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We come together
To share our experiences
To revitalise our energies and
To hold hands in joy
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| KULAVAI is the name of the interactive
women's theatre festival conducted from time to time
by Voicing Silence. KULAVAI, a Tamil word connoting
the ululations of women on ritual occasions and ceremonies,
refers to celebrations. KULAVAI has been a coming together,
a celebration, a joyous sharing - of and by women -
in theatre. |
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| KULAVAI 96, at the national level,
was the first attempt to link theatre persons with an
interest in gender issues, with cultural activists and
NGOs addressing women's issues with cultural activists
and NGOs addressing women's issues through theatre.
It explored, through discussions, workshops and performances,
the role of theatre as an instrument of constructive
intervention in the empowerment of women. |
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| KULAVAI 97 was a confluence of professional
women stage artists of Tamil Nadu from a range of forms
- traditional genres to the contemporary street theatre
of protest. It looked at stage of roles set aside for
women, ways of earning 'remuneration' and 'respect'
and problems of relating to fellow artists, male and
female, and to society. |
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| KULAVAI 99, at the regional level,
was a celebration of women's voices from the four Southern
states - a platform to assert the role of theatre in
cultural activism as well as the need for gendered perspectives
in social action. It promoted interaction in theatrical
modes, transcending language barriers. |
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| KULAVAI 2002 was dedicated to women
directors, recognizing that many have questioned the
very concept and implied marginalisation in the term
'woman director' While a seminar brought together theatre
practitioners to critique and understand the work of
some women directors, the work of three, representing
different styles and regions, was showcased. |
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| KULAVAI 2003 in a one-day festival,
presented nine women solo performers from around the
country, in a day-long series of performances. Speaking
in different voices, styles, forms and languages - from
tragic to comic, traditional to avant-grade - each communicated
in the universal language of theatre. |
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| KULAVAI conceptualised and coordinated
by Mina Swaminathan and A. Mangai. |
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