Standing on the dimly lit stage with only the sounds of our feet touching the wooden floorboards, I could picture myself in the same position three years ago, rehearsing for Drama Comp 2009. Beside me were my three friends who had been there to share the joy of receiving the prestigious shield as winners of the competition. But the question was; would our debut as directors be a failure or a triumph?
Gimhanee, Ayudya, Samurdha and I, walked into school for the very first rehearsal, nervous, hopeful and a little uncertain of what to expect. We had been given the privilege of directing for Visakha Vidyalaya and we were certainly looking forward to the experience.
Of course, a suitable script had to be chosen first in order to begin. A script can truly make or break the cast. During the early preparation stages, I became aware
of how vital and difficult it is to find the perfect screenplay to be enacted on stage. If the cast didn’t enjoy the story or found it difficult to relate to the characters, then their performance would be poor and half-hearted.
Consequently, if the selection of the script was a failure then the final result would barely live up to the expectations of the panel of judges. We would walk into school, armed with piles of paper, one-act plays, publications of comedies and modern scripts and proceed to read through them, hoping that the girls would enjoy at least one of the many options.
wwOur final choice - Visakha Vidyalaya would be performing ‘The Importance of being Earnest” Auditions took place and after many sleepless nights of editing the script was condensed to a thirty minute time limit. Then came the suggestion that we should modernize the play; cast aside the archaic setting and set the play during the late 1960’s or even the 1990’s.
This idea naturally stirred everyone’s interest, hoping it would be easier for the audience to understand the comedy within the story and the girls felt more comfortable.
Almost a week and a half stood between us and the competition when I was quietly informed that the play could no longer be performed as a modern drama. We had to do justice to the original script with no overwhelming changes or else face the risk of being marked down by the judges. Explaining this conclusion to the cast was difficult. “No one will understand us!” Came a despairing cry.
But we urged the cast to go back to the roots of the play and portray themselves as high-class lords and ladies. Looking back, this transition was one the most stressful decisions we made as directors. There were mixed thoughts, concerns and late-night phone calls, to re-evaluate the choice we had made. Rehearsals became more intense. Motivating the transformation from laid-back modern behaviour to strict, formal Victorian mannerisms was a daunting task.
As the days until the competition grew less, the practice hours grew longer and wearier. Needless to say, the girls were pushed to the limit. Ayudhya, Gimhanee, Samurdha and I, sat in the audience, writing comments and observations until my notebook was a mass of scribbles and crumpled pages. The atmosphere was tense and it was easy to see how it was affecting the cast.
One of our biggest concerns was Binu Jassim, who had been given the main role of Cecily, less than two weeks before the competition. Would she be able to be a convincing Cecily? Our performance at the Lionel Wendt was the best we’ve seen since we began practising for the competition.
As we sat in the light box and at the sound controls, we couldn’t hold back the sense of pride we felt, watching our girls on stage. I will never forget the conclusion of the performance as I stood up in the dark audience, clapping for all it was worth, applauding the hard work of the girls
Not only did we win first place, but we also won the award for best portrayal. Holding the shields in our hands, my eyes rested on the engraving for ‘Best Portrayal’ which had been awarded to me in 2009.
My heart was full of pride, knowing that Binu’s name would appear by my side on that very same shield for 2012. We have many people to be grateful to, most importantly our beloved teachers, Mrs. Aasiri and Mrs. Champika Delpagodaw. We thank our principal, Mrs. Sandamali Aviruppola who supported us immensely. A big thank you to Javin Thomas and Wasaam Ismail, who were a great source of strength. But victory belongs to the cast and crew who worked very hard to achieve it.
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