Minnesota Fringe Festival show ‘Manasu’ features South Asian queer love story
"Manasu" is a South Asian queer love story written by Divya Maiya. It will premiere at the Minnesota Fringe Festival on July 31.
Courtesy of Divya Maiya
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Audio transcript
CHRIS FARRELL: Starting this Thursday, local theaters across the Twin Cities will be filled with unique projects, plays, and performances as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival. In all, there will be hundreds of performances over 11 days. And whenever I've gone to one of these performances, I've had a great time. So we're going to spend the rest of the program featuring one of those shows. Manasu features a South Asian queer love story with an all South Asian cast. Divya Maiya is the playwright and director of the show. And she's also the co-founder of the South Asian Arts and Theater House here in the Twin Cities. Thanks for being here.
DIVYA MAIYA: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
CHRIS FARRELL: Now, I understand-- I've been told that you've been involved in the Fringe before, but this is your debut show as a playwright.
DIVYA MAIYA: That is correct. So we started in 2014 through SAATH. we did three shows, which were [INAUDIBLE] shows with a lot of dance and drama. But this time, it's completely different. It is a four-person cast, and it's an all South Asian cast. And it's a theater play about queer stories and their challenges with parenthood.
CHRIS FARRELL: So how are you feeling about bringing this show to the festival?
DIVYA MAIYA: I'm really excited. For SAATH, this is something new that we're trying. It's bolder stories. And it is not a kid-friendly show. And so we are exploring a lot of themes that are generally not talked about in the South Asian communities.
CHRIS FARRELL: So tell us a little bit about your artistic background. And how did that feed into this current work?
DIVYA MAIYA: I have been creating art for the past 12 years in Twin Cities, and I have a lot of artistic background from my childhood as well. I have been a dancer and choreographer for the most part. I co-founded SAATH in 2014. And I've been choreographing and also being an artistic director and bringing a lot of stories and creative projects to life since then.
And this is the first time I've got into playwriting. And I write a lot, and I love writing, but I've never written a play for theater. And this is the first time I'm doing that. I'm super excited for it.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, this is exciting. So where did you draw the inspiration to write Manasu?
DIVYA MAIYA: I think it comes from a lot of stories within the community and also my own personal story and struggle with infertility and my conflict with parenthood, whether to lead a childfree life or to have a child. So it's all of my internal conflict put into this play.
CHRIS FARRELL: So in the name Manasu, tell us about, what does this name signify?
DIVYA MAIYA: Manasu means mind in Kannada. And Kannada is my native language. I'm from Bangalore in India. And that's where this title comes from-- and the inner workings of the mind and all the things that goes in mind. And that's what's reflected. The show itself has three main leads-- one queer couple and their best friend-- and all of them having different ideas of parenthood.
CHRIS FARRELL: So yeah, so you mentioned the show, it does talk about queer love. And how is queer love treated in the South Asian community?
DIVYA MAIYA: I think there's a lot more acceptance than in the past. However, it's not boldly talked about and well accepted, especially in the South Asian diaspora here in the United States. So this is a attempt at normalizing queer love. We're not trying to showcase the struggles or anything about being queer. It's beyond that, normalizing queer love and going further to talk about what parenthood looks in queer families.
CHRIS FARRELL: So what do you hope South Asian audiences, non South Asian audiences-- what do you want them to take away from this show?
DIVYA MAIYA: This show is for everybody, not specifically for South Asian audiences. With my writing, I want to break a lot of stereotypes on how characters are portrayed and just bring plays to mainstream and not specific to South Asian audiences. And the main takeaway is, let's accept people for who they are and accept a lot of complex relationships, even though you don't understand it. And whether or not you have the same vision or view about certain topics, we can all come together and be there for each other.
CHRIS FARRELL: So I'm always interested in the process of writing. I guess journalists always are interested in the process of writing. So what was your process? How difficult was this for you to write?
