The cast and crew with Uma Krishnaswami, author of Chachaji's Cup. 

Making Books Sing's Artistic Team will bring you the "behind the scenes" P.O.V. from the cast and crew of our upcoming musical, Tea with Chachaji. We catch up this month with the Librettist of Tea with Chachaji Gwynne Watkins.

How familiar were you with Indian culture and Indian history before you began working on Tea with Chachaji? What kind of research did you do?

Indian culture and history is an enormous subject; let's say I was very familiar with very small parts of it.  From studying religion in college, I was already interested in Hindu writing and mythology. I'd also studied ancient Indian theater in college, and a few years ago I got very into Bollywood movies. And I love Indian food - I even served it at my wedding!
 
I must admit, before I started working on this show, I didn't know anything about the Partition of India. And I knew very little about the South Asian experience in America. For research, I read a lot of books about first- and second-generation Indian immigrants. I read about the Partition, including a heartbreaking book of first-person narratives. I read several translations of stories from the Ramayana.  I went to the "Little India" section of Queens. And most importantly, I talked to some American children of Indian parents about their experiences growing up.
 
What were some of the challenges you faced in writing the libretto for Tea with Chachaji? What about the process has been the most rewarding?

The big challenge, of course, was to take "Chachaji's Cup" - a quiet, beautiful little book -- and transform it into a big, vibrant, exciting musical. I knew right away that we'd be adding a lot to the story. I elaborated on tiny things from the book: a picture of Hanuman crossing a mountain, a one-line mention of Hindi films. Daniel and Anya were challenging characters, because we created them from the ground up.
 
There have been plenty of rewarding moments. The songs that went through the most drafts - "Without Breaking" and "Hanuman" - are the ones that I'm happiest with, and it was really thrilling watching them come together.
 
Tea with Chachaji depicts three generations of the same family. How has being a mom with a family of your own influenced your work on Tea with Chachaji?

I was still on maternity leave when I started writing this show! I didn't consciously write about my own family, but parenthood was very much on my brain from the start. Having a son (he's two now) has really made me appreciate my own parents and grandparents in a whole new way. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I had Neel's teenage problems, but suddenly I relate more to the mother! So the show is very much about family, and the way our relationships grow and change.

What was your experience with family theater/theater for young audiences like when you were young? What is it like now that you're a parent? How has working with Making Books Sing influenced your feelings about family
theater?

From a young age, my parents took me to lots of plays. And I swear I remember them all!I really want to instill that love of theater in my son; we actually watched a children's Shakespeare production in Prospect Park this summer, and even though he's tiny, he was mesmerized.  I was like, yes! He got the gene!
 
Making Books Sing has made me realize the possibilities of children's theater - that it can really reach out across ages and cultures in a big way. And that it can be fresh and original. It's very, very exciting to me to be involved in a show like this.
 
What do you value the most in a work of family theater, both artistically and educationally?
 
Good family theater respects a kid's perspective. I like shows that are funny without being condescending, smart without leaving kids in the dark. I think kids need to be shown that theater can tell new stories, because so much of children's theater is the same stories recycled over and over.  And I love what Making Books Sing does in terms of introducing kids to new cultures and ideas. It's the perfect medium for that.
 
Tea with Chachaji premieres January 25 - February 11, 2010 across New York City.
Interview from Making Books Sing E-News, November/December 2009

Making Books Sing's Artistic Team will bring you the "behind the scenes" P.O.V. from the cast and crew of our upcoming musical, Tea with Chachaji. We catch up this month with the Composer of Tea with Chachaji and long-time teaching artist Denver Casado.
 
1) Tell us a little about your musical theater background. When did you start composing? What made you want to compose for the theater?

I think my initial fascination with "musical theatre" stemmed from the animated Disney musicals of the 1990's - I would watch these movies repeatedly as a kid and always felt that writing songs "like that" was something I wanted and could do.  Then I took my first trip to New York City in 7th grade (I'm originally from California) and fell in love with Broadway.  I started writing songs when I was 12 and would continue to write for anything I could - high schools skits, solo piano pop songs, I even wrote my high school's graduation song.  I studied classical composition at NYU but really learned the craft afterwards in the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop. 
 
 2) How familiar were you with Indian music and Indian instruments before you began working on Tea with Chachaji? What kind of research did you do?

I knew very little about Indian music and instrumentation before beginning this project. I checked out dozens of books and CD's from the library and somehow got my hands on a compilation of the top 250 songs of Bollywood.  I immersed myself in the music for a couple of months.  YouTube was also a valuable resource - Gwynne and I would frequently send each other links to videos ranging from Bollywood dance numbers to classical concerts to little kids reciting the Hanuman Chalisa. 
 
3) What were some of the challenges you faced in writing the music for Tea with Chachaji? What about the process has been the most rewarding?

It's been rewarding to explore the creation of a new musical language that combines South-Asian melodic inflections with contemporary Western harmonies and structure, but finding that balance has also been the biggest challenge. The most difficult song to write was the Hanuman story.  Musically, I knew I wanted it to start in a traditional way that felt like a classical raga.  But as Neel takes over the story, I then wanted this traditional section to somehow melt into a more contemporary style that still had all the basic DNA of that opening raga.  Additionally, the story had to build in a convincing way that was not disjointed.  I think we've finally come close to achieving this in Hanuman Version 17.
 
4) Without giving anything away, what's your favorite song or moment in Tea with Chachaji and why?

"Without Breaking," the partition song, is probably my favorite of the show.  I love how epic it feels and the journey it takes the audience on.  Lyrically and musically I think it strikes an effective balance of portraying suffering, pain, strength and hope.  And I'm proud of the musical themes that I establish in the song that recur repeatedly throughout the show.
 
5) What was it like to hear the workshop cast of Tea with Chachaji sing the show?

Thrilling.  It's a feeling beyond joy to watch Tim Rosser (our music director) and our superb cast make the music (that up to then has been only in my head) come to life.  And watching Rajendra (our director) work with the actors is incredibly inspiring.  I feel very fortunate to be working with such talented people - it makes me want to keep writing.
 
6) You're also a Making Books Sing teaching artist. How has that experience influenced your work on Tea with Chachaji? How has it influenced your work as a musical theater artist overall?

As a Making Books Sing teaching artist I've been challenged to convey the basic principles of musical theatre writing and story-telling to young students who typically have no musical background.  In doing so it's helped me clarify my craft and assess what truly is important in creating a compelling story.  Additionally, working with students year and after year has helped me form a solid idea of what they will and won't respond to in a musical.

 
Tea with Chachaji premieres January 25 - February 11, 2010 across New York City.
Interview from October/November 2009 Making Books Sing E-News