Ananda drama hits a new high

by Pujanee Galappaththi

The ascendency of interschool drama, the annual Shakespeare Drama competition was held on September 20 2014 at the Bishops College auditorium for the forty first time. The Drama crew of Ananda College Colombo emerged winners in the boys� category for their mesmerizing portrayal of Timon of Athens.

Timon of Athens is regarded to be one of the least known and least favorite Shakespearian plays. However, their absolutely unique performance and distinctive characterisation made the production rather astounding and deserved to be the best performance this year.

The cast for was led by head prefect Vinu Wijemanne featuring 18 cast members. The directorial crew included Nishantha De Silva,Rajitha Hettiarachchi and Ishtartha Wellaboda. It is remarkable that drama at Ananda College is handled by a non-profit organisation (Anandadrama) comprising the college drama circle and past members dedicated to enhance the standard of English theatre in the school.

Main cast: Timon: Shirantha Kolonne, Flavius: Lakshitha Edirisinghe, Luccullus:, Lithmal Jayawardhana, Lucius: Vinura Kularatne, Sempronius: Thilina Udayaratne, Apemantus: Vinu Wijemanne and Senato: Ravin Hettiarachchi

Talking to cast members and directors, the Sunday Observer found out the aspirations of these young actors regarding drama and their recent triumph .

Q: What is the goal of your drama society?

Lithmal: Our goal is to inculcate the notion of �enjoying theatre�, instead of involving in theatre just to compete.

Lakshitha: To improve the standard of English in school and to teach young Anandians the value of theatre, thereby creating actors who love the art.

Ravin: We intend to improve English and theatrical skills at Ananda.

Q: This was the first time Ananda College won the Shakespeare Drama competition. What are your feelings about this victory?

Chirantha: To me personally, more than emerging victorious what mattered was how people appreciated our performance

Ravin: Nine years of hard work and dedication by many individuals led to this successful era. This was certainly a dream come true.

Thilina: It was exhilarating. For a person like me who was there since 2010, I saw the many ups and downs at various different competitions throughout the past five years.

Even though we made it through to the finals and became Champions after so many years of hard work, our intention and objective will always be to make sure that we as a cast, enjoy those 30 minutes on stage and to ensure that Ananda College gives out a groundbreaking performance which the audience will remember for years to come.

Q: What was your preparation procedure?

Chirantha: We didn�t have much time since our last production, Grease Yaka, only ended one month before the semi-finals of this competition. So, once we chose Timon of Athens and our directors edited the script, we had about three weeks of practise.

Lakshitha: Well there was not much of a complex practise schedule. We started off from the script, went through the meaning quite a few times, blocked the play and did a couple of run-throughs, did a bit of fine tuning before the show and then we performed.

Ravin: We did not have much time however most of our senior actors who are experienced helped us to work fast.

Q: How do you engrave general social notions into drama?

Rajitha: A lot of our plays, both originals and adaptations, are based on issues we want to discuss.

We always try to be relevant and socially conscious in terms of script and interpretation.

Ishtartha: My preferred vessel for integrating social issues is comedy. Comedy can provide the right dose of the reality check while not burdening too many hearts and in my experience I have seen that people react to issues better and take less offense when matters are presented to them lightheartedly with the right dose of humour.

Q: Describe the specialty of your drama at the competition. Why do you think you deserved to win?

Lakshitha: Well talking about the play, Timon is a play that was never performed during Shakespeare�s lifetime.

We thought we could do something interesting with it so we selected it. It gave us a certain amount of freedom but required a lot of research and hard work; within a short time.

But I think we overcame all these challenges and as we did justice to the script and by the audience, I think our show was the best.

Ravin: What made us special was that all 18 actors were consistent. There were no weak links and the weight was well distributed so that one or two actors did not have to carry the full load

Q: Do you think a victory at a national level competition would help in the success of future productions?

Lithmal: Definitely!

Chirantha: Of course. It will definitely help build self esteem, especially amongst the younger cast members.

The idea that �We did it once! We can do it again!� will be a boost not only for any competitions we take part in but for upcoming public performances by AnandaDrama, which is our focus anyway.

Lakshitha: It would. But it adds a certain amount of pressure on us; now we have an audience expecting miracles from AnandaDrama but we are more than ready to give what the audience want but then again NO PRESSURE!

Q: What do you consider to be the formula in creating a standard production?

Lithmal: Have fun + Have fun + Have fun

Lakshitha: Keep it simple. Think, think and think, work as a team, be creative and have fun doing all this.

Q: Do you believe theatre to be a good medium of communication and do you believe you could make a difference in society using it?

Lithmal: Of course! Theatre incorporated a lot of our senses, hence the impact made by a theatrical production can be massive.

Ravin: Theatre is the best medium and certainly can make a difference. Our last show, Grease Yaka, was all about fear spread in society, and a lot of people told us that it really made them think.

Q: What would be your inspiration in creating a new drama production?

Nishantha: We usually try to choose or write a script that we feel sheds some light on an issue that interests us in a way that is worth sharing with our audience.

Rajitha: You need to come up with a story which you really want to bring to life and which you think society and your audience needs to know

Q: What do you think is the secret behind your success?

Chirantha: Everyone involved in the play was there for each other through the entire production. We were always there to pick each other up whenever someone was feeling down, no matter what the problem was. And we had a lot of fun.

Lakshitha: Enjoying every little moment of the play.

Ravin: Our secret is the dedication and hard work of students and old boys. Staying focused and our love and enthusiasm for theatre.

Q: How was the support from your crew members?

Lithmal: They sacrificed a lot and committed themselves selflessly, without them the cast would be useless and the production, a failure.

Q: Would you name other outstanding productions of your society?

Lakshitha: The Tempest, Taming of the Shrew, Alice in Wonderland, Kensuke�s Kingdom, Much Ado About Nothing, Grease Yaka.

Q: What advice would you give to your younger peers?

Lithmal: Have fun doing theatre, enjoy! Don�t do it (theatre) if it is only about the awards and the trophies. What�s important is enjoying yourself and performing for the audience.

Lakshitha: I�m glad to say that we had a good batch of juniors joining us and working with us. They showed a lot of passion and enthusiasm.

I urge them to stay with drama for as long as they could and learn to love theatre.

Drama is a universal language and the extreme passion and absolute dedication of these young thespians in order to share this language should be appreciated.

Thus it is enthusiasm and selfless commitment that would lead drama towards its opulence. Hence as it is said �you are responsible for the talent you have been entrusted with. Go work with it�.