Misf!t, a theatre studio that makes actors ready for life

Misf!t, a Bengaluru-based acting studio, is staging a psychological thriller, Blindspot Season 2, over the weekend. This production is one of the many theatrical ventures by the studio since the demise of its founder, Ratan Thakore Grant in 2020. Misf!t’s programming resumed in 2022 with a play reading followed by classes and workshops. This play, an updated version of Blindspot Season 1, follows the journey of psychiatrist  Anika Sharma as she navigates fragmented memories and a murder investigation. This production is being staged by a new cast of actors from the studio’s recent batches, and also features a new set of exciting clues.

It has been a challenge for the studio to make theatre relevant to the youth at a time when OTT content is grabbing all the attention. However, Vishal Nayer and Venkatesan Vaidhyanathan, students of Ratan, have taken on the mantle of Misf!t to further their mentor’s vision of making theatre original and relevant. The late founder believed that anyone could be an actor with proper training, and that led to the creation of a distilled syllabus spanning two to three months. Later he further condensed the timeframe of the workshops to six weeks. The system continues to be intense while ensuring it’s not time consuming.

Both Nayer and Vaidhyanathan met Ratan in their early twenties. “One of my college mates, who had moved to Bengaluru, introduced me to Misf!t. I finished my level one grading and was immediately cast in a play,” says Vaidhyanathan, who is also a software engineer. Both of them have retained the six-week training format. They also have a grading week, wherein the audience offers constructive feedback after the performance. “On multiple occasions in the past, if the feedback was not constructive, Baba [as students would call Ratan] would stand up for the performer,” says Vaidhyanathan.

The first production staged after the duo took over was Connectelogues version 3. It was completely actor-driven and brought together various monologues, written and created by the actors, into a single unifying story. Nayer recalls learning the ropes of building an institution from Ratan.“Venkatesan and I, and a couple of others, were with him during that journey. We learnt how to take something and start from the ground up. So after his passing when we restarted in 2020, it felt like 2009 again. Whatever we had learned during the last 14-15 years came together in rebuilding this,” he says.

As he started Begin to Believe workshops in 2022, Nayer began to understand the intricacies of what it means to be a mentor. “I could see a major difference in my personality, in how I operate. Just the sight of seeing these actors grow is so satisfying,” he says.

The duo also focuses on making the venture financially sustainable. They have hired a rehearsal space in Koramangala, where Ratan conducted his workshops from 2011 to 2016. “It is now the official Misf!t studio, where we conduct all the activities, like the Begin to Believe workshops, improv classes, film screenings etc. The space is also available to rent it out to other theatre, dance, yoga groups,” says Nayer.

Sravasti Datta is a Bengaluru-based culture writer.