For more than a decade, Anish Jethmalani has been a staple in Chicago's theater scene, acting and directing in productions as diverse as Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo to Dickens' A Christmas Carol. In 2003, Anish co-founded the Rasaka Theatre Company in Chicago, the Midwest's first South Asian American ensemble. Anish took time from his busy schedule to speak with SAADA about his work with Rasaka, the growing presence of South Asians in American theater, and the case for Chicago as the "hands down" best place for theater in the country.

MD: I thought I'd start off by asking how you first got involved in theater and if there were plays, actors, or playwrights that influenced you.

AJ: I come from a family of artists. My mother was an actress and a director, primarily theater. And I had uncles who were involved in theater as well; they worked quite a bit both in India and here in the States, mostly South Asian and Sanskrit theater. So I come from a long history of family members who participated in the arts, and I started participating when I was fairly young. When I was much younger, I was involved with a few organizations here in Chicago including the Gujarati Samaj and the Chitrahar Cultural Academy which both championed the arts. I had family who were heavily involved in both organizations, so all of this had quite an influence on me just in terms of exposing the arts to me. So that's where my love for theater started.

MD: What were those plays like that you saw your family involved in? You said they were Sanskrit plays?

AJ: My mom was an actress, director and producer. There were a few Sanskrit plays that she staged here in Chicago. One was Kalidasa’s Shakantula. They produced that back in the 80s. At that time, it was really rare to see that kind of theatre being done here in Chicago. And it was not exposed to the masses per se; it was done mostly for within the community. So, there was this idea that she really wanted to bring back those classic Sanskrit plays that had been rarely done here in the states. These are plays that are thousands of years old and she was primarily interested in exposing this work to a new audience. So I was exposed to this type of work when I was much younger. And they had worked quite a bit on putting that up, and finding South Asian artists within the community to come and participate.

MD: How did Rasaka come into existence?

AJ: A few artists including myself had founded the company back in 2003. At the time, there was a group of us here in Chicago who were feeling like there was a lack of opportunity for South Asian Artists. We wanted to form a company that was not only going to be able to expose South Asian work to Chicago but also to give South Asian American artists more opportunities to be seen and heard. So we started Rasaka with the intent to explore and expose our culture to the community in addition to nurturing our current and future artists.

MD: What kind of plays are performed by Rasaka? And I was curious too, what kind of audiences attend the shows?

AJ: Well, the company has produced a handful of plays since 2003. We debuted with a full production of a play called The Masrayana, which was produced in 2005. Between 2003 and 2005, we produced mostly stage readings and workshops. The Masrayana focused on a man who is fighting to reclaim his identity in India after it had been stolen from him. This was a play that William Kovacsik had written based on real life events, of farmers whose identities had been stolen, and the Indian government would be proclaimed them to be deceased. The production was a great success for us. To my knowledge, it was one of the first professional Our audiences have come from all different backgrounds and it’s been encouraging to see the South Asian American community in Chicago come out and support us.productions in Chicago theatre that featured an almost entire South Asian American cast. It was a huge hit -- we sold out almost every performance during the run of that show. And I think that show really put Rasaka on the map in the Chicago Theatre community. We followed that up with successful productions of original work, new plays and staged readings we produced. We've tried to find a balance to produce work that is not exclusively South Asian-centric, but also work that could be open to a cross-cultural focus, where South Asian American artists can perform in roles they may not necessarily be seen in at other theatres. Our audiences have come from all different backgrounds and it’s been encouraging to see the South Asian American community in Chicago come out and support us.

MD: I saw too that Yoni Ki Baat was produced at Rasaka.

AJ: Yes. Rasaka had two successful runs of that piece. We about different productions being done in the country, and we wanted to do one in Chicago as well.

MD: When I was interviewing Joher Coleman, he discussed the specific difficulties of being a biracial, South Asian actor on TV. My sense is that with theater there's more a sense of autonomy than television and film, that one has more ownership over their story and their representations. Does that ring true -- does theater have more advantages than, say, film or television?

AJ: In my opinion, theatre in general seems to be behind when it comes to seeing a healthy representation of all cultural communities at large in stories that are being seen on American stages, but that is changing – albeit slowly, but changing nonetheless. I think that all forms of American entertainment have their challenges and hurdles in how South Asian American artists are being seen and represented. Certainly, there seems to be more flexibility in theater to do color-blind casting and cross-cultural stories, but the landscape is such that I think it's still a struggle for many South Asian American actors. The entertainment business in general will always be difficult for any artist to prove themselves, but it seems to be especially the case for artists of color. We are constantly battling misperceptions and stereotypes of every kind, but all of this being said, I think we’re in a far better place now than we have been in years. South Asian culture has had greater exposure to mainstream media and people seem to be more open to seeing us in ways that they're not used to seeing us. There are far more South Asian artists out there now than there ever has been before and as a whole, the South Asian American community has positioned itself a well respected and affluent group of citizens with quite a bit of influence. Just in television alone, you're seeing a good number of South Asian actors who are able to play far more complex and meaningful characters. So yes, we’ve made quite a bit of progress in the last decade alone, but I still think we have a long ways to go. I'd like to see more South Asian artists involved in the theater. Right now, it seems to be embedded in our culture to go after the "practical choice." I think the South Asian community still struggles to see the arts as a way towards success. But, I'm seeing a lot of professionals change careers, who pursued lines of work like being a lawyer, doctor, engineer, and decided midway through, that this wasn't what they really wanted to do. They shifted gears and moved more towards their passion, or they start doing it on the side and have become successful.

