SIBA campus English Dept. presents Sanda Kindura Jataka story
The English Department of the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (SIBA) campus held a preview of their performance of the Sanda Kinduru Jataka story on July 14 at the SIBA auditorium followed by a question and answer session for the invitees. The play will be staged on July 28 at the Hindu Cultural Centre, Kandy.
SIBA was established in February 2009 as a higher educational project of the Sri Dalada Maligawa – Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, in Kandy. The Academy is a liberal arts Higher Education Institute set up in a monastic and eco-friendly environment.
Head of the Department of English and Modern Languages Buddhi Ariyarathna said they wanted the students who are studying in the English medium and learning English as a second language to learn English in a more interesting way.
In 2014 SIBA Campus signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Northern Kentucky University, USA and were granted a Fulbright Specialist Programme under which Dr. Daryl Harris, Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance Programme, School of the Arts, Northern Kentucky University, USA visited the SIBA Campus in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Under his guidance, Shakespeare’s Hamlet was performed in 2015. Last year Dr. Harris researched how theatre techniques can be used to hone spoken English skills, public speaking skills and presentational skills of SIBA undergraduates. After a two-week workshop, the students presented a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“It was our Rector Dr. Upali M. Sedere’s wish that this year we move forward with the findings of last year’s research by Dr. Daryl Harris towards something innovative, making a unique contribution to Buddhist theatre of Sri Lanka, while furthering the skills of our undergraduates,” Ms. Ariyarathna said.
The Fulbright Commission agreed to facilitate this project under the Specialist Programme and so Dr. Harris returned. Dr. Harris has studied and worked as a producer, writer, director, actor costume designer, Professor and lecturer throughout the USA, Canada, Scandinavia,West Africa, China and Australia. This year, they will present a Buddhist Jataka Story Drama, perhaps for the first time in English, featuring SIBA’s own talented undergraduates of the BA Special and BA General Programmes. This production brings together two styles of theatre – Western and Eastern while preserving the traditional Buddhist values at its core.
Sanda Kinduru Jataka is a much-loved Buddhist Jataka story of virtue, devotion and love. The story was translated from Pali to English and unfolds with song and dance. Ven. Poddalgoda Mahinda Thera assisted Dr. Harris in explaining the Sanda Kinduru Jataka story and its characters to help him in his production.
It is significant that the actors within 42 days had achieved a high standard of performance. The music was directed by Dharshana Bodhikotuwa who composed the lyrics from the Jataka Pali.
Dr. Harris said the project is also a collaboration with Northern Kentucky University’s Electronic Media and Broadcasting program. Dr. Charles Stobes was here for several weeks with three students and they are collaborating with the Sri Dalada Maligawa Media Team to produce a documentary about the process and the final production.
For the play Sanda Kinduru, the costumes were designed by Dr. Harris in white and silver with a touch of red and gold for the two soldiers, keeping in mind the Buddhist theme.
“The world has established that English is a common language of communication and my goal is to help create a confident global citizen,” said Dr. Harris who hopes to return and continue core programmes and smaller workshops for schools to train their students in voice projection, language skills and personality presentation.
A large number of students from schools in Kandy who are studying literature and theatre were present.