TV Times

TV Times

Sam’s musical ‘Magic and Mayhem’ at the Wendt
By Poorna Rodrigo
Children’s world is magical. So Samantha thought there could not be a better theme she could pick up than “magic” for her latest drama involving 220 students.

“Magic and Mayhem” is the work of Samantha Abyewira De Soyza, presented by “The Yolande School of Speech and Drama”. This musical was staged on June 4, 5 and the final show will come alive on June 6, Sunday at the Lionel Wendt.

The school was the brainchild of her late mother, who died in 1994. But she left some legacy behind her. On the day her daughter, Samantha was born, she started the school. And it’s been years since then. The school is a success today. But Samantha is not going to say how old is the school. “ The school is of my age”, she laughed.

The school produces dramas biannually. But the theme, this time is different, Samantha said. “We were involved in far eastern themes earlier doing dramas like “ King and I” so on. I wanted to change the trend and opt for a real world theme concerning children”.

Magic may sound an alien theme in the adult world. But it is not so in the children’s world. “They do believe in magic unlike us”, she said. “The theme was something close to their hearts. Naturally they enjoyed the drama. Five year olds were willing to put in long hours of rehearsal,—perhaps even till 11.00 pm at night.

The drama is a series of spooky skits involving very young members of the cast with an outrageously funny spoof by the senior students. The second half of the drama is called “Dream of the Magic” dancing and singing through a fast moving series of events, in the culmination of the drama.

The story is about a group of city kids who when faced with the prospect of their home being demolished, find that believing in a little magic, with help from friends, can save the day.

The rehearsal began by the end of January 2004. The school holidays in May, Samantha said was like a month long drama workshop for students. “ We worked round the clock. It was loads of fun”.

Behind the scene, there were many hands, doing lot of hard work. Indu Dharmasena was hit the top of the list. “ He is closely associated with school and made a great presence”, she said. Among the others are Oosha Saravanamuththu, who did the choreography and Soundarie David, the Music Director. Costumes are by Michael Wijesuriya, Mitali Gunawardene and Shamila Fernando.
The whole Musical will be available on DVD by Torana Music

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