Blessed with talent and nurtured in a way that brings the very best out of them, the Dramatists of Good Shepherd Convent Kotahenaexcel in drama. Dramatic Moves features these gifted Thespians.
Teacher in Charge, B. Sriyani pointed out that a students’ character at a young age can really benefit from the environment drama places them in.
“The life of a student involves constant change. It is a transition period. Through drama they get to know a different perspective of life. You get to know different personalities. They learn to understand another person. Doing drama opens up your horizons. They learn so many things from Shakespeare. They learn how to interact. They look at life in a different way. Their minds open up. You get to know a lot about English Literature through drama,” said Sriyani.
Trainer Harshana Rathnayake, felt that what these students gain from drama is a very holistic training in life beyond student life.
“If you take Julius Caesar, I think Shakespeare used Julius Caesar, as a triggering incident, to highlight what impacts can happen to the Geo- political system, in a situation where good ambition clashes with patriotism. And I feel that he did not intend to emphasize on the Heroic fact of Caesar. Similarly in Macbeth which was written subsequent or in the same era of the Gun powder plot which happened in England. He wanted to communicate a message to society, through his plays on how the Geo Political systems will crash if a good administrative system is overthrown due to wrong reasons, just like Duncan’s and Caesar’s murders lead Scotland and Rome in to destruction for some time,” said Rathnayake.
President Annette Candappa said that engaging with diverse personalities really discovers your talent.
“I like the character of Guildernstern in Hamlet. From the plays I have done I like Hamlet the most. I have learnt things about my own life from the experiences we have gone through. I learnt with cast and team work. Merry Wives of Windsor was one memorable performance. That is how I really discovered my talent even though I like doing tragedies the best. You meet totally different kind of people through drama and that in itself helps you discover the world around you. It is all how you interact with people with diverse personalities,” said Candappa
Vishvani Senevirathne played the role in Hamlet, Shakespeare’s supernatural masterpiece.
Set in Denmark, the young prince Prince Hamlet is called to avenge his father’s death and take revenge on his uncle Claudius the slayer of his father. The ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to him and places this great burden upon Hamlet. Claudius having killed Hamlet’s father marries Hamlet’s, mother and the events that transpire are after the evil deed of regicide, changes Hamlet’s life forever.
“I have up to now done two Shakespeare dramas. I like Hamlet because it is a very complicated drama. There are so many characters in Hamlet with very different personalities. I like just how complicated the drama is. I played the role of Hamlet. I really worked hard to get into the character of Hamlet. Hamlet involves various emotions,” said Senevirathne.
Othello is another masterpiece by Shakespeare that involves villainy murder, grief, suicide, lies, deception and malice. Othello falls victim to irrationality and madness, and takes his own life.
“In Othello I played the part of Iago. I got to know a lot about jealousy. Team work and unity is what I have really taken out of the whole drama experience,” said Senevirathne
Vice President Yeshani Fernando pointed out how our lives change by the way we look at a situation.
“I loved Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet both. Hamlet is kind of a very complicated drama, and it is something you do not see every day. Considering the fact that Shakespeare lived in the 16th Century, it is amazing how it is relatable even now. I played the role of Claudius in Hamlet. We see greed and ambition in society and family turning against family, so in that way, yes we do see a lot of people like Claudius in Society. Whether Claudius is a bad person depends on how you view him,” said Fernando.
Through timeless plays like Hamlet and Othello we learn to understand life in general, because in life we see so much that these themes touch upon. We see murder in society, we see backstabbing and lying. We see manipulation. In society we get people trying to turn other people against each other.
“When you are doing a play, you try and understand why each character is the way they are. Hamlet is not a perfectly pure character. We learn that no one is born bad but it is how you look at things. It is all a matter of perception how you see something. Some people see it as black and some see it as white,” said Fernando.
She is doing Othello for her A/Ls and says it is about how we mostly perceive things. And it is about judgment and how much a calm demeanor you should have when making judgments and choices.
“Both Othello and Hamlet cannot be taken as perfect leaders. Shakespeare tries to define them by their mistakes. He shows how mistakes can bring a leader down because both of them have amazing personalities. In the end it becomes a tragedy. In drama you learn about passion. Hamlet is our favorite drama because we have all been in it. It is how we connected with each other. It is a life changing experience. Because even after the drama was over, that effect was there,” explains Fernando.
Ashvini Jayamanne, pointed out that one must not to be too hasty to come to decisions.
“I have done both Othello and Hamlet. If you take Othello, society sees him as a bad person. He takes decisions according to what his friend says. Othello was not a bad person but he was too hasty when taking a decision. That is something that happens in real life also. We see a lot of leaders like Othello’s in real life. It was my first Shakespeare drama. The most favorite character I did was Rosencrantz in Hamlet. He is a kind of a fun person. He is kind of personality that I like. Both plots of Othello and Hamlet involved a lot of planning and scheming. They are kind of the same, but still there are different characters with different personalities. Hamlet is not Othello and Claudius is not Iago. From Othello we learn not to be hasty,” said Jayamanne.
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