DIVYA MAIYA: I think the difficult process was, within one hour, I'm trying to talk about [AUDIO OUT]. So that was a little challenging part for it. However, it's been a really exciting process for me. I haven't spent a lot of time in playwriting, especially this play. And it's only taken, like, five to six months to get this into production--
CHRIS FARRELL: Five to six months, wow.
DIVYA MAIYA: Yes, it's actually pretty fast. It's also pared down [AUDIO OUT] a bit more, like a 90-minute play. But it's pared down to the 60 minutes, just to fit into the Minnesota Fringe.
[AUDIO OUT]
CHRIS FARRELL: Sorry, you sort of bounced out there. We lost you. And we're just going to see-- are you still there?
DIVYA MAIYA: I'm still here. Can you hear me?
CHRIS FARRELL: Oh, now-- there we go. I'm sorry. You're saying that you pared it down to 90-- you pared it down?
DIVYA MAIYA: I pared it down to 60 minutes to fit into the Minnesota Fringe format.
CHRIS FARRELL: Got it. And so how is this show different from the past Fringe shows that you've been a part of?
DIVYA MAIYA: In the past Fringe shows we have done, the format has been more of an Indian film or a Bollywood film format. Where there is music and dance and storytelling, everything at once. And this time, it's just following more of a traditional theater play format, where it's all acts and no dancing involved. And that's a change from what we've mounted with the Fringe before.
CHRIS FARRELL: So do you have the bug now? Do you want to continue to be writing plays? Is this something--
DIVYA MAIYA: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I've always wanted to write. And I always wanted to write bolder stories. And I do have the bug. I'm already thinking of, what should be my next play?
CHRIS FARRELL: And can you tell us? Do you have an idea?
DIVYA MAIYA: For my next play?
CHRIS FARRELL: For your next play.
DIVYA MAIYA: Oh, I have a ton of ideas, talking about-- I love character development and bringing unique characters. And I do want to do more of a youth story for my next play.
CHRIS FARRELL: All right. So how can people see the show?
DIVYA MAIYA: Go to Minnesota Fringe website and look for Manasu-- that's M-A-N-A-S-U-- Echoes of the Mind. And we open on Thursday night at 7:00 PM.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, thank you very much for your time, and good luck with the performances. It sounds wonderful.
DIVYA MAIYA: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
CHRIS FARRELL: Divya Maya is the playwright and director of Manasu, a show debuting at the Minnesota Fringe Festival this Thursday.
DIVYA MAIYA: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
CHRIS FARRELL: Now, I understand-- I've been told that you've been involved in the Fringe before, but this is your debut show as a playwright.
DIVYA MAIYA: That is correct. So we started in 2014 through SAATH. we did three shows, which were [INAUDIBLE] shows with a lot of dance and drama. But this time, it's completely different. It is a four-person cast, and it's an all South Asian cast. And it's a theater play about queer stories and their challenges with parenthood.
CHRIS FARRELL: So how are you feeling about bringing this show to the festival?
DIVYA MAIYA: I'm really excited. For SAATH, this is something new that we're trying. It's bolder stories. And it is not a kid-friendly show. And so we are exploring a lot of themes that are generally not talked about in the South Asian communities.
CHRIS FARRELL: So tell us a little bit about your artistic background. And how did that feed into this current work?
DIVYA MAIYA: I have been creating art for the past 12 years in Twin Cities, and I have a lot of artistic background from my childhood as well. I have been a dancer and choreographer for the most part. I co-founded SAATH in 2014. And I've been choreographing and also being an artistic director and bringing a lot of stories and creative projects to life since then.
And this is the first time I've got into playwriting. And I write a lot, and I love writing, but I've never written a play for theater. And this is the first time I'm doing that. I'm super excited for it.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, this is exciting. So where did you draw the inspiration to write Manasu?
DIVYA MAIYA: I think it comes from a lot of stories within the community and also my own personal story and struggle with infertility and my conflict with parenthood, whether to lead a childfree life or to have a child. So it's all of my internal conflict put into this play.
