Aabaha Art and Theater Festival 2024

Theater Group: Aabaha (Atlanta, GA)

Playwright: Debasis Majumdar

Direction: Debasis Majumdar

Talents (on stage): Akashleena Sayed, Anirban Ghosh, Harpriya Kaur, Ishani Ganguly, Kallol Nandi, Kaushik Bardhan, Kaushik Datta, Mahuya Mandal, Prabir Bhattacharyya, Pranjal Karmakar, Rina Datta Chakravorty, Shubhagato Bhattacharjee, Sonali Datta, and Sushen Das.

Talents (off stage): Ambarish Mitra (Light), Sudipta Samanta (Audio), Saugata Mandal (Video), Deepashree Nagathihalli Shivaramaiah (Stage Manager), Richa Samanta (Emcee), and Banhi Nandi (Production Manager).

Language: Bengali & Hindi

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

Synopsis: Deep in the heart of rural India, Poonam, a middle aged woman is raped by the village chief and his cohorts for standing up in protest of child marriage. Manikuntala and Srijika, who run an NGO on women’s rights, bring her to the city to tell her story. While they tackle the challenges of producing a TV show and sparking a larger debate, their own limitations and conflicts joust with their yearning to bring Poonam justice.

About the Theater Group: Founded in 2019, Aabaha is a collective of non-equity theater enthusiasts based in greater Atlanta, driven by a desire to explore the endless possibilities of this unique art form. Not being satisfied with the status quo of traditional theater techniques we are pushing the boundaries of theater to create bold new experiences that connect with audiences on a deeper emotional level. We experiment with the established norms of theater, refine the form and structure of plays to spark new ideas and perspectives. With the rise of electronic gizmos and digital media, we take theaters through new doors that were never thought possible.
Aabaha Inc is a 501(c)(3) domestic nonprofit organization registered in the state of Georgia, USA.

Theater Group: Atlanta Theater Workshop (Suwanee, GA)

Playwright: Mohit Chattopadhyay

Direction: Raktim Sen

Talents (on stage): Anindya De, Anindya Mukherjee, and Sangita Nandi..

Talents (off stage): Munmun Sen.

Language: Bengali

Runtime: 45 Minutes

Synopsis: Kouto is a masterpiece by the legendry playwright, Mohit Chattopadhyay. It’s an allegorical portrayal of self-worth, consciousness and the power of our brain and it’s capabilities.

About the Theater Group: There are two things in common among us- we are from the Atlanta metro area and are all serious about Indian Theater and the Performing Arts. We promise to produce nothing but quality. The group is open to anyone who is interested in the art and craft of theater. We intend not only to stage plays but foster learning of the craft throughout the year.

Theater Group: Dhoop Chaoon (Atlanta, GA)

Playwright: K. P. Saxena

Direction: Sandhya Saxena Bhagat

Talents (on stage): Asha Gupta, Asha Sharma, Moiz Hussin, Premanand Goswami, Jairaj kamal, Amit Prasad, Shaily Prasad, Poornima Raj, and Ritambhara Mittal.

Talents (off stage): Anil Bhagat, Priya Kumar, and Avdhesh Bharadwaj.

Language: Hindi

Runtime: 60 Minutes

Synopsis: Its a comedy play. A self claimed archaeological store run by conman and his in-law boasts of selling historical items only collected by tricking people around. Things were going smooth until Ms Palkiwala came hunting for Khilji tooth and later found to be fake one. The law takes its course but “Old Habits Die Hard”.

About the Theater Group: Dhoop Chaoon is one-of-a-kind theatre group based in Atlanta, Georgia since 2007. In fast-paced lives of today, Dhoop Chaoon thrives forward with 2 main objectives, one to keep our languages & culture alive and second, of course; to entertain. It takes everyday lives of normal people and presents their stories, adventures and brings them to the stage. Dhoop Chaoon (Sunlight-shade) has more than 130 permanent members. The programs presented are based on literature written by famous writers like – Mohan Rakesh, Amrita Pritam. Premchand, Kaka Haathrasi, K.P. Saxena, Rabinder Nath Tagore, Bhishm Sahni. That is adapted for stage presentation. Sometimes Sandhya writes her own scripts. This group has performed at different venues in Atlanta and other cities of America.

Theater Group: Enad (Boston, MA)

Playwright: Shanto Ghosh (Inspired by David Mamet’s Oleana.)

Direction: Shanto Ghosh

Talents (on stage): Dipanwita Bhattacharya and Jaideep Banerjee.