MD: That's what's so interesting to hear about your story. It was actually your family that drew you into the world in theater.

AJ: Yes, they definitely inspired me. I'm sure they were also apprehensive, because at that time our parents' generation was looking for us to take advantage of the prosperity we could get in this country and so many of them were guiding us toward something a bit more practical. But you know, I try to find a balance in everything I do and that includes work and career as well. Life would be a bit boring if you just did one thing, you know.

MD: It mentioned in your bio that you work with several different companies beyond Rasaka.

AJ: Rasaka is one of many companies that I've worked with. I've been fortunate to have performed, produce and direct at several different companies in Chicago and also regionally. I’ve worked extensively with Eclipse Theatre Company in Chicago, which I used to run as an Artistic Director for several years.

MD: What production are you working now?

AJ: I'm currently working on Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, a play by Rajiv Joseph at the Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago and that runs through March 17th, 2013.

MD: What's Bengal Tiger about?

AJ: It’s an intelligently written, brilliant and a very funny play which was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. It takes place during the war in Iraq in 2003. It deals with two American soldiers who are guarding a Bengal Tiger at a zoo in Baghdad. After provoking the tiger, it retaliates and they kill it. As a result the tiger comes back to haunt them. We see the results of what happens with this, but the story also follows an Iraqi translator to the two soldiers, who struggles with his own demons after being haunted by the ghost of Uday Hussein, a man who he used to work for. We see how both of these narratives intertwine in a rather complex, beautiful and brutal way. It not only deals with the chaos of war, but also with the nature of man and existential themes as well.

MD: For our readers who want to check out more about the South Asian American theater scene, are there plays or playwrights you'd want to point them towards?

AJ: Well, certainly Rajiv Joseph is a writer people should pay attention to. He doesn't necessarily write about the South Asian experience, but he certainly is making some inroads into different cultures and I think he is such a smart writer. Sishir Kurup, who wrote Merchant on Venice-- he's a very talented writer as well, and I was fortunate to be able to work on the Chicago premiere of that play. Aditi Kapil is writing some wonderful stuff as well, and she's based out of Minneapolis. Anupama Chandrasekhar is someone we should pay attention to. Her play, Disconnect had its American premiere at the Victory Gardens here in Chicago. That play features an entire South Asian American cast, which is a first as far as I know for a major regional theatre here in Chicago. I would say visit SouthAsianplaywrights.org to learn more.

There's so many great writers out there right now. Ayad Akhtar, whose play Disgraced was just done here several months ago had a wonderful reception. It was just done Off-Broadway. There's a good number of playwrights who are making some inroads, and I think it's not only good for them but good for the entire South Asian community as well. They're going to write from what they know, and what their experience is -- and that's not necessarily exclusively the South Asian American experience -- but it could lend itself towards seeing the world from their eyes and thus expose more of how they see the people who inhabit their world and their own personal life journey.

And I'd also like to say there's a lot of great film and television that's being done in Chicago as well. Chicago is a burgeoning site of independent film. You know, everybody thinks of film and television and think Los Angeles, which of course makes a lot of sense. But things are starting to change and projects are shooting more and more outside of L.A. Chicago is a place where opportunities are opening up for artists in film and television.

MD: I'm glad you mentioned that. I was thinking earlier how both in terms of the South Asian American community and in terms of theater, we often think of New York as the central location. But even growing up in the Midwest, I remember Chicago having a vibrant cultural life.

AJ: Chicago is hands down the best place for theater -- of course, I might be very biased here, but this city and the theatre community here is really getting quite a lot of attention in recent years. You can produce here in a way that has more risk, more bite and not lose your shirt over it because a celebrity is not attached to a multi-million dollar Broadway production. The kind of work that's being done here is being recognized not only around the country but around the world. We have the best talent bar-none and the kind of work coming out of this city is always authentic, raw and has at its fundamental core the thing that most artists are striving for – reflecting the truth and the essence of the human condition.

To learn more about Anish's work, check out the following sites:
Rasaka Theater Company: http://www.rasakatheatre.org
South Asian Playwrights: http://southasianplaywrights.org