Mirror
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The Yolande School founded by Yolande Abeywira is now directed by her daughter Samantha de Soysa who says that at the school ‘Speech and Drama’ is not approached as an academic discipline, but rather as performance art. The programme is “devised to accommodate a large cast of enthusiastic students between the ages of 6 to 18 years,” said Samantha. In order to accommodate and give as much exposure to the students, they have two casts performing on alternate nights. The first half of the programme comprises choral items and excerpts from short plays. It is enhanced through “magical accompaniment” by Soundarie David and Oosha Saravanamuttu’s “effective choreography.” The spooky adaptation of a well-known legend marks the end of the first half, with a musical interlude. The second half brings on to stage a cast of about 90 students. They gaily sing and dance their way through a “cheeky, chirpy, exuberant and magical musical.” In order to lose their inhibitions, the youngest children, who have not had much acting experience, perform in large groups, while the lead roles are taken by senior Yolande School students who have taken part in previous productions. A few selected members of the Holy Family Convent choir and some of Oosha’s senior ballet dancers will contribute to the performance. Indu Dharmasena will make a surprise appearance, as he, according to Samantha has always been traditionally involved with the Yolande School. Michael Wijesuriya, Mitabi Gunawardena and Sharmila Fernando will be handling the costumes. “We have become like family… there has been lots of laughter, a couple of tears and a bit of hair tearing,” says Samantha. When we walked into rehearsals a few days ago, it was clear that the cast was having a lot of fun. For a few good laughs and an enjoyable evening, catch Magic and Mayhem at the Wendt. |
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