Odia diaspora stages suspense thriller in Massachusetts

Bhubaneswar: Members of Odisha Society of the Americas (OSA), NYNJPA chapter, presented Odia drama ‘Daku Dhurandhar’ at the Northeast Regional Drama Festival (RDF) in Massachusetts, recently.

The 45-minute play, a suspense thriller with four scenes, was staged at Miscoe Hill Middle School, Mendon.The play written and directed by Madhusmruti Lenka, a finance professional, is set in a village of Odisha. “We staged the play at the festival because it gives us a platform to represent our language and showcase Odia drama. Our main goal is to keep our Odia culture and theatrical traditions alive in the US, especially within the OSA community,” said Madhusmruti, who also acted in the play.The different roles were played by Ranjan Mishra, Smruti Dora, Amar Senapati, Sanjeeb Rao, Suresh Lenka, Madhusmruti Lenka, Subhadra Mishra, while Pradip Tripathy guided them during practice. They were supported by Nilasundar Jena, president of OSA, NYNJPA. Members of the troupe were drawn from different professions such as medicine, engineering, science and finance.“The group members practised every weekend at a chosen location, usually the home of a member, in the month preceding the festival.

During weekdays, we used to practise online after work,” said Suresh Lenka, one of the actors and co-ordinator of the troupe.The actors prepared the costumes themselves, like those of policemen, props as well as different settings for the stage. The troupe members drove 400 km from New Jersey to Massachusetts to represent their chapter at the festival. “We staged plays so that our new generation can connect with Odia drama,” said Suresh.