Summary: (http://kamlashow.com/podcast/wp-content/uploads/Anupama-Kevin-Berne-150x150.jpg)Meet Anupama Chandrasekhar, a playwright based in Chennai. Her play Disconnect made its West Coast debut at the San Jose Rep (http://www.sjrep.com/) in March 2013. This is perhaps the first time that an Indian playwright's work is being staged at San Jose Rep. Disconnect is translated in a couple of European languages and made its European debut at London's Royal Court Theatre. Disconnect is set in a modern call center in India, where a group of young workers work the phones and their American customers to pay up their credit card debts. They have American names, speak in an American accent, and are steeped in American pop culture, but work in a windowless room in Chennai (Madras), India. Disconnec (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAFVjuzQj5g)t examines the dichotomy that exists between the personal and professional lives of the young call center workers, and what is the price they pay for dreaming their American Dream? The play is directed by Rick Lombardo (http://www.sjrep.com/about/staff/). Anupama has written 5 plays so far, and is working on her 6th play. She has won various awards and is the Asian winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Award and was a fellow at the Royal Court International Residency. We caught up with her during her visit to Silicon Valley to talk about Disconnect, Silicon Valley and the call center business in India and American influence. How did she come up with the idea for the play? How long did it take her to write the play? Does she tweak the play even after its written?
