Kannadigas from America treat theatre buffs

Ranga Dhwani from LA is staging two plays in city

When the stage at Dhvanyaloka here on Saturday was opened for theatre connoisseurs, it was not just an usual weekend feature, but unveiling of talent of non-resident Indian (NRI) Kannadigas.

Ranga Dhwani, a theatre troupe from Los Angeles, USA, led by Vallish Shastri, is staging plays in the city of palaces. What could endear them to the theatre buffs is, it’s also their maiden performance here.

English novels

‘Tirugetu’, a Kannada adaptation of James Hadley Chase’s ‘There is always a price tag’ and ‘Yamana Call Centre’ are being staged. ‘Tirugetu’ was staged at Dhvanyaloka on Saturday at 7 pm. On Sunday, they will be staging ‘Yamana Call Centre’  at JSS Women’s College, Saraswatipuram at 11 am and  Dhvanyaloka on Bogadi road at 7 pm.
Professionals

Vallish, who was supervising the arrangements for the show, told Deccan  Herald, his six-member troupe was eager to showcase their skills on stage. The artistes here are professionals from different backgrounds, but wedded to the field of art.
Vallish, a native of Hassan, is a software engineer who has his own IT firm ‘V3 Consultants’ in LA. 

He had his nursery in acting at Benaka Troupe in Bangalore and for eight years there was no stopping him. In the year 1989, he flew to West Asia and stayed in Saudi Arabia for eight years.

He was also away from his tryst with stage. However, he renewed his ties with stage when he moved to New Jersey. After three years, he shifted to LA, where for the past 12 years he has remained fully active on the stage.

Schedule

Says Vallish; one play in a year has been their schedule and till now have staged 10 plays, including a children’s drama ‘Govina Kathe’ based on ‘Punyakoti’. ‘Jo Kumaraswamy’, ‘Paschaththapa’, ‘Yamana Call Centre’, ‘Hollywoodnalli Yama’, ‘Tirugetu’, ‘Krishna Sandhana’ are among others. ‘Yamana Call Centre’ is a take on the IT-BT life and is loaded with comedy.

“Mysore was on our mind for long, but time was the only hindrance”, explains Vallish. It was due to Srinath Vashishta, an actor on small screen who has his own Kala Vedike Trust, and Mandya Ramesh of Natana, Ranga Dhwani is in the city.

The other members of the troupe; Kannadigas settled in LA are physician Dr Kavita
Kotrappa, Somashekar, chief manager with a finance company dealing with stocks, and Girish Kannalli a software engineer, all hailing from Bangalore, Jagannath, a civil engineer from Hassan, and Vidya, wife of Vallish, having her roots in Shimoga.