Talents (off stage): Debadeep Bhattacharya (Music), and Urmi Purakayastha (Production Manager).

Language: Bengali

Runtime: 60 Minutes

Synopsis: The play depicts a seemingly innocuous incident between a teacher and his student that leads to a series of events that result in significant consequences in the life of both the teacher and the student. Act 1 presents the incident while Acts 2 and 3 presents the incident from the perspectives of the student and then the teacher. It touches on a very serious issue of harassment and highlights the grey area on what is considered acceptable in the field of performing arts. Ekti (Aw) Shamanyo Ghotona is inspired by David Mamet’s play “Oleanna”.

About the Theater Group: Enad was a theater group that was started in the Bay Area in early 2000. Subsequently, it has presence in Bay Area, Bangalore and Boston. Enad’s mission is to perform original plays with contemporary social issues.

Theater Group: Chicago Natyaghosthi (Chicago, IL)

Playwright: Debabrata Dasgupta

Direction: Dev Hazra

Talents (on stage): Souvik Kar, Pratik Chakraborty, Pradeeta Bhattacharya, Abhijit Choudhury, and Dwaipayan Mukherjee.

Talents (off stage): Ambarish Mitra

Language: Bengali

Runtime: 55 Minutes

Synopsis: What is justice? Is it simply a verdict by the court constrained by the boundaries of the law? Or is it the ruthless search for the truth aided by the deep probing “third eye”?

This is the conundrum that manifests itself in its gory details in the enactment of – Tritiyo Noyon – by Chicago NatyoGoshthi. The ebb and flow of logic, emotion, vindictiveness and veiled nuances are rendered through edge-of-the-seat excitement in this play.

What transpires in the drama reaches an unexpected crescendo highlighting the third eye’s truth seeking dominance over the limitations of man-made legal system.

About the Theater Group: Chicago Natyogoshthi (CNG) is a not-for-profit association of like minded people in the Chicagoland area who are passionate about theater. CNG is not a community organization, rather an amateur theater club where the collective interest of theater loving individuals is paramount.

Theater Group: Kushilob (Philadelphia, PA)

Playwright: Kaushik Roy Choudhury (adapted from a short story by Moti Nandi)

Direction: Kaushik Roy Choudhury

Talents (on stage): Shuvam, Sneha, Nayan, Kathakali, Aabir, Som, Ritaja, Utsav, Oindrila, and Richi.

Talents (off stage):

Language: Bengali

Runtime: 60 Minutes

Synopsis: What guides the underlying stream of modern life? What alienates us from the closest of relations, hounds us by age-old epithets of human morality and guerrilla desires alike? What is it that sustains the will to seek new horizons, the urge to push the dimensions of personal oaths and social contracts? At what cost? This short play saunters through a vignette of whirlwind social and familial relations – inseparable from each other, yet fragile. It weaves narratives that keep throwing these questions at us as we stumble towards the surprising but inevitable end.

About the Theater Group: Kushilob is an independent theatre company practicing honest theatre in the Delaware Valley region. Since its inception in 2016, Kushilob has been bringing original, entertaining, and thoughtful theatre experiences to a large, diverse community. Through the expression of theatrical artistic excellence in difference forms, Kushilob strives to connect diverse ethnicities breaking through geographical and cultural boundaries while celebrating the differences. In the spirit of collaboration, Kushilob has performed in a variety of noteworthy festivals including the South Asian Theater Festival, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, FestivET 2023, the International Theater Festival, and the North America Bengali Conference.

Theater Group: Abhinayam (Marietta, GA)

Playwright: Rina Datta (Based on Suchitra Bhattachrya’s stories – Bonolota and Tritiyo Bishwo)

Direction: Shankar Sengupta

Talents (on stage): Arka Pandit, Chandrima Roy, Jayashree Guin, and Rita Kapahi.

Talents (off stage): Subhadra Gupta

Language: Bengali

Runtime: 35 Minutes

Synopsis: A fateful few months when the worlds of a former schoolteacher and her student collide revealing truths and heartbreak. Adapted from two short stories by Suchitra Bhattacharyya the play dwells with the ordinary to paint the extraordinary.

About the Theater Group: Abhinayam is at their best in weaving on stage stories of love and betrayal and vicissitudes of life ordinary told through the lens of magic realism. Every production adds a layer whether it be puppets or live music – constantly challenging ourselves to excel and push boundaries. The group owes it’s inspiration to Usha Ganguly – the foremost doyen of Calcutta stage in her ability to weave dance and movement into a storytelling spectacle.