The Bangalore Chorus to stage ‘Annie’ on October 26 and 27

The tiled-roof atrium with a beautiful red-oxide floor in Annaswamy Mudaliar School, Fraser Town, is brimming with children aged five and above. While some are busy being just children, others jump about excitedly discovering their acrobatic abilities. In one corner, little girls dance daintily to a song that they are whispering to themselves, while senior children are busy arranging the floor as a stage, setting it up with props as professionally as possible. While they carry tables, chairs and bedding to set the stage for the first scene, they are bumped into by naughty ones cart-wheeling. Undeterred, they hush the children and go about their job.

This is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of rehearsals of The Bangalore Chorus (TBC), which is gearing up for its annual production. This time it is the musical Annie, based on a book by Thomas Meehan, originally directed by Martin Charnin for Broadway. Dr Maya Mascarenhas and Judith Roby Bidapa co-direct Annie for TBC. The proceeds from the show will go towards Jyothi Seva Home and School for the Blind, Bengaluru.

Judy and a few parents get the children to form a circle and start with the warm up exercises, while Maya sits to talk with us about Annie and TBC. “We have children, who are the actual cast of the TBC training programme, who will be acting and singing. We train them to stage a play each year as an annual programme.”

Every year, Maya starts a batch at the end of April or May with a nine-month programme, where the children learn choral singing. “We call it a ‘show choir’ as we do a lot of choreography; they are not just standing but moving and singing. Some songs require a little bit of theatre so we have musical theatre.”

The TBC concerts have mostly been excerpts from musicals, says Maya. “They are called the Big Bang series. I noticed that the children are talented and decided to challenge them further with a musical.”

The choir practise with Dr Maya Mascarenhas
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

A paediatrician, Maya says she has music is in her blood. Annie was chosen, Maya says, because it is a child-friendly musical. “Second, we got the rights, which cost us a bomb, but we managed with the help of crowd-funding and sponsors and third, because it is a story of hope.”

Annie will feature children from 50 schools across Bengaluru, who enrolled as part of TBC training programme. “The youngest is four. All our concerts work with the philosophy of ‘Children for Children’. Whatever funds we raise, goes to a charity that works with vulnerable children. This year, we chose Jyothi Seva Home and School.”

When Maya discovered some of the children from Jyothi Seva sang well, she got them to sing on stage. “They will be singing for four minutes. It may look like a small amount of time, but is a message to TBC children that they need to be empathetic. Visually impaired children will be a part of the finale where the entire cast and crew come together to sing.”

Working with the visually impaired children, Maya says, has been an incredible experience. “I sent them the songs, which the sisters at their school converted to Braille. By the time I met them, they had already learnt the songs.” Maya is the Chief Inspiration Officer of TBC which was founded in August 2015.

By now the cast is busy doing their vocal exercises while one child is hanging from a pillar and another is crawling under a table. As though reading my mind, Maya says, “The challenge is not in disciplining them, but how and who to cast as each child is so talented. The worst part is dealing with the disappointment of children who are not selected.”

Children are like sponges, Maya says. “They soak in everything. We end up with so many children, including adults, who passed out of our training, who return. I literally throw them out saying this is for children, but they refuse to leave and then we end up casting them too.”

Maya with co-director, Judith Roby Bidapa
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Thanking Annaswamy Mudaliar School for giving them space to practise, Maya says “I call it the family chorus and not just the Bangalore Chorus as we have grown into a huge family, where everyone is involved in making this happen.”

By now the stage is set and Maya moves off to give the children a few instructions, while Judy calls out the cues: “Silence, positions, Blackout, …. and lights.”

The children enact the first scene of the play, which opens with the popular song, ‘It’s the Hard-Knock Life,’ composed by Charles Strouse, which the children sang with professionalism and beauty. Then they in the roles of Miss Hannigan, Annie and the orphans, win you over with their acting and comic timing.

As the rehearsal progresses and Annie escapes from the orphanage, we quietly leave the rehearsal.

Annie will be staged on October 26 and 27 (at 3pm and 7pm on both days). The venue is Chowdiah Memorial Hall. Donor passes on Insider and Paytm.