Making her mark in theater

Kathmandu / February 4: Kenipa Singh stepped into the theater scene almost two years ago, debuting with Sunil Pokharel’s ‘Jaar.’ Her talent was duly noticed by theater personalities and the audiences. Since then, she has been part of four plays- ‘Koi Kina Barbad Hos,’ ‘Me and the Other,’ ‘Vaitarnee Café,’ and most recently, Rajkumar Pudasaini’s ‘Jiwan Chalirahancha-1.’ Singh has only just come back from Kolkata, India where the team of ‘Me and the Other’ performed on January 26.

The theater artiste, who believes in living in the present, says she is also open to the prospect of working in films as long as she likes the character she is offered to play.

How did you get into theater?

I was a huge admirer of Sunil Pokharel sir and I used to watch his plays at Gurukul. When I found out that he was conducting workshops, I felt I had to join in. The workshop was a complete revelation. In the course of watching plays and films, I had assumed that I could perhaps act. But I realized that I knew nothing. The three months of the workshop was surely a learning experience.

What was one of the first lessons that stuck with you?

Sunil sir stressed on the importance of immersing ourselves into the character we are playing. In order to do that, he would tell us to create a background of our characters. What was my character’s favorite color? What did she think about so and so situation? I learnt not just to say my dialogues but really understand the person I was being during the workshop.

Do you enjoy interacting with the audience members?

Yes, it’s quite fun. Most people will have already left by the time we finish changing our costumes but there are still some people who are there to talk to us. I believe it’s an exciting time for theater in Nepal. Young people are very interested in theater these days. I really enjoy talking to the audience. I remember after a show of ‘Jaar’ where some people had questions like ‘Was I really crying?’, ‘Did I use glycerin so that I could cry during the performance?’, ‘How did my co-star manage to look like he was sweating?’ That was a funny moment.

What are some of the compliments you’ve received that you remember?

Once Prof Abhi Subedi said he liked my work and he’d like to have me in his play. It felt amazing. Sarita Giri didi also told me that Saugat Malla had liked my work which was very nice to hear. I like that people message me on social media and tell me they enjoyed my performances. They ask me when my next work is coming out so that they can come to watch.

What are you looking forward to the most?

Actually, I’m really eager to do characters that have a comic element to them. Even though my roles till date have been varied, they’ve all been intense and emotional. So I’m looking forward to playing humorous characters. It’s also because I want to discover whether I have it in me to make people laugh. (Source: myrepublica)