Budding talent

The attention span of a child is probably the hardest thing to keep intact…ever. And whoever can do this successfully should be commended. Walking into a practice session of an interesting drama workshop last week, the feat really did seem quite an undertaking – considering that one person was handling the scores of energy-filled, exuberant kids present.

Launching this initiative in 2004, Neluka Silva has been using drama and performance to enrich kids' creativity and talent, for the last four years. Working with two groups of kids, she runs a workshop each year, lasting about 12-14 weeks. "The initial idea to start this workshop came to me because my elder daughter Nimaya, always used to tell me to teach her to act. And I had also attended a couple of drama workshops myself, and I have seen how effective they can be for kids. In 2004, I went to Oxford on my sabbatical, and while I was there I was a part of a youth theatre experience called Pegasus Theatre, and I got the chance to follow a program with a Director there, which helped me gain insight into such workshops," she said.

Each year, Neluka focuses on a different theme; this year the theme being "Diversity." "The program is called "All Kinds of Everything," and we are trying to look at the idea of being different. I think it is a very important subject that kids needs to be exposed to, especially in the present context, in Sri Lanka. They need to be encouraged to accept differences and to be inclusive, rather than exclusive."

The process followed at the workshop is different, with the main aim being building confidence and developing creativity. The workshop begins with the focus being breathing and voice exercises, concentration games, movement games, familiarising of various types of music and so on. Once they have gone through all of these, the theme is given to them and they come up with their own plot and storyline. The main feature of the play is the fact that there is no set script, and so there is no memorising of lines for them. They know the basic concept of the play, but don't have to stick to one set of lines, and can just come up with lines as they go on.

The storyline for the third play, which is handled by the older age group, brings out diversity, in a school setting.

The storyline basically revolves around the "Pink Chicks" or the Paris Hilton fans, the "SAS" (Science for the Advancement of Society) or the nerds, and the "Jocks," who are basically the sporty people. These three gangs go on challenging each other, and trying to prove that one is better than the other, till three new kids join school and show them that you should not try to be only "one" thing, but rather be a little bit of everything.

Catching up to the three seniors who have been a part of the workshop for the last four years, I got a feel of what the experience really means to them. "I've always liked drama, and my mum got me involved in the workshop, and that has in turn got me more and more interested in drama and now I even follow classes. The best part about these workshops, and then the performance is the fact that we get to improvise and you can come up with your own lines. We practice a lot, so we have a general idea about the plot, so you just have to make sure that the lines you come up with aren't too different," says Thulasi Elapatha (12).

For Avin Gunawardene (12), drama wasn't one of his most favourite interests, but he just happened to come for one workshop with a friend of his. "And it's been a great experience ever since. Once we finish with all of the concentration games and breathing and voice exercises, we were told that this time's theme is Diversity and then we came up with our own storyline. We all just contributed our ideas and then, we designed the play. I'm one of the "Jocks," and I'm supposed to be the captain of the cricket team, and it's been interesting playing the role, because I play cricket in school anyway."

"Concentration games such as Torpedo, and the breathing exercises and miming that we are taught, are really helpful in many ways. Making new friends and improving team work skills have been good as well, other than the fact that it's a whole loads of fun!" says Viren Ratwatte (11). "I'm one of the Nerds, and I basically keep saying things like "People must like science." According to him, the moral of the story is diversity, and how important it is to respect differences. "The breathing exercises have even helped my sinuses!"

This is Lara Modder's first time in the workshop. "I've been involved in drama productions before, but I have always wanted to do a speaking part. So this workshop has been great, with all the trust exercises, the concentration games, playing small roles, and miming.

The production will showcase three plays. "Rufus the Long-Eared Bunny," which deals with one rabbit who is different to the rest of his family, but has his "difference" save their lives, and "Elmer the Elephant" who is a patchwork elephant who has to deal with the fact that he is different, both done by the younger kids. The third will be the story on the three school gangs. All Kinds of Everything will be performed on July 26 and 27, at 7:30pm, at The Russian Centre. Tickets are available at the gate, or could be obtained by calling Neluka on 0777571595.