CHRIS FARRELL: So in the name Manasu, tell us about, what does this name signify?
DIVYA MAIYA: Manasu means mind in Kannada. And Kannada is my native language. I'm from Bangalore in India. And that's where this title comes from-- and the inner workings of the mind and all the things that goes in mind. And that's what's reflected. The show itself has three main leads-- one queer couple and their best friend-- and all of them having different ideas of parenthood.
CHRIS FARRELL: So yeah, so you mentioned the show, it does talk about queer love. And how is queer love treated in the South Asian community?
DIVYA MAIYA: I think there's a lot more acceptance than in the past. However, it's not boldly talked about and well accepted, especially in the South Asian diaspora here in the United States. So this is a attempt at normalizing queer love. We're not trying to showcase the struggles or anything about being queer. It's beyond that, normalizing queer love and going further to talk about what parenthood looks in queer families.
CHRIS FARRELL: So what do you hope South Asian audiences, non South Asian audiences-- what do you want them to take away from this show?
DIVYA MAIYA: This show is for everybody, not specifically for South Asian audiences. With my writing, I want to break a lot of stereotypes on how characters are portrayed and just bring plays to mainstream and not specific to South Asian audiences. And the main takeaway is, let's accept people for who they are and accept a lot of complex relationships, even though you don't understand it. And whether or not you have the same vision or view about certain topics, we can all come together and be there for each other.
CHRIS FARRELL: So I'm always interested in the process of writing. I guess journalists always are interested in the process of writing. So what was your process? How difficult was this for you to write?
DIVYA MAIYA: I think the difficult process was, within one hour, I'm trying to talk about [AUDIO OUT]. So that was a little challenging part for it. However, it's been a really exciting process for me. I haven't spent a lot of time in playwriting, especially this play. And it's only taken, like, five to six months to get this into production--
CHRIS FARRELL: Five to six months, wow.
DIVYA MAIYA: Yes, it's actually pretty fast. It's also pared down [AUDIO OUT] a bit more, like a 90-minute play. But it's pared down to the 60 minutes, just to fit into the Minnesota Fringe.
[AUDIO OUT]
CHRIS FARRELL: Sorry, you sort of bounced out there. We lost you. And we're just going to see-- are you still there?
DIVYA MAIYA: I'm still here. Can you hear me?
CHRIS FARRELL: Oh, now-- there we go. I'm sorry. You're saying that you pared it down to 90-- you pared it down?
DIVYA MAIYA: I pared it down to 60 minutes to fit into the Minnesota Fringe format.
CHRIS FARRELL: Got it. And so how is this show different from the past Fringe shows that you've been a part of?
DIVYA MAIYA: In the past Fringe shows we have done, the format has been more of an Indian film or a Bollywood film format. Where there is music and dance and storytelling, everything at once. And this time, it's just following more of a traditional theater play format, where it's all acts and no dancing involved. And that's a change from what we've mounted with the Fringe before.
CHRIS FARRELL: So do you have the bug now? Do you want to continue to be writing plays? Is this something--
DIVYA MAIYA: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I've always wanted to write. And I always wanted to write bolder stories. And I do have the bug. I'm already thinking of, what should be my next play?
CHRIS FARRELL: And can you tell us? Do you have an idea?
DIVYA MAIYA: For my next play?
CHRIS FARRELL: For your next play.
DIVYA MAIYA: Oh, I have a ton of ideas, talking about-- I love character development and bringing unique characters. And I do want to do more of a youth story for my next play.
CHRIS FARRELL: All right. So how can people see the show?
DIVYA MAIYA: Go to Minnesota Fringe website and look for Manasu-- that's M-A-N-A-S-U-- Echoes of the Mind. And we open on Thursday night at 7:00 PM.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, thank you very much for your time, and good luck with the performances. It sounds wonderful.
DIVYA MAIYA: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
CHRIS FARRELL: Divya Maya is the playwright and director of Manasu, a show debuting at the Minnesota Fringe Festival this Thursday.
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