Visakha cast steal the show at drama comp

By Dhananjani Silva

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Drama Comp Champions-Visakha Vidyalaya

Showcasing the very best of the young thespians, the grand finale of Drama Comp 2015 took place at the Lionel Wendt Theatre Colombo last week. Having made it to the finals from the semi final round, the three participating teams from Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo, St.Peter’s College Colombo and St. Bridget’s Convent Colombo battled it out for the coveted Drama Comp Championship.

The event was organised by the Interact Club of Royal College. No changes to the original productions put forward for the semi-final round with costumes, stage props and the script seemed to have remained the same, yet the drama teams managed to have the audience spellbound with plenty of poignant episodes and nail biting moments.

The production by St. Peter’s College was based on Norman Mckinnel’s ’The Bishop’s Candlesticks’, while St. Bridget’s Convent dealt with issues of teenage suicide. Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo got the audience thinking about being awake when the rest of the world is asleep through a play that unfolds to reveal teen characters searching their way for connections during the wee hours of the morning.

Visakha Vidyalaya walked away with the coveted Drama Comp 2015 championship amid applause and cheer placing the cast of St. Bridget’s Convent in the runners- up position. Young Peterite, Devin Randeniya who gave life to a ferocious, hard hearted convict on stage bagged the award for the best performance in a male role. The best performance in a supporting male role went to Avishka Dedigama ( Frankie) and Hiruni Yapa Abeywardena (Jake) from Visakha Vidyalaya while best performance in a supporting female role was awarded to Vinuri De Silva (Hayley) from St. Bridget’s Convent.

The most memorable performance was won by the ensemble cast of Visakha Vidyalaya while St. Peter’s College was adjudged winners for the Best Back Stage award.

Judges Comments
Thushara Hettihamu, Delon Weerasinghe and Tanya Warnakulasuriya served on the panel of judges at the finals and the performances were judged, taking into consideration various aspects such as characterisation, projection, diction, casting, script editing, technique, use of space, concept, synergy between lead roles and supporting roles, costumes, lighting and sound etc.At the end of the three performances the judges made their deliberations on stage with regard to the three dramas prior to announcing the winners.
Judge Thushara Hettihamu who spoke on behalf of the panel maintained that all three plays were didactic pieces which had three different styles with very strong messages to convey.“All three plays were an abundance of talent. But sometimes it is the way that talent is channeled that becomes the deciding factor,” he said.
Commenting on the Visakha drama, he said the stage craft was fabulous and overall it was a smooth production which had a good transition- something difficult to handle when dealing with isolated scenes. Delivering the message across, Vishaka did it in a light hearted manner using the thematic devices around the drama to put out a serious theme, the judges pointed out.Referring to the production by St. Bridget’s Convent the judges felt the play was theatrically a very sound production. The judges felt the play carried a strong theme and demonstrated a stong protagonist, a good lead and cast. The judges commented on the young actors of St. Peter’s College, saying they did a commendable job in playing the older roles, adding that playing into an age which the youngsters were not was a challenging task.
“Overall, the actors in all three schools did well,” Mr Hettihamu said on behalf of the judges panel.