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With ‘Second Wing’, their new cast, The Butterflies Theatre Company is ready to flit off on a new production, Turtles Will Never Fly
Together again
By Priyanwada Ranawaka
The cast is ready for yet another rehearsal. The director gives the signal and the warm-up session kicks off. The 'magic pen' is twirled on the floor and the person standing where it points to has to come to the middle of the circle they have formed and take the lead. Those who can't hear the music imitate others; those who can't see others react to what they hear and those who can't move their feet make the best use of their hands. "It doesn't matter what they do, as long as it comes from within them,” says Director Wolfgang Stange.

"Turtles Will Never Fly", the fifth production of the Butterflies Theatre Company is still taking shape with the dedicated trainers and cast hard at work. "They are bursting with creativity and all we have to do is to help them bring it out and channel it," explains Stange, who is also choreographing the production. He is a professional dancer, teaching creative dance and self-expression to those who are mentally and physically disadvantaged. Following a method known as Dance Dynamics, he says he can see the personal improvement in the cast members within the past few days. "They are no more alone," he says.

Commenting on the script, he says, "We still don't know what's going to happen at the end of the play." The trainers await the suggestions of the actors and actresses to shape the plot. "I don't want them to be somebody else in the play. I want them to act but still be themselves," explains Stange adding that it's amazing to see that what they lack physically or mentally does not put them off from expressing themselves with what they possess.

Rather than the usual theme of war and peace, this production is going to be more of a satire, he said. It would look at many aspects of society such as politics, ethnicity and love. "It feels wonderful when they improvise on what you suggest," says Ramani Damayanthi, Assistant Director for the production.

A professional actress, she has been working with differently abled people for over a decade. "I know how happy the children feel," she says, adding that the difference in their abilities is no barrier to building a good bond among members of the team.

The cast named the 'Second Wing' consists of 32 actors and actresses, new faces from all around the country representing different ethnicities and social backgrounds. "Initially we conducted five-day workshops in Jaffna, Batticaloa, Tangalle, Badulla and Hatton," explains Rohana Deva, Assistant Director and assistant choreographer. This project was sponsored by the government of the Netherlands in a bid to bring about interaction between diverse cultural and ethnic groups. "We selected a few participants from each workshop and brought them to Colombo for a ten-day workshop. They were also joined by young soldiers from the Ranaviru Sevana who have been disabled in the war. The end product of the workshop will be the drama," explains Mr. Deva.

Shirani Wickremasinghe, 29 has come to Colombo from Tangalle. Having studied at the Thangalla Nava Jeevana Special School, she is now a teacher at her old school. Coming from a family of four siblings, she is eager to see them all in the audience.

The cast is currently staying at the Centre for Professional Development and Education Management in Meepe, Padukka. "We do not feel the time passing," exclaims Shirani adding that they start practices by 8.30 in the morning and go on till about 5 in the evening. "Then we go back and have dinner. The rest of the evening is spent playing games and singing." Although she misses her family, she smiles, "I'm part of a new family now."

Tamlin Heathwood of Australia has come down to Sri Lanka to join the Sunera Foundation in its new project. Although she has been a teacher helping differently abled students for over a year in Australia, she says her experience here is different.

"Each of these children represent a different ethnic group and a different religion. They speak in different languages. Some of them come from a war background, which has had a big impact on them. So, apart from the physical differences, they are also marginalized by the different languages they use. My task is to make them work towards harmony," she adds.

"I learn a lot from them," she adds. Though there are theatre productions by differently abled people in Australia, they are mostly performed by elderly actors. She intends to go back to her school in Brisbane and initiate a similar project for her students.

Although N.S.M. Nishantha's main interest is sports, he says he always took part in school dramas. Having served the army in the Sinha Regiment for over 13 years, he lost his left leg in a landmine explosion. Still employed at the regiment, he has held the records for the 200m and 100m races for wheelchair users since 1995. "So far, I have been chosen for about five different roles in the play," he says proudly.

"I have many friends and I feel at home. The only difference is there are no sounds of guns," says 17-year-old S. Theeba. Coming from Batticaloa, she is happy to have got the opportunity to participate in the workshop as she had studied drama and theatre for her A/Ls. "There is no war anymore. But everyday someone gets killed on the road," she lamented. Theeba was not sure if her family would be able to come to see her on stage, but she said she would go back and tell them all about it.

The Sunera Foundation has been involved in integrating the many talents of differently abled people, and promoting self-expression, to bring them into the normal stream of life. The work of the Sunera Foundation in the creative arts (dance, drama, puppetry, painting and music) has benefited many hundreds of differently abled youth in Sri Lanka.

The Foundation’s Butterflies Theatre Company, consisting of more than 50 members has many past productions to its credit namely Butterflies Can't Fly (1998), Flowers Will Always Bloom (2000), Swinging Times-A Fairy Tale for Adults (2001) and Journey into the Subconscious (2002). "Turtles Will Never Fly" will be staged at the Bishop's College auditorium on September 17 and 18 at 7.30 p.m.

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