Masterpiece in contemporary Sri Lankan theatre

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'Kumbi Kathawa' which is based on a Russian Children's story is one of the masterpieces of contemporary Sri Lankan theatre. Excelled on many accounts, 'Kumbi Kathawa,' among other things, stands out for its superb choreography, detailed costumes and portrayal of characters from the world of animals. One of the salient features of the full-length ballet is its colourful costumes and the sheer amount of training that has gone into the production. Amalgam of all these makes 'Kumbi Kathawa' one of the best productions to emerge from contemporary Sri Lankan theatre.

'Kumbi Kathawa' will be staged at the Bishop's College auditorium from August 28 to August 30. Show times are Friday 8 p.m., and two shows each on Saturday and Sunday at 5.30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

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Here is a synopsis of an interview with Director of the play Angelika Chithrasena on the latest production of the ballet.

by Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

Q: Compared with your (Chitrasena School's) other productions such as "Nala Damayanthi" and "Karadiya", what are the significant aspects of 'Kumbi Kathawa', not only in terms of its elaborate costumes but the time and energy invested in the production?

A: There is a similar process in creating large ballets. For example, the story takes a while to come together, and it develops with time. I believe the story of 'Karadiya' developed over a period of three years before my father brought it to the stage. 'Kumbi Kathawa' took five years to develop, starting with an inspiring children's story about a brave ant. Part of the delay was also due to our circumstances of not having a permanent space to create and rehearse, but there is an evolution in how the ballet comes together, and we don't rush that process. For Kumbi, we started with group items in class with the children. Then you must have time to keep experimenting and developing until you feel that there is enough of a pattern and substance to work with.

'Kumbi Kathawa' is a children's ballet, whereas 'Karadiya' and 'Nala Damayanthi' are adult ballets. It is a significantly different challenge to work with children, and to get them to a level that we aspire to. But we have had a long tradition of children's ballets at our school. My mother created many classics such as 'Hapana', 'Ran Kikili' and 'Bera Handa.' So, we have a good understanding of the amazing heights that children can achieve. As a result we don't believe that "children's productions" should be any less in terms of quality and richness.

A major aspect of 'Kumbi Kathawa' is that we are working with a lot more technology. In addition to the detailed costumes, we have put a lot of energy into the music and the lighting. You might recall that with 'Karadiya' and 'Nala Damayanthi' music was created specially for the ballets. With 'Kumbi Kathawa', we used recorded music, and we spent countless hours finding music to suit every scene. That is quite a different challenge than working with live musicians. Similarly, we have spent a lot of time with lighting, as it enables us to convey different emotions through the story. I think our efforts paid off as when the ballet premiered, we had lots of positive feedback about the music, the lighting, and the costumes.

Finally, the most important aspect is how you finally edit - tightening the story and movement, costumes, music etc. How you bring it all together. Because we had time, we were able to make the necessary adjustments, cut out parts that didn't work, and fine tune the production. We are in fact doing that again right now as we look to restage the ballet. We have made changes to some of the movements, improved on the costumes, and will enhance the lighting as we want to deliver a performance that was better than the original.

Q:'Kumbi Kathawa' is based on a famous Russian children's story. What are the changes that you adapted in converting the story into a ballet?'

A: Yes, I was inspired by the Sinhala translation of a Russian children's novel. The translation was called 'Veera Kumbiya' (Brave Ant). I originally worked with children at a Montessori that I taught at to stage a production.

But in order to make it into a full ballet, I made some key changes.

The biggest change is that we added a key lesson to the ending, where we have the ants saving the mosquito that initially destroyed their home. In the original story the ants saved all the other creatures caught in the flood. I felt we could convey a powerful message of compassion and forgiveness if the ants also saved their enemy the mosquito.

Stories also change according to the situation you live in at that time. For instance, we changed the way the flood destroyed the ant colony as told in the storybook, as we wanted to be sensitive to the tragedy of the tsunami that had just taken place, and didn't want to invoke those memories in people.

To make the ballet more interesting and colourful, we added creatures to the ballet that were not in the original story. For example, the presence of grasshoppers and fireflies makes the production visually more interesting. In fact, for many people, the fireflies were their favourite creatures in the production.

Also, not telling the story through voice (narration or song), but rather through movement and music is a significant change or difference. It created a whole new challenge to convey what is happening in the story. We had to rely on movement, acting, and music to convey all parts of the story.

Q: It has been stated that extensive research has been conducted not only in designing the costumes with their minute features but also training the cast to depict the salient characteristics of the animals including their subtle movements and behavioural patterns. Do you think that the members of the school live up to the expectations and absorbed the unique behavioural patterns depicted in the ballet?

A: Absolutely. I am amazed at the talent and creativity of our children. Kids are very clever, and adapt quite easily. Some of the movements in the ballet are what I took from the children themselves, what they came up with from their imaginations. In developing the choreography, we have to do movements that can be done by children. So looking to them for ideas and inspiration is only natural.

But we also did spend a lot of time looking at how these creatures moved in their natural habitats, and infusing those movements into our choreography.

It takes a lot of hard work and rehearsals to find that balance between the natural movement of the creatures, and what we want to depict on stage that is visually appealing. The ant movements in particular are extremely challenging, but the children understand the expectations of our school and the standards we maintain, and have worked extremely hard to get it right.

Q: Rehearsing the students for 'Kumbi Kathawa' would have been a time consuming and strenuous process. How long have you been conducting rehearsals for the ballet and what is the degree of cooperation and dedication on the part of the participants?

A: When we first staged 'Kumbi Kathawa' in 2007, it had been five years in the making and two casts later. We didn't have a proper place to rehearse. A lot of it was created in a tiny garage space in Nawala where my mother conducted classes.

Even now, for the restaging in 2009, we have been practising for about eleven months. Many in the cast are new, and we had to train them from scratch. Also, we've made some key changes to some of the movements and costumes. You would think it would be a lot easier to do it a second time, but we are always looking to improve, and that again takes time.

The cooperation from the children and parents has been wonderful. Given that we rehearse over a long period of time, it is heartening to see that the children haven't given up, and have continued to work hard. They have dedicated their time on weekends to help update the costumes and props, while also rehearsing their roles. Parents have been instrumental in finding funds, providing food and drinks during rehearsals, and encouraging their children to participate. These children and parents have made this their production by cooperating in this manner.

Q: What are the challenges and obstacles encountered in producing a major ballet such as 'Kumbi Kathawa?'

A: As always, the major obstacle is funding. Unfortunately we are not savvy marketers, even though our productions have always been of the highest standard. It is not simply enough to do excellent work. It is extremely difficult to do these kinds of large-scale productions in the future without sponsorship and support. We strive to do high quality work with always something new to it, and provide the audience with a different experience. But we need to develop long-term relationships with select companies whose brands and products align with the quality, standards and longevity of the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya. It is only then that we can continue to produce quality productions that we can all be proud of.

Getting the children to come for rehearsals, since they are involved in so many school and extra-curricular activities is always a challenge. We have to be a lot more understanding of the demands on their lives, but we have to balance that with the appropriate level of rehearsals to stage the production according to our standards. Finally, Keeping track of all the costumes and props, and the necessary changes is a challenge. 'Kumbi Kathawa' is a very elaborate production with many components, and it takes a huge effort to make sure everything on stage and off stage is on track. Thankfully, our senior students have stepped up to help make the ballet a success.