Taking interschool drama to greater heights, the Interschool Drama Competition 2009 – a drama examination – has been introduced to Sri Lanka with the joint effort of the Cambridge International Examinations, Trinity Guildhall London and Alethea International School.
Having been established only this year, the first examination will be held on October 8 and 9, and is open to both private and local schools. The performances will be judged by an examiner from the Trinity College London and the winners will be awarded an internationally recognized qualification.
“This is in fact an examination with a competition, and it’s the first time something like this is being held in Sri Lanka. The performances as a group drama performance and the schools will receive an examiners report at the end of it.
The winners will receive certificates from Trinity College London, which is four university points because they are graded at level 8. With a level 8 qualification, participants can directly go on to get a diploma in teaching drama. This will provide Sri Lankan students with more opportunities so we encourage schools to take part in it,” explains event coordinator, Anitra Perera.
“The performances will be judged to international standards by a British examiner so there’s no chance of biased judging,” adds the regional representative of Cambridge International Examination, Nirmali Hettiarchchi.
The theme of the plays will be changed each year and this year, for the establishing competition, the organisers decided on ‘Shakespeare Tragedies.’ 14 schools will be performing on stage on the Thursday and Friday. The schools include Alethea Int. School, Ananda College, Asian Int. School, Belvoir College, Bishops’ College, British School of Colombo, Gateway College, Kandy, Gateway College, Rajagiriya, Lyceum International School, Nugegoda, Lyceum International School, Wattala, Lyceum International School, Panadura, St. Joseph’s College, Stafford International School and Wycherly International School.
According to Anitra, many local schools weren’t able to take part this year due to the involvement in another annual Shakespeare drama competition, but the schools are highly interested in the examination and will take part next year, with the organisers expecting the Interschool Drama Competition to be much larger.
“All school taking part are very excited. Most schools are shifting to the Cambridge Examination so Cambridge, wanting to give something back to Sri Lanka, decided to go for something along the Arts stream. There are some local schools offering Cambridge Examinations as well, so we decided to open it to all local schools as well,” adds Anitra.
All schools, apart from being judged for their group performances, will also be judged and awarded for the best male role, best female role, best supporting roles - male and female, best director and best backstage crew.
The organisers see the competition as a way of helping break barriers between international and local schools, giving the schools more of an opportunity to interact and learn. Trinity College, London and Cambridge International Examinations will be the sponsors of the event, while The Sunday Times will be the Print Media Sponsors.
The Interschool Drama Competition will be open to the public on October 10 at Bishops College Auditorium, where the top four performances will be repeated, and the winners announced. |
E-mail