Creative Activities for Children

Lanka Children's and Youth Theatre Foundation (LCYTF), popularly known as Play House-Kotte will begin its next session of "Creative Activities for Children" program in June.

Children from four to 14 can take part in the program. The prime objective of the program is to develop the child's mental and physical aspects and enhance artistic taste, cheerfulness and the playful sense of the child through aesthetic experiences.

Therefore, the program can be considered an extracurricular learning that supplements the formal education the child obtains in school. It gives the child the opportunity to learn the basics of enjoying and appreciating music, free movement, dance and rhythmic movement, acting and language, art, singing, puppetry and handwork.

The program is conducted by Kaushalya Fernando and Dr. Chandana Aluthge under the guidance of Somalatha Subasinghe, the veteran playwright and theatre director. Somalatha Subasinghe founded Lanka Children's and Youth Theatre Foundation in 1981 to promote theatre productions and performances specifically for children and youth, training of actors, and research on theatre studies.

The organisation is the topmost institution for children's and youth theatre productions in Sri Lanka. Since 1981 the organisation has produced a repertoire of mainly musical theatre for children and youth and mainstream art theatre productions and performed them in the island as well as abroad. The institution was incorporated in Parliament in January 2007 by Act No. 3 of 2007 to further its quest for the young audiences in Sri Lanka.

The program is conducted on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Janakala Kendraya near Parliament.

New art gallery in Peradeniya

Samastha Lanka Chitrakala Vruththikayange Sangamaya will open a new art gallery at 345 Peradeniya - Colombo Road on May 12 at 10.30 a.m. An exhibition of paintings will also be held to mark the event.