What do Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, and Jodie Foster have in common? They started their movie careers young and have grown up to be the most talented of their generation of actors. They stand as testimony that tapping into the talents and moulding children during their formative years can give them a better opportunity to reach greater heights as adults.
This is what ‘Time for Drama’ is attempting to achieve in this country. Designed to help children in the 7 to 13 year age group, explore their creativity and build their confidence, this two-day workshop will be conducted by professional drama teacher Sashi Mendis.
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| Sashi Mendis. |
“The aim of the workshop is for the students to learn creativity and performance skills. My objective is to make it a learning experience as well as a time for recreation where they can enjoy themselves. It will also give the children the opportunity to be introduced to the world of drama,” says Sashi.
Explaining the activities that will take place during the two days, Sashi says that the children will engage in various exercises so that by the end of the day they would have learnt basic skills, such as the use of voice, movement, facial expression and gestures in drama.
“They will also learn the creative angle, such as dimensions of characters – to be able to identify who a character is, how to build a storyline and if time permits and the kids are adequately engaged, do an improvised play,” she says.
To make the experience more memorable, they will be provided with costumes and have the choice of selecting what they would like to wear.
The workshop will include simple scripted plays written by Sashi to teach these budding dramatists about the different elements of drama. Apart from the scripted plays, poetry recitals are also planned in which the children will either perform individually or as a group. “Poetry is essential, as through it children can learn about the use of voice. I’ve got some very interesting poems prepared, such as Grandma Can You Rap, Ning Nang Nong and The Alien Stole My Underpants,” shares Sashi.
They will receive handouts on what they’ve learnt, although it won’t be a laborious workshop as it’s more about recreation and having fun while learning, she adds.
‘Time for Drama’ will be held at the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI), 96, Kirula Road, Colombo 05, on July 13 and 14 from 2-6 p.m.
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