Mah: 3rd Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards

Mumbai, Oct 27: Mahindra&Mahindra will organise the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) for the third consecutive year in New Delhi on March 7 next year.

The award function aims to encourage various aspects of theatre craft such as playwriting, set design, costume and light design, direction and performance.

Applications are currently being invited from different parts of the country, of productions in English, Hindi as well as regional languages. A selection committee will review these productions and select the finalists in January, 2008. Applications can be submitted till December 31.

An eminent jury comprising experienced and respected people from the world of performing arts will view these productions to select the award winners in different categories, which will be announced in a glittering ceremony.

The various categories of the award function include Best Play, Best Director, Best Stage Design, Best Lighting Director, Best Innovative Sound Design, Best Costume Design, Best Actor (Male) in a leading role, Best Actor (Female) in a leading role, Best Supporting Actor (Male), Best Supporting Actor (Female) and Best Original Script.

These plays may be adapted or original works by Indian or international playwrights. Theatre productions may be verbal or non-verbal, it may include physical theatre, puppetry, multi-media and dance. The plays can be in English, Hindi or any Indian regional language thus giving small regional theatre groups and individuals an opportunity to showcase their talent to larger audiences.

Speaking to reporters here yesterday, META Creative Director Ravi Dubey said, ''I am delighted that META is now in its third year. In the second year itself, we had 90 entries in different languages from across the country. This year, I have travelled to the emerging metros such as Patna, Lucknow, Pune, Chandigarh, Ahemdabad, Baroda and Cochin to extend the scope of META to all parts of the country.''

Also speaking on the occasion, talented actress Neena Gupta said, ''META is one of the most wonderful developments in the world of Indian theatre. It is playing a critical role in the revival and encouragement of theatre across the country.'' Some of the highlights from the previous years were that the esteemed jury consisted of art and theatre professionals like Shyam Benegal, Anita Ratnam, Joy Michael, Amol Palekar and Mahesh Elkunchwar, who watched the short-listed plays and selected the winners. In the inaugural year of the award function, held in Delhi, META featured a list of well-known personalities as part of the jury such as Shabana Azmi, Ila Arun, Shyamanand Jalan, M S Sathyu, Zafar Hai and K Raina.

The 3.8 billion dollar Mahindra Group is among the top ten industrial houses in India. Mahindra&Mahindra is the only Indian company among the top five tractor manufacturers in the world and is the market leader in multi-utility vehicles in India. The Group has a leading presence in key sectors of the Indian economy, including trade and financial services, automotive components, information technology and telecom and infrastructure development.

UNI