If I don’t do theatre, I might as well be dead: Shernaz Patel

From being an eager volunteer at Prithvi Theatre almost three decades ago to stealing the show at this year’s Prithvi Festival presented by TOI with her performance in The Glass Menagerie, Shernaz Patel’s passion for the stage is unmatchable. Excerpts from a conversation:
Your parents have been renowned Gujarati theatre personalities. Is that how you caught the theatre bug?
Totally.I was brought up in green rooms and used to pay hide-and-seek on stage. My two siblings and I spent most of our time backstage and theatre was part of our home. So I never had any mortal fear while stepping on stage. If I don’t do theatre, I might as well be dead. It’s who I am and part of my identity. I love theatre because no two shows or performances are ever the same. You can never do enough; there is always something more to look forward to. Also, I am producing, encouraging new writing and building new audiences, so it’s always a continuous process. When you are working out of passion and not for monetary gain, it keeps you excited.
How do you manage to give superlative performances in all your plays?
The only thing I know is that I immerse myself completely into my work and block out everything. I am not an actor who acts to please the audience. I am never complacent. I am always working hard as I think I’m never good enough. When you have the quality of always wanting to do better, it helps. I also try to understand the script of a play in great detail. So I pull it apart and make lots of personal notes. In fact, I am a mad person when I am doing a play! Even when I am travelling in a taxi or auto rickshaw, I start rehearsing my lines aloud, so I look like one of those crazy Parsi women. I don’t realise I am doing it, till someone gives me a dirty look. I am very involved in what I am doing and lose myself in my work. I have a strong instinct, which every actor should have. Also, I have a lot of experience, so I know how to judge the pace of a scene. All this helps.
You have worked alongside Rahul Da Cunha and Rajit Kapur for years. How has the experience been?
We have arguments and there have been times when we haven’t spoken to each other for a couple of days but we don’t have fights. We have known each other since we were kids. There is so much love, respect and trust between us that we feed off each other in the best way possible. We are three very different people working together, so naturally, we have differences, but those help the project in the end. We know where to draw the line. If something is not working, we will speak up. We have known each other too long for anything bad to happen. Also, all three of us have other careers, so we aren’t working together in theatre to make our millions.