhood.

The body – his only tool – is his only hope for survival.

Will he escape from society’s dangerous mouths? Or will he sink further into despair?

Director’s Note:
(Mirrors of the Soul)

I wanted to develop a contemporary, postmodern performance based on traditional Asian forms such as
Kuddiyattam, Beijing Opera, Noh, Wayang Wong, Kalaripayattu – which emerged physically as entry
points on dualities.

Essentially, the “adult”, “professional” identity of a performer is juxtaposed with the more “childlike”,
“innocent” identity of a past memory. The further the performer exhibits his physical prowess, the more
the “story” becomes disengaged, offering an insightful spectacle of spatial, emotional and psychological
tensions all acting at once.

On one hand, “Mirrors of the Soul” showcases the adaptability of the human body in the face of physical
challenges. On the other hand, it is a deeper emotional exploration of unreleased trauma and shame that
disconnects the performer from his audiences. This reflects, to a large extent, the philosophical questions
and (misplaced) actions that frame our human existence and our “playing out” of multiple identities.

About the Performer/Creator:


SOTI RAMAPATI DWIVID (Soti Rpd)

Soti is an actor, director, educator, acting/movement and voice/speech trainer who hails from Tilhar,
Shahjahanpir, Uttar Pradesh, India.

A graduate from the Intercultural Theatre Institute (Singapore) with a Professional Diploma in
Intercultural Theatre Acting, Soti has also received a Master of Performing Arts with a distinction in
Theatre Arts from the University of Hyderabad, along with a Master of Arts in Hindi from the M.J.P.
Rohilkhand University Bareilly, India.

He has received training under the tutelage of internationally reputed and distinguished teachers and
directors like Aarne Neme, T. Sasitharan, Phillip Zarilli, Prof. B. Ananthakrishnan, Prof. Ramgopal Bajaj,
Mohan Maharishi, Prof. S. Ramanujam, Abhilash Pillai, Marc Weinblatt, Bert Van Dijk, Leela Alaniz,
Guillermo Angelelli, Adriano Basegio, Robin Payne, Noushad Mohamed Kunju and Satyabrata Rout.
Skilled with traditional, psycho-physical acting and intercultural performing art forms, Soti has an excellent
command of versatility and expression through his repertoire in Bundelkhand Martial Arts (India), Chhau
(India), Kalaripayattu (India), Kudiyattam (India), Tai Chi (China), Beijing Opera (China), Noh (Japan) and
Wayang Wong (Indonesia), and contemporary practices like Michael Checkhov’s Acting Technique, The
Alexander Technique and other physical theater disciplines.

Most recently, Soti conceived and devised his own solo performance expressed through psycho-physical
theatre, titled Mirrors of the Soul- Memory, History and Trauma and is published in the Contemporary
Performance Almanac 2017, the world’s largest contemporary performance network publication in New
York, USA.
 Some of his other stage acting credits with India’s luminary directors include Albert’s Bridge by Mohan
Maharishi, Perenium-A Retributive Justice by Abilash Pillai, Reflection by Noushad Mohamad Kunju, and Ephigenia by Satyabrata Rout.
Soti is also the Artistic Director of M.L. Ramanad Theatre Foundation in India and Co-Founder/Director of Theatre Incorporate in Singapore.
Currently, he works internationally as a freelance artist.