If all the world were a stage then it’s yours for the taking. If you’re a talented performer waiting for your turn under the spotlight then the web portals of ‘StageYou’ might be just the thing for you.

‘StageYou’ is an initiative that attempts to replicate the world stage online. A first of its kind that a site would be open to users from across the world to upload and share their talents with celebrities, talent scouts and the general public without having to go through the long and often stressful process involved in competitions.

Founded by Deepamala Abeysekara, the dynamic driving force behind, StageYou is for literally anyone with talent in the performing arts. “The beauty of the site is in its versatility,” enthuses its founder. “You could be of any age, from any corner of the world and all you need is a good internet connection!”

Deepamala was the 2007 recipient of the Human Rights Law centre Bursary of the University of Nottingham to pursue an internship at the UN Headquarters in New York, where she was subsequently offered a position. However, Deepamala had other plans. “The UN was an amazing place to work for but somehow I wanted something more than that,” she says. “I really, really wanted to come back to Sri Lanka and do something of my own.”

A firm believer of the concept of what the mind can imagine, it can achieve; that was exactly what she did. She returned home to her company Aspirations Education and conceptualised StageYou, which she submitted as an Enterprise Project to the University of Cambridge. Not surprisingly, the project was chosen by the selection committee as an outstanding one.

StageYou has been in the works for the past year and Deepamala and her team have perfected it until it’s ready for use by the potential thousands that the team are confident it will attract. “It’s the perfect opportunity, really,” says Deepamala. “It’s like a reality TV show-say American Idol-with global appeal. The real difference is that all you have to do is upload a video of yourself performing from the comfort of your home. And voila, it’s up there for the world to see!”

Isn’t that the same thing as YouTube? Well, no. Because it’s not just the general public who will watch and rate your performance, but a celebrity panel of qualified judges who will watch you too. And if you live up to the hype, they just might talent scout you. The first ever contest on StageYou, will be ‘The Theatre Fiesta’. The competition is to be judged by some of Sri Lanka’s finest. On the panel are Jehan Bastians (Silent Hands Productions), Jehan Aloysius (centrestage Productions), Jake Oorloff and Ruhanie Perera (Floating Space Theatre Company), Shanuki DeAlwis (The Workshop Players), Ruvin De Silva (Mindventures theatre Co) and of course, Indu Dharamasena.

To compete in ‘The Theatre Fiesta’, all you have to do is select any script of an English play you’re familiar with, take a video camera and film just three minutes of your monologue (you could upload more than one video clip of three minutes each). After that it’s a simple matter of following the instructions on www.stageyou.tv/theatrefiesta and uploadyour content.

Theatre Fiesta is made open to Sri Lankan contestants under the age of 25 initially as Deepamala firmly believes that home turf is the best playing ground for a start-up venture.

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