“Theeeere’s a rumpus in the campus!” It’s 10 a.m. on a lazy Sunday for the rest of us, but the cast of Rag-The Musical are already up, about and dusting off their dancing shoes. There are at least 20 people high kicking their way through a-needless to say-energetic number. They twirl, fall effortlessly into each [...]

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The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

Getting into student mode

By Duvindi Illankoon
Rag The musical hits the Colombo stage on October 19
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“Theeeere’s a rumpus in the campus!” It’s 10 a.m. on a lazy Sunday for the rest of us, but the cast of Rag-The Musical are already up, about and dusting off their dancing shoes.

Jehan Aloysius

There are at least 20 people high kicking their way through a-needless to say-energetic number. They twirl, fall effortlessly into each other’s arms and swish through a cramped living room (rehearsal space for the past half year) while the writer discreetly moves to the side for fear of a good whacking. The mood is intense-it’s just two weeks to go for opening night and they’re looking at nothing less than perfection.

Playwright and Director Jehan Aloysius watches keenly from the sidelines, a cap with the play’s name emblazoned across it pulled low over his head. Without warning, he jumps into the fray, joining the others in their song and dance and then the story begins to make sense. Jehan is Joseph, the story’s protagonist and this is his first day at local university. He is being ‘initiated’ along with the rest of his batch mates and the ‘rumpus in the campus’ is certainly very rowdy.

Embodying Joseph is as natural as breathing for the actor, because Joseph is Jehan. Rag was written based on Jehan’s experience of university and many of the characters draw from the quirky personalities of his batch mates of that time. “Just like Joe, I never believed in ragging or standing up against it with violence. As a playwright, I was lucky enough to be able to put my experience onto paper and get it out to the public,” he says.

Things weren’t so easy for the rest of the cast, however. They had to build their characters from scratch. Laknath Seneviratne who plays Peter, a pro-ragging heavyweight and Joe’s former friend is a first timer at the theatre. “I’ve only done classical opera before performance-wise, so it was quite a revelation coming into theatre,” he says. “Jehan has a very comprehensive approach to directing.

I remember that in the early stages we had to write dialogue for the ‘in-between’ scenes. For example, if I had an argument on stage with someone and then went off-stage, Jehan would have us write a dialogue for what could have taken place after that. It really helped us to build on our character and the scenes didn’t feel disjointed even though they rapidly shift.”

A lawyer by profession, Laknath was persuaded to join the performing arts by a crafty sister, who would “bribe me with burgers to sing!” he laughs. Having seen the call for Rag auditions, he decided to give it a shot and hasn’t looked back since.
Stephen Anoj plays Namal, Joe’s game-friend in university. “They’ve got a real bromance going, those two,” laughs the actor. “Namal is essentially a misfit, but he tries to mix with his English-speaking university batch mates to fit in. And he’s got a real obsession with Elvis!”

Anushiya Bastiampillai plays Michelle, Joe’s love interest in the musical. “Michelle is your typical nerdy girl,” she says. “She likes her books, is bespectacled and very naďve. But at the same time she’s got incredible potential within her and that surfaces as the play progresses.” That’s what makes all the characters such a treat, she adds, citing their emotional development throughout the play, told through song and dance.

Anushiya has sung with the Merry-An Singers; experience which she can draw from when she performs her big solo, the soulful ‘Love at First Sight’. “It’s great, because I get to sing which is something I love,” she enthuses. “But I also find a lot of similarities between myself and Michelle. And that’s quite nice-to be able to relate.”

Amandhi Caldera, who plays the feisty Natasha-Peter’s girlfriend and a victim of the ragging-says that it has been very challenging, yet a learning experience all the same. “It was a challenge because I don’t dance. Never did,” she grins ruefully. “But I’ve overcome that thanks to a lot of rehearsals and now I just focus on my character. She’s very tough.”
In fact, Jehan himself admits to casting strong singers, not actors or dancers. “Not everyone can sing. And it’s a musical. So I found some really powerful voices and then it was just a matter of teaching them the moves and getting them to tap into their acting reserves,” he says.

These young actors certainly seem to be delving into the very depths, with their intense rehearsals and readiness to do anything and everything to make their performance pitch perfect. Jehan is constantly there, pushing them to do better and never missing a single detail. One cast member is asked to ‘hop with more energy’ and another is asked to change shoes to see how it makes a difference. It’s enough to drive your average performer mad, but the cast grin and do as they’re told-perhaps because they sense that the end product is going to be more than worth the effort. The boys strip down to their underwear for one scene and the girls don’t blink an eye. They’re quite used to it; rehearsals have been going on for over half a year now after all. Come next week they’ll be as ready as they ever will be. Rag is, as they say, in the bag.

Rag: the Musical will be staged at the Lionel Wendt theatre from October 19-23 at 7.30 p.m. The principal sponsor is Cargills One Trust. Print Media sponsors are the Sunday Times, Daily Mirror and Hi!! Magazine. Tickets are now available
at the Wendt.




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