Just Hiss

Vivek Vijayakumaran is an actor, trainer, director and theatre maker who over the last 15 years has trained with some of the most renowned theatre stalwarts and masters, like Shri Heisnam Kanhailal and Shri G Venu. The most recent being at The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, in Italy.

Recipient of the INLAKS India Theatre Award – 2012. His work BHIMA was performed at the International theatre festival in Colombo (2016) and was featured at META 2017. His other notable works as an actor include Naariyal Paani, Pagdi, Prelude, Yayati and Bali. Most recent being Adhura, The Quest and his debut in award winning Malayalam film PADA. As a director, his recent work include Imagine a Room and a play for children called Just Hiss.

He is also the artistic director at Our Theatre Collective, which runs and manages Our Theatre Studio (Koramangala 4th block, Bangalore), a studio space for creative expressions and explorations in the theatre.

Suranjay is a seasoned theatre practitioner based in Bangalore. As a writer, Suranjay co-wrote Adhura, a solo performance in Hindi, which has been performed across multiple cities since 2020. He also wrote Just Hiss,  showcased at ‘Aha Theatre for Children Festival- 2023’ at Rangashankara, Bangalore.

Being part of ‘Tanariri’ for 5 years, he participated in over 45 shows (Hindi/English) in different capacities. He is associated with Our Theatre Collective since 2019, contributing to the Online Creation Series (Pyaade, Do Machaliyan, Udo), initiatives like See-Saw, Eat-for-Art and ongoing productions.

His work, Just Hiss is recipient of Bhasha Centre’s Co Production grant.

Abhitej is a Bengaluru based actor and has been part of over ten plays with various theatre groups in the city. Some of the recent productions he has acted in are – Just Hiss, Apne Ghar Jaisa and Imagine A Room. Apart from stage, he is also a voiceover artist and screen actor. A B.E. graduate, he has been interested in theatre since school and landing in Bangalore opened up the world of theatre to him. Since then he’s been part of workshops and training programs to hone his craft and has worked with productions as a backstage or technical help too. He has also been facilitating theatre workshops for children and adults. He has been part of Our Theatre Collective, Bengaluru for the past six years initially as a trainee actor during a one year long intensive program and then as an actor along with handling administrative and operational activities of the collective.

Virginia Rodrigues is a multifaceted, multilingual film and theatre actor with a rich three decades of experience in theatre. Her repertoire includes work with some of the finest theatre practitioners and groups in the country. 

Apart from her theatre prowess, Virginia is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, voice narrator, professional photographer and film maker, documenting the intricacies of artistic processes for over two decades now. 

As an ATSA Scholar in Arts Management, Virginia doesn’t just perform; she curates experiences, shaping the cultural landscape with her boundless passion. 

In mainstream cinema, Virginia has left impactful performances in films like Samarppanam (Malayalam), Mahira (Kannada) and has some promising new projects that are yet to release. 

Sachin is an actor, singer and a Kalari payattu practitioner, currently based in Bangalore. He integrates physical work to explore characters and includes movement and Kalaripayattu as a part of his regular practice.

He worked as an architect for two years before deciding to pursue his passion for theatre, to that end he trained himself in acting and theatre making from the Drama School Mumbai (DSM).

After graduating from DSM he has been working with Our Theatre Collective, Bangalore and Indianostrum Theatre, Pondicherry. He is trained in Therukoothu and Ottan Thullal, theatre forms from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. He has so far acted in four plays, two solo performances for children, two short films and has collaborated with independent videographers to create movement videos.  

Currently, he is training in Thullal with Kalamandalam Suresh Kaliyath, for which he has received INLAKS Theatre Award 2024.

Arun DT is a Bengaluru based multifaceted artist with a passion for acting, lighting design, and production. With 8+ years of experience in the theatre, Arun has successfully managed numerous productions, showcasing his versatile skills and dedication to the craft

Aastha is a Bangalore-based visual arts practitioner, costume designer and a theatre worker. She has a BVA in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU Baroda, and an MFA in Painting from SN School of Arts and Communications, Hyderabad Central University. Her practice includes primarily painting and the visual aspects of theatre. She is interested in the ways the human body becomes part of a setting, and theatre is one medium that allows her to explore this question through various lenses: costume, light, depth, voice, and performance. She currently works at Head Start Educational Academy in Bangalore as a Visual Arts facilitator in the Theatre department. She also designs costumes for productions in the city.

Ankit Tripathi has been active in the Bangalore theatre scene for more than a decade now. He has trained and performed under numerous directors, eventually establishing his own group, Tripathi Studios, where he writes, devises, and directs original plays. His play Juliet और Juliet has been running for 2 years now, which is a devised production. His passion for theatre takes him to various groups where he helps in putting up productions. Primarily an actor, Ankit is now a screenwriter, playwright, actor and writer trainer, and loves helping artists and theatre groups in the city.

Garima Mishra is a theatre artist and facilitator. Her journey with theatre started back in college and since then she has worked with various groups and directors like Vivek Vijayakumarn, Our Theatre Collective, Bangalore and Kumarane Valavane, Indianostrum Pondicherry amongst few others. She has done various workshops like Clowning with Amares Teatro, Therukoothu with Sri. Purisai Kannappa Sambandhan and Exploring Navarasas with Vivek Vijayakumaran amongst few others that have shaped her theatre practice.

She continues to work in theatre because she believes that the experience of a live interaction between an artist, the story and the live audience is like no other.