Satyam Singh, a young actor from Delhi, finds it fascinating that a male artist can perform a female role in Yakshagana, without letting the facade slip.
“In other forms the audience can easily identify a man in a female role. But it’s hard in Yakshagana, as the make-up, costume, body language, and changing the voice from masculine to feminine is unique,” he said.
Mr. Singh is among a group of 20 young people, including three girls, from North India who underwent a one-month free training at a workshop on the basics of Yakshagana at Shrimaya Yakshagana Kalakendra, the Yakshagana training centre of Sri Idagunji Mahaganapathi Yakshagana Mandali of Keremane, at Gunavanthe village, last month. The mandali, a repertory established in 1934 by the late Keremane Shivarama Hegde, is inching towards 90 years of its existence.
