Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Pipers and radicals with a dash of pepper
Ishani Ranasinghe has a chat with the enthusiastic cast of On stage
Last week the director of On stage spoke to us about her production and gave us some insight into it and what she thought of her cast. This is what you can expect…

The first half of On stage will be the play The Piper’s Street based on the traditional tale The Pied Piper made famous by Robert Browning and presented by the junior drama students of Claire De Silva (see Funday Times for more details). After forty-five minutes the stage will then be taken over by the seniors, bringing you two one-act American comedies –O say can you sing and Youth adds a dash of pepper.

This week we decided to catch up with the older cast members. “Aunty Claire rocks!” says a very enthusiastic Anushan to which Ransika and Samadhi agree whole-heartedly. From what I gather what they really like about her directing is the fact that they get to add their own ideas. “She has a completely different way of directing,” says Anushan adding that ‘Aunty Claire’ makes them want to bring out their ideas as well. “When we do come up with something, she fine tunes them and uses them,” says Samadhi quite happily.

This certainly is a different experience for them without a doubt.“I have never done a play where I had to put an accent on,” says Anushan adding that for this play he has to put on an American accent to make it more real. “Of course Samadhi is our expert on the accent,” quips Ransika with a mischievous grin.

Giving a bit of an insight into the play, Youth adds a dash of pepper George adds that it is about a youngster rebelling against the system and his parents. “It’s about him wanting to prove a point and making it on his own.”

Commenting on the story line of the play Ransika adds, “No one is really familiar with the plays we are doing.” Therefore the audience does not know what to expect, which keeps them guessing and makes the play something worth watching. “The characters in the play are also very interesting,” says George adding that this is one play you can do a lot with.

As for, O say can you sing, Sashini shares the story with us. The play is acted out in the living room and revolves around the story of one family. It’s about how a mother wants her daughter to audition for singing with a great composer and how the girl does not want to. “It’s a very simple and short play that people won’t be bored with,” says Praveen.

All the cast members seem to keep mentioning that the plays are very short… this is a good thing, they claim. With both plays just twenty minutes long, Samadhi says there is not too much drama piled in, it is just about right.

Everyone agrees that the plays have interesting characters; portraying these characters, however, might not be an easy task. Playing the role of the mother in O say can you sing, Sashini admits that it’s a bit hard to get into character, “It’s not easy to be seventeen and have to portray someone who is forty,” she says with a laugh.

Both plays are American; hence Omar feels this might be important when it comes to portraying the characters. “The way Americans react to certain situation is very different,” says Omar saying that his portrayal of Jimmy Watson in O say can you sing meant that he had to be very flirtatious and very free with everyone. Working very hard to get into character he adds that he has got a lot of help from the rest of the cast, “making things easier for me.” What is more appealing is the fact that both plays are set up in modern times incorporating music and dance into them.

Many of them are first timers to the theatre whilst some of them have acted before… all of them find the experience very rewarding, to say it in their own words. Practicing since May they have been working hard, says Praveen highlighting the importance they place on getting the technique right. But it has not all been work for them. They all seem to have good chemistry on stage… and off stage!

“We are also having a ball… backstage,” says George saying that they do crack up a few times, “Thankfully the director does not mind it or we think so,” he says with a grin. Having acted before he says that he is glad to back. Agreeing with him is Ayuni who says that the whole thing has been a lot of fun. For her the play is more like an actual situation, “So it has been fun.”

Giving that special essence to the play is their choreographer Minuka De Silva, music director Beatrice Devasagayam and Jojo De Silva who designed their costumes. Three well chosen and entertaining plays, an enthusiastic and dedicated cast, and as they say an excellent director… “Something that is worth coming and watching.” What say you?

On stage will go on the boards at the Bishop’s College Auditorium on October 16 and 17 from 7.30 p.m. onwards. The main sponsor is Hands International while the media sponsors are Art TV and The Sunday Times.

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