Indianostrum is a theatre troupe founded 7 years ago in Pondicherry, India with the goal of expanding the role of modern theatre. They run a theatre space producing their own productions and hosting others. After a fire damaged their theatre in 2013, they are proposing renovations and outlining costs of 18.96 lakh rupees annually to sustain operations. They are appealing for donations of 1000 rupees from 2000 people to help fund operations for a year and overcome debt as they work to reconstruct their theatre space.

1. Indianostrum
Pondicherry

2. Indianostrum was founded by Koumarane
Valavane seven years ago, along with few
actors who were ready to pursue livelihoods
in theatre.
Indianostrum’s core aim is to expand the
role of modern theatre in the cultural life of
the country, by developing new modern
texts, finding the specificities of Indian
modern theatre, exploring its relationships
with traditional forms and transcending
political, social and historical divides.

3. Indianostrum has been running a theatre space in the heart
of Pondicherry since 2012, where theatre productions are
created and staged. A theatre space enables us to work
and manage the creative processes independently in an
efficient way. It becomes a space where the artist and the
audience can meet. With this space, we have helped
many other artists engage with their audiences .
“We all need to have a creative outlet - a window, a space - so we
don't lose track of ourselves.”
-Norman Fischer

4. Hosted events

9. Our Productions
Name of the Play Year of Creation No. of Shows
Mid-Night Traveller 2007 8
Dalida 2007 2
Lakshman’s dream 2008 4
Madhavi 2009 5
Land of Ashes 2009 40
Scapain’s Bommalattam 2010 32
Alfonsina 2011 4
Kunti – Karna 2012 52
Natya 2013 1
Dreams of Tippu Sultan 2013 3
Karuppu 2014 2

12. Festivals &
Children's Production
Name of the Play
Year of
Creation
No. of Shows
Karna 2007 2
Antigone 2011 2
Romeo et Juliet 2012 2
The War 2013 3
Opera du Dragon 2014 2
Festival Year
Madhavi Theatre Festival 2009
Summer Tour 2010
Kameleon – Festival de Theatre 2010
Kameleon – Festival de Theatre 2011

15. Workshops & Classes
• GRD College of Arts, Coimbatore: We Provide
regular workshop for visual communication
students in street theatre, as a part of their
curriculum.
• Lycée Francaise School, Pondicherry: We
conduct regular workshops for primary
children focusing on language and culture
interchange
• We invite Post-graduate students of
traditional and contemporary art to share
their knowledge with the younger
generation of artists.

17. Friends & Collaborators
• The Consulate General of France
• Puducherry Tourism
• Alliance Française de Pondicherry
• French Embassy in India
• Kalakshetra Foundation
• Department of Tourism, Tamil Nadu
• Alliance Française de Madras
• Prakriti Foundation
• Satsanga Groups
• Purisai Kannappa Thambiran Therukoothu
Mandram
• Swami Dayanandha Educational Trust
Purisai Kannappa Thambiran
Therukoothu Mandram

18. Our Journey
2007: The birth of the troupe
2012: We transformed an 80year old French cinema theatre into
a performance space.
2013: A major fire accident hit the theatre on the10th December.
11th morning we stepped in over the burnt remains of our theatre floating in the
water

19. So far…
Indianostrum in its seven years has witnessed 11 in-
house productions and has done 152 shows.
Through these shows the troupe has interacted with
close to 13700 audiences, encouraging critical
dialogue with community.

20. A Proposal
Pondicherry may have existed without a theatre but once Indianostrum
was established and has slowly added to the pulse of the city, our little
theatre has become a privileged place where human experiences are
shared.
Despite the holes in the roof, the holes in our pockets and the holes on
the stage, we have been able to pursue, thanks to the generosity of
many. In fact, we’ve had to unravel thousands of knots, overcome
thousands of constraints and conquer several chasms of despair.
Our commitment is simple: during three years, we’ll put everything in
place so that our ship that is floating in Pondicherry is able to cast
anchor in a perennial manner and navigate without hurdles, the
mysterious labyrinth of the human spirit.

21. To do so, we make an appeal: “May two thousand people donate a
thousand rupees each”.
This will ensure that the theatre functions properly for a year and you
will thus become an ‘honorary shareholder’ of our company, with
access to our monthly financial accounts, our statutes, all the
performances produced by our company and you will especially relieve
us of one of our rocks of Sisyphus which is money…
It is with a little apprehension and a lot of hope, that we make
this appeal for solidarity and for help, but generosity is not only about
giving but about receiving, so do come to the theatre, for in this place,
audience is king.
Team Indianostrum

22. In order to put things in place we need to look at these verticals
Plan Of Action
TROUPE
A core team
of 5 or more
actors, a
technician
and a
Director
SPACE Indianostrum
as a space
which will
need re-
inventing,
especially
since the fire
in 2013
MANAGEMENT
Management
of troupe and
space for
harmonious
functioning of
both
ACTIVITIES
Workshops,
festivals and
talks which
keep
Indianostrum
relevant and
connected to
the
community
TROUPE
Monthly
Salaries
•5 Actors
•Technician
•Director
Productions
•Completion of
“Karappu”(play)
SPACE Bills
•Rent
•Electricity
•Housekeeping
•Water
•Phone& internet
Renovation
•Roof
•Rewiring electrical
systems
•Refurbishing the
building
•Creating an office
space
MANAGEMENT
Administration
•Manager
•Office Asst
•Office supplies
•Archiving and
database
•Fundraising &
grants
ACTIVITIES
PLAYS
•Inviting and hosting
other productions
•Tours with in-house
productions
•Attending Festivals
Classes,
Workshops &
Research
Projects
•Organizing and
conducting
Festivals

23. Troupe Salaries per month
Actors(five) 15000 x 5
Technician 15000 x 1
Director 20000 x 1
Space per month
Rent 17000
Electricity, water, phone bills 5000
Administration per month
Manager 15000
Office asst. 6000
Office Supplies 5000
Total Monthly Expenditure 1,58,000/-
Required Budget
In order to create, showcase and sustain we incur these basic costs:
All the numbers stating cost are stated in Indian Rupees (INR)
Annual
Requirement:
18,96,000/-

24. Renovation Costs
Roof 3,00,000
Rewiring electrical systems 50,000
Refurbishing the building 2,50,000
Creating an office space 60,000
TOTAL 6,60,000/-
In order to recreate our
space for all our theatre
activities, our little theatre
requires some rethinking,
refurbishing and reinventing.
Unpaid rent 1,70,000
Unpaid Bills 50,000
Monthly expense 1,58,000
TOTAL 3,78,000/-
AND in order to do that, we
require to be debt and stress
free. We await anxiously to
overcome our obstacles in
order to reconstruct our
theatre… our livelihood with
our core ideals in place.

25. Contribute
IF, two thousand people were to donate a thousand rupees each, it
could help us for a year till we convince people, institutions and
governments of our commitment towards the greater good of the
community.
You could also take a closer look at our budget
and contribute towards one or more aspect.

26. Our Commitment to You!!
With a minimum contribution of
Rs1000/- you will avail the
following:
• A honorary shareholder pass for all the shows by
Indianostrum troupe held at Indianostrum theatre
• A transparent state of accounts mailed to you
every trimester
• Indianostrum newsletter

27. Website: http://indianostrum.org
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/indianostrum
Email: indianostrum.theatre@gmail.com
Address: Indianostrum Theatre
#7, Pathe Cine Familial, Rue Romain Rolland,
Pondicherry – 605001
Ph: 0413 – 2341475, 95783 02087
Connect

28. THANK YOU!
Yours truly,
Team Indianostrum