Arts
Before the curtain rises
Many young aspiring fans of musical theatre dream of getting on stage but there’s much more to a stage production than just the actors. From costume design, to backstage work, lighting and front- of-house work, it takes a co-ordinated effort to put on a successful production. Stagecraft’s new workshops ‘A – Z, of What to Know in Theatre Production’ will have theatre practitioners teach their craft and impart their knowledge to young hopefuls, finally culminating in a musical show next February.
Students at a Lion King workshop
Open to children, teens and young adults, Stagecraft’s workshops running over five months will focus on different aspects of theatre production. The introductory workshop is on September 22 at the Polytechnic, Wellawatte, with the production planned for February 28 and 29 at the Punchi Theatre.
Stagecraft, School of Musical Theatre and Performing Arts was founded by the yin-yang duo of Rapti Fernando, co- founder and choral director of Vocal Essence, and Suranjika Bartholomeusz, an Attorney-at-Law, who has been teaching speech and drama for the last 15 years. Together they will be producing and directing the musical as well as handling the dramatic and vocal aspects of the workshops.
Choir director for 12 years of the Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya senior choir, Rapti has been a member of the Merry- An Singers and is continuing her singing education under Naomi Guneratne. Suranjika teaches musical theatre and performance art for the Trinity College exams.
Having been taught by Wendy Holsinger, Tracy Holsinger, Akhry Ameer and Layangi Jayasekera, Suranjika is also a poet who writes on social issues.
Auditions for the show will be on September 23 at the Polytechnic with those selected required to follow one element of stagecraft at the workshops as well, so that they too can understand the intrinsic aspects of theatre production. The cost per area of theatre specialization will be Rs 15,000. Participants will receive a certificate from Stagecraft and the production will be entered for the Trinity College of London exams under ‘Performance Arts in Production’.
Learning the ropes of musical theatre
On the 22nd, participants will be given an introduction into the different areas of theatre, following which, they can choose one or more areas which suits their interest. The elements are Amplified Sound and Effects (handled by Akhry Ameer), Lighting and Special Effects (Priyanka Holsinger), Costume Design and Execution (Vishan Gunewardene), Stage Makeup (Buddhi Galappathi), Front of House and Media (Sonali Crusz and Ryan Wydeman), Backstage (Akhry Ameer), Instrumentation (Shashikala de Silva), Art and Design (Dillai Joseph), Photography (Darrell Bartholomeusz), Videography of a live production (Dimitri Crusz), and lastly Design and Execution of Properties, Props (Charith de Silva).
Vishan Gunewardene who is teaching Costume Design and Execution, will be touching on upcycling trash and how to manage within a budget as well as how to use those materials and think of alternatives. Buddhi Galappathi will do makeup including fantasy makeup and how to age a person etc while Sonali Crusz and Ryan Wydeman will elaborate on all things regarding Front of House and Media including compiling souvenirs for a show. Participants will thus gain an insight into the different avenues available in the world of theatre production.
Enrolment will be on a first come first serve basis – call Rapti: 0773071987 or Suranjika: 0772278878 for more information or email stagecraft.mtpa@gmail.com.
Suranjika and Rapti