Arts
A chance to give rise to a national trilingual troupe
“They love this place. When you talk about the Wendt, they call it their home,” says Dilrukshi Rambukwelle, Administrative Secretary of the Lionel Wendt Memorial Fund, commenting on the enthusiastic response to the new collaboration between the Lionel Wendt Memorial Fund and the Workshop Players that has seen actors both familiar and new faces at the theatre.
Jerome De Silva sharing his expertise in theatre. Pic by Ishanka Sunimal
“The Power of Theatre: Artistry, Entertainment, and Social Commentary” is a series of free workshops that is a joint effort by the Lionel Wendt Memorial Fund and the Workshop Players. Begun as a social service to the public and promotion of the arts, the workshops which began on the first weekend of June have drawn aspiring actors from different walks of life.
It was founder and Artistic Director of the Workshop Players, Jerome De Silva who first approached Dilrukshi on starting a workshop of this nature. Inspired by the Shilpa Kala Kendraya headed by Dhamma Jagoda, Jerome hopes that the workshops will “spawn a bunch of superb actors in the near future.”
Expressing his gratitude to the Lionel Wendt trustees and everyone who nurtured the Lionel Wendt to becoming “definitely the most sought after theatre in the country,” Jerome is thankful that everyone was on board for his workshop idea. As the Wendt has been his second home for almost 50 years, he understands the value of the theatre. “The Lionel Wendt Kala Kendraya –to keep that vision alive and flame going we decided that we will do this workshop.”
Jerome hopes that a national trilingual troupe will come out of these workshops, perhaps not as a culmination of the workshops but as a stepping stone. “We have Sinhala and Tamil speakers here and they are really the heart and the soul and the roots of the country. They are all very absorbed in what we are doing here,” he elaborated.
The monthly weekend workshops have around 90 participants per day.
“I teach all the different aspects for theatre. From the basics such as choreography, design, script writing,” Jerome shares. However as the participants of the workshop were mostly experienced in the basics, Jerome focuses on different methods used such as the German technique of silent theatre, Augusto Boal’s forum theatre and also on analysing the work of Stanislavski, Brecht etc.
Outlining the Wendt’s involvement Dilrukshi spoke about how the Lionel Wendt has been a pillar in promoting different kinds of art in Sri Lanka, be it visual or performing arts, as it is their main mandate. “We have the space and the knowledge, why not put them all together and do a service for the public,” she said.
| Invaluable experience | |
For the participants, the workshops have been an invaluable learning experience.  Shalini Wanninayaka It has been a very long wait for him for something of this nature to come to Colombo says Kapila Rasnayaka. “It is a wonderful opportunity for me because I use theatre as a tool to talk about social issues such as human rights violations and gender-based violence. “We would like to thank the Lionel Wendt for organising this platform because we are all able to learn and meet different people.” Hailing from Anuradhapura, it is Shalini Wanninayaka’s first time in a workshop of this nature despite studying at the Tower Hall Theatre Foundation. It’s her first workshop in English and she is pleased that Jerome uses Sinhala and Tamil as well, a sentiment echoed by young actor Mahesh Thrusitha as he expresses his excitement at working with the expertise of Jerome. Madurya Mendis shared “I have been to several workshops but I have never come across a workshop that has been completely free and especially in a venue like this. And someone like Jerome, we don’t meet people like him easily. It is a very great opportunity because I get to tap into English theatre for the time as well.” Umayangana Wickramasinghe who works in film, television and theatre believes drama workshops such as this are important as they teach the right techniques and methods. “Jerome De Silva is not just famous in English theatre, he is a prominent figure in Sri Lanka and it is amazing that we get to see his ideas and work with him.” Entrance to the workshops is free of charge to anyone over 18. No prior experience is required to participate. For more information, please visit info@lionelwendt.com or contact the Lionel Wendt on 011-2695794. |