The first play, entitled “Without A Script,” is written and directed by Soham Mehta (also the Shunya Theatre troupe founder). Three actors and one crew member are called together to the first rehearsal for a new play. Confusion abounds and tempers soon collide once all arrive to find no script, no playwright, and no director. But there is an audience! The next story, written by Sara Kumar, is entitled “Pahachaan,” and features Aaron, a journalist adopted by American parents. American Aaron initially sets out to India to do a story on the local cuisine, but discovers a more potent story along the way – one of recognition – as he attempts to find his biological mother. The final short highlights the struggle and sufferings endured by illiterate villagers in a remote part of India. Yaksha Shah presents “A Random Act of Kindness,” based on the original Gujarati play “Kudarati” (later adapted in English by Genéviève Castelin). Though the villagers are free from modern technological trappings, we find that humans are still trapped by societal limits on freedom and lose the ability to be spontaneous even at this level.

This production is a mixed bag of comedy, art and drama and is the second official production of Shunya Theatre. Dance interludes, performed by dancer Gunjen Mittal and local companies Urban Indian Beat and Urban Gypsy, serve as transitions between each staging. In addition to staging Reincarnation in January and performing at Dance Houston this past Spring, Shunya has also staged a production of “Without A Script” at the Global Dharma Conference this past July in New Jersey.

Shunya Theatre is a not-for-profit theatre troupe in pursuit of voicing the Indian-American experience. So, if you are in the mood for a triple dose of hilarity, absurdity and “drama-dy,” check out this triple billing, which runs at Diverse Works Art Space (1117 East Freeway) the weekends of August 15 - 24, 2003. Advance purchase tickets (recommended due to limited seating) can be purchased online (www.tickets2events.com) or by phone (877.686.7576) and are $12 for the Friday and Saturday shows (8:00 p.m.) and $10 on Sundays (2:00 p.m.). To learn more about the organization, you can visit www.shunyatheatre.org or email questions or comments to the theatre troupe at: info@shunyatheatre.org