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A lover of acting and making music, Rupal Pujara late last decade needed a break from the latter endeavor, having gained repute as a backup singer and a solo vocalist. Though tunes have tempted her since, she has returned to relying on the first passion for focus and inspiration. Through Saturday, the resident of the 400 block of Wharton Street is acquiring lessons and receiving laurels as The Wigmaker, The Wife’s Mother and The Medium in “Rashomon.”
“The whole experience has provided many insights on who I am, not just as a performer but also as an Asian and someone searching for consistency in an ever-changing world,” the Dickinson Square West inhabitant said of the presentation by Luna Theater Co., 620 S. Eighth St. “Especially with The Medium, which is likely my favorite role because of the organic magic involved, I’m allowing myself just to be. That’s so instructional.”
The thespian landed her assignments Feb. 22, teaming with Luna’s founder and artistic director Gregory Campbell and peers to offer a stage-based adaptation of the 1950 Akira Kurosawa film. Concerning conflicting accounts of a rape and a murder, the movie, which inspired the term “the Rashomon effect” to refer to witnesses’ contradictory recollections of any event, has won renown as a cinematic jewel, with Pujara, who has yet to view it, delighted to give its contents a Bella Vista-situated study.
“It definitely addresses self-preservation and the lengths we take to secure it,” she said. “From a personal standpoint, I love that it’s brought me into contact with so many ambitious individuals, particularly Greg.”
Pujara and Campbell took great care to envision the characters, with the local dweller using Hinduism to classify The Wigmaker as having bad god and good deity qualities. The matriarch of a two-year-old daughter, she looked forward to playing The Wife’s Mother, a duty that finds her opposite the plot’s sexual assault victim, and enjoyed “out-of-body experiences” in prepping to play The Medium.
“It was so thrilling,” Pujara said of working with movement coordinator Elizabeth Wilkerson to invoke the spirit of The Husband, a samurai whose passing prompts discussions of culpability and opportunity. “I hope my enthusiasm really comes through because I love the freedom inherent within the preparation and the exercises.”
An adorer of autonomy, she cherishes the production’s trust in her comprehension of the script, and, as a culturally-inclined individual, Pujara, who initially wondered how she would fit within a work from Japan, has relaxed her anxiety and reveres the 80-minute brainchild as a chance to champion making connections with fellow Asians.
“We have that link but there’s much more to our interactions,” the Indian presence said. “We have immense diversity, what one might call colorful casting, and we have an affinity for presenting high-quality work. I’m loving that ‘Rashomon’ has united us.”
The New Jersey-born figure, who also spent a stint in India, most identifies with her Schuylkill County spell in Orwigsburg and confessed to a perpetual penchant for performing. Making up stories and living an imaginative life in her basement, she recalled her parents wondering if she had invited company into their abode.
“I loved whatever could stretch me and help me to grow,” she said of her attraction to theater, through which she clamored to craft portrayals of comical and odd individuals. “I desired to go to New York, but my parents and I spoke and decided to look into something that might be more stable.”
Matriculation at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania bred mastery of the mortgage industry, with singing responsibilities for two groups enticing her vocal chords to become cordial with the idea of becoming a celebrated chanteuse. Meeting a power player at an Indian-infused professionals gathering booked her passage across the Atlantic Ocean, with the United Kingdom helping to launch her career as Lady Ru. Great connections led to a riveting run in the music world, but the blurring of identities caused her to ponder her future in the business.
“I wanted a little more liberty,” Pujara noted, relaying that the story-like aspects of the video for her single “My Addiction” helped to answer the “What now?” inquiry popular among creative souls. “I didn’t want to give up on music, but I needed something to help me to feel grounded.”
A role in the 2008 FringeArts show “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom” brought added perspective, with fruitful interaction with rapper Kuf Knotz yielding continued connections with the music world. She left that environs again in ’11, performing, appropriately enough, at her wedding. Loving all forms of acting, she set out to garner credits, with her diligence producing a part on NBC’s “Do No Harm,” an understudy turn for the Walnut Street Theatre’s “In the Heights” and the role of Bloody Mary in the Ritz Theatre Co.’s “South Pacific.”
“I don’t have theatrical schooling, but I feel my life experiences are my credentials and educational sources,” Pujara said.
Continuing to benefit from the belief that the universe grants gifts when one can truly feel ready to receive and appreciate them, the figurative student booked the role of Dr. Kathari in “Creed,” the latest installment in the “Rocky” franchise. March filming resulted in “three meaty scenes” for Pujara, who greatly anticipates the movie’s November release.
“Going forward, I definitely would love more on-camera opportunities, and I’m really keen about the possibility of prime-time TV exposure, too,” she said. “Because I’m eager to be with my daughter, I’ll see how I’m going to figure out my path.”
No matter how circuitous her journey proves, Pujara wishes to pursue new work, a craving she could sate through the creation of a one-woman show detailing her journey.
“I have that pull toward novelty,” she said. “Maybe it’s going to come through my own experiences. With the year I’ve had so far, who knows?”
For tickets, call 215-704-0033, or visit lunatheater.org.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at [email protected] or ext. 124.
Portrait Photo Provided by Rupal Pujara Production
Photo by Kate Raines at Plate 3 Photography
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