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Magazine |
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Making
believe It is this
special make-believe world that Shamila Fernando helps create during
her spare time. She designs stunning costumes of dinosaurs, space
age robots, medieval ladies, flowers or birds. "It is something
I have loved doing since I was a child," she says. Shamila recalls
how her brother, seven years her junior could not really participate
in her games. "So on my own, I would pretend to be a royal
lady or a pirate and dress for the part." Free time and holidays
would therefore see her strutting about the house in her mother's
shoes having experimented with her make-up and accessories. As she grew
older, Shamila maintained a scrapbook where she collected drawings
and pictures of fashion designs although her parents urged her to
concentrate on her studies rather than spend hours thinking of patterns
and designs. Then she worked as an airhostess for almost eight years,
first in Sri Lankan and later Kuwait Airways. During this time she
met different people, visited shops in other countries and was able
to observe people, besides being exposed to new fashions and designs,
inspiring in her ideas that she stored away for future reference.
It was much later than she did a course in dressmaking. During the
past five years, Shamila has been approached by many parents to
create costumes - for characters in the Renaissance period and others
of historical significance, super heroes, fairy tale and Halloween
creatures. "Most challenging of all have been the fantasy characters
like the Swan princess, where I have had to combine a swan-like
character with a human body. "I try
to make the costumes as close to the original as possible - especially
when it comes to making animals, their eyes, fur, stripes and tail."
Very often she also has to research a character, its period and
relevance, from books and the Internet and that takes time. She
then does a sketch, improvising with colours and patterns, in consultation
with parents. It is easy when parents show her a picture of what
they want. Shamila often
goes to Maharagama or Pettah, scouting around for different kinds
of materials and trimmings, to match exact shades and colours. The
costume may need headgear with hats, wreaths or special ears; the
main part with fur or special materials such as silver/gold lame;
and finally webbed feet, flippers or pointed and curled shoes. All
these little details go into creating characters that look like
they have just stepped out of a fairytale, a horror movie, etc.
She also advises parents on the appropriate make up needed for that
special effect. Seeing the
children on stage in her costumes and their amazing transformation,
she feels a great sense of achievement. "It's worth the entire
effort and rush to meet the deadlines," she says. Not many do
costumes in Sri Lanka. "It is a field that has not quite developed,
she says. However, there is something always happening for school
children - assemblies, religious ceremonies, dramas, parties, etc.
when they need costumes. Most parents put in a great effort to transform
their children into the characters their roles demand. For Shamila, what started as an enjoyable hobby has turned into a creatively challenging profession. Shakespeare
Live and Unplugged 1. The actors
know the play and the production better than anyone else. 2. The actors
will never write anything detrimental to the production. Therefore
the production benefits more from a preview written by the actors. 3. Stagefright&Panic
do not know any theatre critics or important personalities. 4. This is
the first preview that is openly acknowledged as having been written
by the actors themselves. Firstly, a
simple insight to the plot. The play is an attempt by three actors
to perform the complete works of William Shakespeare in 'one evening
of theatrical harmony'. Consider that Shakespeare wrote 37 plays
and 154 sonnets (or was it 36 plays? Who cares? These guys do everything
the Bard wrote) and you would appreciate that performing the complete
works of the Bard takes some doing! Starting with
the best love story of all time, Romeo & Juliet (in which Adam
and Feroze play ALL of the major character roles) and ending with
Hamlet, the Compleat Wrks is a fine tribute to the greatest of all
English playwrights. Rehearsals
for this show, reveal three brilliant actors immersed in their work.
The discipline displayed at rehearsals has been amazing. They started
the rehearsal on time and proceeded to unveil a magnificent display
of character acting. Complementing
each other, Adam, Anu and Feroze made Shakespeare look simple while
bringing out everything that makes Shakespeare the great playwright
that he was! Superlative acting, brilliant interpretation, wonderful
costumes, daring action sequences, skilful modern touches, super
choreography, enchanting music, dazzling lights and the kind of
magic that only the works of Shakespeare and the talents of Stagefright&Panic
can create! This is a play
not to be missed, this is a play that will thrill you, enchant you,
humour you, dazzle you and leave you with the kind of memory that
only something very special can give you! Imagine, the
haunting magic of Romeo & Juliet, the action of Macbeth, the
political intrigue of Julius Caesar, the geopolitical power struggle
of Antony & Cleopatra, the lofty poetical enchantment of Hamlet,
in ONE SINGLE EVENING! That is what the Compleat Wrks is all about. The Compleat
Wrks is funny, very funny, actually very very very funny! This is
what makes it so special. This is not just a run-of- mill comedy,
this is comedy of the best kind, this is comedy acted by comedy
virtuosos. In fact these three actors have been asked to perform
this play in exotic locations such as London, Paris, New York and
Bosnia!. The Compleat
Wrks of Wllm Shkspr is as the Los Angeles Herald described it "Shakespeare
as written by Readers Digest, performed by Monty Python and performed
at the speed of the minute waltz. So forsooth! Get thee to the delightfully
fractured complete works!". Audiences are
advised to purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment and the
authorities have been alerted on possible protests by members of
the public who are not able to obtain tickets for this spectacular
theatre event! The Compleat
Wrks of Wllm Shkspr is sponsored by Ceylon Theatres, and by Dialog
GSM. The electronic media sponsor is Yes FM. The wonderful costumes
were conceptualized and designed by Sonali White of the Haddai label.
Tareeq Musafer has put together the enchanting sound track. The
play is produced by StageLight&Magic Inc. The official newspaper
is The Sunday Times. Stagefright&Panic
would like to make a special note of gratitude to the above mentioned
organizations and individuals for their magnificent support of English
theatre. The Compleat
Wrks of Wllm Shkspr goes on the boards at the Lionel Wendt from
January 3-6, 2003. |
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