Encouraging creativity through theatre
Growing up, Sashi Mendis’s theatrical experiences were no different from any school going youngster, taking the stage with a Shakespearean
Sashi Mendis
flair for acting. It was during her college days, studying Law at the University of Colombo that Sashi found herself a part of the street dramas they would perform within other State campuses. Now with a solid 15-year career behind her as a teacher of drama, she presents her young students in a production of devised theatre titled “Creations”.
A collection of plays written both by herself and her students, the concert will showcase the talents of around a 100 children ranging from the ages of 5 to 18. Working with children and nurturing their creativity is nothing new to Sashi. A teacher of drama at Gateway College for almost a decade, Sashi navigated away from the usual school-drama fare, feeding them everything from traditional Shakespeare to revolutionary dramatists such as Frederico Garcia Lorca and Eugene Ionesco. Her students often found themselves performing trilingual plays, they had scripted themselves, such as ‘Victims’(2010) which stepped away from typical school theatre, exploring a darker, more modern approach to the teen years.
“One of my main goals is to encourage creativity,” Sashi explains. When she began teaching, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) offered its candidates the opportunity to showcase their writing skills with devised scripts written and performed by the children themselves. The evening’s show is the product of classes held in Battaramulla and Colpetty and will include plays that were performed by her students for their Devised Drama examinations with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where almost all of them excelled with distinctions.
Some of the plays are hardly what you would expect from eleven and twelve -year-old minds. Take “Melon” – a 45- minute dark comedy, the play revolves around the disappearance of a four-year-old girl, Melon. The play was the brainchild of the group fondly known as the ‘Friday Class’ having studied drama under her, together as a group for almost eight years.
“You’d think it’s bizarre” she herself admits, with most of the pieces including witchcraft, wizardry and other darker material. She attributes it to the youngsters’ imaginations and love for books such as the Harry Potter series and Goosebumps horror stories; staples of today’s young readers.
Writing their scripts not only sharpens their writing skills and creativity but whets their appetite for reading as well. “Every student that comes to me gets a role,” she explains, so no one is left out, and each student gets the individual opportunity that would not always be given to them in larger school productions.
“Creations” will be held on March 6 and 8 at 6.30 p.m. at the Punchi Theatre. For details regarding tickets and classes contact Sashi on 0777009258.