“Prior to becoming a theatre artist & film actor, I was a professional dance choreographer from Hyderabad. Though they’re both in the performing arts, when it comes to training, acting requires much more patience & dedication than dancing in my opinion.

I started my theatre arts journey in 2018.
A few of my friends from my batch in college encouraged me to get into professional acting during the final year of my B.Tech. Initially, they suggested I get into an acting school but as it was very expensive, my btech classmates has found an other way to seek training in acting & decided to get me into theatre arts. I auditioned with Samahaara Theatre Group and got into Theatre arts. I was with the Samahara group for 1.5 years having performed 8 plays in which we performed 60 shows all over India.

Later I got an opportunity to become an assistant director for the film named ‘Akasa Veedhullo.’ It was a memorable 6 months for me working with the team and I have learned a lot about filmmaking during the process. After that project, I joined Nibha Theatre Ensemble. We continued rehearsals and shows online even during the pandemic with Nasreen Ishaque, who’s the director of Nibha Theatre Ensemble and now we are back again performing in front of a live audience. Through Nibha I have done 4 plays and performed in 26 shows so far.

Coming from a middle-class family, it wasn’t easy for me to pursue performing arts full-time. After completing my BTech, I worked as an intern in a corporate firm for a couple of weeks before joining theatre arts. Initially, my parents weren’t aware of my work. After a few months, I once invited them to one of the plays called Baap re Baap. After watching me perform on stage in front of a live audience, they were pleasantly surprised and happy with what I was doing. It took some time for them to understand but eventually, I was able to gain their confidence.

In theatre, a lot of an actor’s working life is spent rehearsing and preparing for performances. We may have to perform the same role for weeks or even months. We also need to research the characters, learn our lines, and prepare for and attend auditions.

Being real with oneself is important in theatre. I believe teamwork, patience, knowledge, and dedication are major aspects of any profession and the same applies to theatre arts too. A successful actor or actress should be able to work well with other actors and all the technical members of the production crew. One has to be committed, and passionate about their work, and eventually success follows.”

• Featuring Kiran Yarnam, Theatre Artist, Film Actor