SS International Live, an Event Production Company based in Chennai, India, has been producing events from the year 2012. Having completed over 100 successful events till date, their successful journey in the arena of producing and staging shows of high standards has earned them an elite position. This success helped them conceive yet another most thought inciting story of the life of Kanchi Mahaperiyavaa. His life apart from religion has been most inspiring and motivating to the people around him and this, the producers have depicted through their play ‘Deivathul Deivam’. It was brought live to Singapore audience in March 2019. The organisers talk about their challenges and the process of the show in Singapore.
The training process for the local artist in a short duration
Our play needed 108 artists out of which we managed to take 50 performers from Chennai to Singapore. The rest were auditioned virtually through skype, three to four months before the play was staged. We needed background/atmosphere actors who either had very few dialogues, or none, (to be as audience in few scenes). Two to three local artists were given sizable roles for which training/rehearsal started three months before staging the play, via video calls.
Video clippings of scenes (performed in India) to be enacted, were sent to these individuals for their reference and rehearsal. This mode of training was very effective as the performers were well equipped with their roles by the time we had our final on-stage run through at the auditorium, a day before the play.
Bringing together such large numbers of artists locally
During our frequent visits to Singapore, for recce of venue, hotels and to discuss on other logistics, we identified couple of senior artists and entrusted them with the task of scouting artists with the description of their characters. Suitable artists were sourced, post which audition took place via skype and appropriate roles were assigned to the selected artists, based on their acting skills.
The challenges in bringing these many artists from India
The cast and crew flew out to Singapore hassle-free with no significant challenges. Tickets, visa, local travel etc., were well organised. A hotel very close to the venue, (though pricy) was arranged for stay, to avoid shuttling expenses.
The co-operation from the sponsors in Singapore
We were majorly banking on individual donors and approached a few high net worth individuals, out of which 50% obliged. Surprise element was the generous contribution from audiences who watched the play.
Though the show was a great success, financially we incurred loss. This our financial loss seemed trivial to us when compared to the bona fide blessings and appreciation we were showered upon by the thousands of people who watched our shows.
Their gratefulness, hearts’ content, testimony of their divine experience etc., have given us a sense of divine happiness which is beyond human understanding and materialistic needs.
How did the Singapore audience receive the program?
People who watched the play were overwhelmed by the glimpses of emotions, divinity, pragmatic scenes, ethics, morals etc., were emotionally charged by this “never seen or heard before” real incidents of their most revered spiritual guru. We have been swamped with appreciative mails from people who have watched our play.
Others
For us and for the devotees of Maha Periyavaa, it was an wholesome experience, along with generously provided free lunch and dinner, apt venue (temple) for a play of saintly genre, filled with divinity and an air of profuse devoutness, people were doubly blessed with holy food for body and life’s lessons for mind and soul. We are confident that we have left behind, an indelible influence / memory, in the hearts and minds of the people of Singapore.