The power of play
Sulochana
Master puppeteer Sulochana
Dissanayake, founder and artistic director of ‘Power of Play’flutters a beautifully crafted puppet around, talking, whispering, shrieking at times. At the hand of an expert, a puppet is hard to distinguish from a living, breathing individual and with movements – a surreal enchantment envelopes us. It’s a power that can break barriers and empower people.
Getting ready for ‘Camp Kreativ’ a holiday camp of theatre, dance, music, photography and film, Sulochana aspires to use the talents of professionals such as herself to let children bask in hands-on skill development, and fall in love with the creative arts. “It is a happy medium and allows children to grow in their imagination with active participation. Camp Kreativ is an intensive experience conducted by experts who have made a career out of what they teach,” she tells us. “We do what we love to do and that makes the difference.”
Sulochana first fell in love with what she loves to do during her days of higher education. “It was the intricate movements that I was hooked on,” she tells us, picking up Cepot (a puppet of Indonesian origin)and getting him to breathe for us. “The moment the puppet breathed, I woke up. They really do have the power to shake people out of the norm.”
Chanaka
In 2008, upon clinching the Watson Fellowship to pursue a lifelong passion for one year, Sulochana based her study on how developing nations can use theatre and arts beyond entertainment. Her destination was South Africa, where struggles of colour and ethnicity bore strong impressions on the culture of the country and what she found out was that the creative arts were used as a communication tool to battle inequalities. “It is an amazing platform we can use to convey our stories and our problems to the public,” she tells us.
Back home she wanted to instigate the same notion using puppetry and possible stories that Sri Lankans can relate to were running in her head. “It was then that it struck me that what better story than the well-loved classic Mahadanamutta,” says Sulochana.With her hilarious little tweaks to the story which now includes Polbemuni, Puwakbadilli, and Abdul, Sulochana has found a way to break the societal stigma and help foster a loving environment within the community.
“Puppets prove to be a powerful tool of communication as there is no judgement. The 4th wall is broken down and messages can be effectively communicated,” explains Sulochana. “You can hit the nail on the head.” Explaining the ideals of Camp Kreativ, Sulochana tells us that it is a break from the norm of traditional education. “It’s a productive experience,” reiterates Sulochana. While it also enhances one’s language and presentation skills, the many sessions at ‘Camp Kreativ’ will focus on providing the analytical skills necessary for a child to better face problems later on in life. “This is not a camp for children aspiring to make careers out of what we teach, although that is also a viable possibility. What it aims to achieve is to take the competition stress off children, promote egalitarian values and give them the right tools to make better choices in life by looking at things in a different angle,” states Sulochana.
Sulochana with her puppets. Pix by M. D. Nissanka
In her renditions of stories such as Sybil Wettasinghe’s timeless tale Kuda Hora, the kids come up on stage and help Kiri Maama get to Colombo. Which stresses the point that the creative arts is a dynamic element based on visual stimulants, and that the hands-on approach is the best way to teach it. “It is amazing to see the kids being actively involved and learning so much, while having fun.” What Sulochana aims to -and has been successful at- is to recreate that magic.
Conducting the sessions on cinematography and film-making is Chanaka Wijamunige, a budding cinematographer. With specialization in script writing, cinematography, and sound editing, these sessions will give participants the chance to feel what it is to be a part of a film-crew. The onus on Chanaka is that he will have to get the participants to make their own short-film at the end of the session.
“The workshop will give the chance for youngsters to take a glimpse into the wonderful world of cinematography and open up their minds to creativity,” tells Chanaka, adding that the bigger picture is to train the youngsters to capture the entire essence of a scenario and reflect it in one shot. “One day, these skills can be used to evaluate problems and come to a better solution.”
Camp Kreativ will be held at the ABC Preschool, Shrubbery Gardens Colombo 04, in 2 sessions. Session 1 – August 11, to August 16. Session 2 – August 18, to August 23. Registrations can be done at the Milk Bookstore, Colombo 07 and online by via email to powerinfoplay@gmail.com.