'Dreaming' captures reality of Mumbai's slums

At the conclusion of Zohar Fuller's '10 senior thesis play Dreaming Up Nonsense, the audience stood in awe, discussing their reactions. One audience member summed up the performance particularly well: "Amazing how much thought went into everything," observed Sarit Friedman '13.It was this meticulous detail that characterized not only the performance by the actors, but also the stage design and various elements of the show. There did not seem to be any component of the piece that went overlooked by Fuller. There was the makeshift performance room with walls of plastic and tarp, the projections of video clips from Fuller's own trip to Mumbai, the unique and surprising interactions with the audience and even the authentic Indian kurtas. Not one element seemed neglected, and the resulting performance reflected it.

Dreaming Up Nonsense, besides being incredibly well-executed and well-acted, also offered a take-home message to its audience. As the thesis project for Fuller's independent interdisciplinary major in Theatre for Social Change, the play was intended to offer a perspective on going abroad to volunteer, women's education, the unsanitary and almost unlivable conditions of Mumbai and Mumbai's culture, which is so different from our own in the emphasis it places on religious fulfillment over academic and economic achievement.

Dreaming Up Nonsense is a semi-autobiographical piece about the time that Fuller spent in Mumbai with a group of young schoolchildren teaching them to put on a street play. The students were transformed by the creative outlet, each of them growing into confident, enthusiastic dreamers by the end of the performance. The play follows Laura (Carly Lenhoff '13)-who portrays Zohar's perspective-through her experiences in Mumbai, as well as the evolution of a particular student, Aadesh (Tony Rios '11) and his relationship with his abusive father (Hank Lin '10).

Upon our arrival at Spingold Theater Center, audience members stood waiting to be invited into the rehearsal room where the performance was held. A few minutes before showtime, Demitra Kampakis '13 crawled into the lobby and began silently and enthusiastically examining each person. She poked at shoes, pulled at coats and even stole gum from one of the audience members. Moments later, Bryan Prywes '11 and Bryan Belok '12 walked into Spingold lobby and began playing a game with a red rubber ball. The audience was captivated by these interactions, and the scene took on a surreal quality. Though the Spingold lobby is not quite the same as a street in Mumbai, it began to feel that way as we watched the costumed actors socialize with each other and with us.

Following the performance in the lobby, we were led through several hallways and into a rehearsal room. As we navigated through the small trail of space left between the wall of the rehearsal room and the homemade tarp of the inner performance room, there was a general, overwhelming feeling of being cramped and crowded. On the projector screen as we walked in, a similar encounter was occurring in the Mumbai streets-a small path flooded with eager people that looked undoubtedly cramped and crowded. We were instructed to sit on the floor, offered only a small amount of space and then were left to feel uncomfortable and restricted for the remainder of the play.

"I was offered using the black box theater in Spingold," explained Fuller, "but I really needed the audience . to feel trapped and to get a sense of the slum itself. . I didn't want the audience to feel comfortable." Fuller liked the classroom feeling of floor seating as much of the play took place in a classroom setting, but she also wanted to create the impression for the audience of being part of the crowd. She wanted to share what she felt while in Mumbai as a white foreigner; she wanted the audience to feel like it was on display and a part of the show.

The acting itself was flawless. Each actor paid as much attention to the details of his or her role as Fuller did to the rest of the performance. This was particularly apparent during the more emotional scenes, such as one shared between Aadesh and his father toward the end of the show. The audience sat on the floor as the two actors shared the powerful scene, and the makeshift room filled with raw emotion. As the two argued, the audience sat completely still, captivated by the spirit of the performance.

In writing the piece, Fuller's goal was to enlighten Americans about the lives led by these people living in the slums of Mumbai and the issues that they face on a daily basis. The play also discusses the idea that volunteering abroad is not necessarily a helpful endeavor, especially when there is no follow-up. (Luckily, Fuller's program will be running again this year, and another Brandeis student will be following up on the work she did during her time there.) Mostly, though, she wanted to reveal her message through theater.

"It really is one of the only things that doesn't require anything but your body. . Just teaching [the kids] the great things they can do with their bodies, if anything, that's what I left them with. And also that theater specifically is a source of empowerment." With such a powerful and flawless performance, Dreaming Up Nonsense certainly accomplished its goal to connect with and educate the audience. The semi-autobiographical piece dealt seamlessly with issues of class, race, religion, culture shock, gender and a slew of other intense topics. In regards to Fuller's goal for theater to address and mediate social issues, Dreaming Up Nonsense was a shining success.

Editor's note: Bryan Prywes '11 is a Justice staff writer.