The stage is all set for quality short plays at the 6th Annual Natya Darpan 2022!

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The Indian Heritage and Cultural Association (IHCA) of New Jersey (IHCA-NJ.COM) announced its line-up of short plays at Natya Darpan 2022 on Saturday, October 15, 2022,

The annual   event “has consistently been a huge success for the past 5 years,” organizers said in an Oct. 10 press release. Held at the Middlesex County College, Natya Darpan has always been a sold-out event, they added.

The IHCA founded in 2013, was created to showcase local talent and preserve Indian culture and heritage, while addressing many sensitive topics pertinent to the various communities.

“Over the last six years, the vision of an uncensored and multilingual short play festival has grown in scope, talent, numbers, and quality,” the press release said, and a lot of buzz about Natya Darpan has spread beyond the tri-state area.

This time around IHCA showcases 6 “mesmerizing” plays with varied subjects by local award-winning actors and diverse groups from various cities in the USA. They are ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’ (English) written by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Dr. Farley Richmond, ‘Bhinta’ (Marathi) written by Satish Alekar and directed by Parag Walimbe, ‘The Marriage Proposal’ (English) written by Anton Chekhov and directed by Swachata Sanjiban Guha, ‘Apne Hi Putale’ (Hindi) written by Yogesh Tripathi and directed by Ameeya Mehta, ‘Kanhaiya’ (Hindi) written by Priyam Jani and directed by Meera Narasimhan, and ‘Alpaviram’ (Marathi) written by Irfan Mujawar and directed by Ashutosh Hadap.

At Natya Darpan social causes such as mental health, climate change, international wars, human trafficking, LGBTQ+ or volatile supreme court decisions are addressed. “Bringing forth such topics through performing arts is one of the most important goals of IHCA-NJ’s Natya Darpan,” which with the support of an array of talented individuals from India and the United States, has shown exponential growth year after year.

The volunteer based nonprofit, tax exempt, cultural organization was founded in 2013. Membbership is open to people of all ages, races, religions and nationalities.

It provides a platform where local theater groups can perform quality short plays in various languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Gujarati, with the focus being on social issues.