Somalatha playing for children

 

 

When you play for children you have to give them knowledge while shaping the child’s personality. Our folklore has a lot of wisdom which is capable of doing just this

What we usually take notice about Somalatha Subasinghe is that she is a veteran theater artiste, an educationist, an actress and also a scriptwriter. She is also the pioneering personality behind Sri Lankan children’s theater. What few know is that she is also a talented artist. Her paintings range from portraits to landscapes. They portray love and compassion which are similar to the gifts she bestowed on Sri Lankan theater. “We had a great art master back in school that helped me to improve my talents. I once became first in an interschool art competition. Of course, I couldn’t continue it. But I have my painting in a room all covered with dust,” she laughed compassionately. 

Subasinghe obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1961 from the University of Ceylon, now Peradeniya University. She obtained her Master of Arts Qualified in Drama and Theatre in 1983. Participating in Prof Sarachchandra’s experimental productions as a young undergraduate marked the beginning of Subasinghe’s career. “There was no subject as Drama and theater during that period. I studied Sinhala, Economics and Literature for the Arts degree,” she said. “I think I was immersed in a porridge of culture back in school. Some of the teachers were artistes at Radio Ceylon and a lot of cultural events were held. I believe these opportunities to participate in various cultural events helped me immensely in my later productions.” Subasinghe studied at Musaeus College, Colombo and later joined another school for higher studies.

She was one of the first female stage artistes of Sri Lanka. She then went on to explore her performing prowess under many acclaimed directors. She put forth an explosive performance playing the character of Sara in Mudu Puththu, Gunasena Galappaththi’s adaptation of Garcia Lorca’s Yerma. She also made her mark in Sinhala cinema and well as teledrama, displaying outstanding talent. She was honored for her roles in highly acclaimed film productions, such as Viragaya. She wrote and directed many stage plays, and won the Best Director and Best Translated Production awards for the stage play Yadam and Best Director award for the play Antegone, at State Drama Festivals.  

Her creations reshaped the children’s and youth theatre in Sri Lanka. She received international recognition for productions such as Toppi Welenda (Hat Seller), Punchi Apata Dan Therei (We Know It Now), Rathmalee, Ottooi, Hima Kumariya, and Walas Pawula, she gave the opportunity for children to enjoy theatre. They have showcased our culture at a number of international children’s theatre festivals in Europe and Asia.

Following in the footsteps of her parents – her father was a principal and mother, a teacher – she joined the Ministry of Education as a graduate teacher in 1962. Over the years she held several positions in committees, initiating the inclusion of aesthetics, drama and theatre in primary and secondary school curriculum, for thirteen years. She also had a hand in designing the syllabus for Drama for Advanced Level students.  

She also worked with the Education Ministry, directing and producing plays with school children of all ages and conducted seminars and workshops for teachers in theater and radio programs. She was a visiting lecturer in Theatre Direction and Script Writing for undergraduates at Sri Palee Campus of University of Colombo. Subasinghe has also brought fame to Sri Lanka by representing the country at a number of international conferences, with years of experiences on theatre for children and youth. She was the Sri Lankan representative at the first ever Women’s Playwright Conference held in New York in 1988 and continued to represent Sri Lanka in Women’s Playwright Conferences thereafter.

Subasinghe is the pioneering personality in Children’s theater in Sri Lanka. Before her theater productions, there were no child-oriented productions. Children had to see commonly produced dramas. According to her, she was inspired by the discussions about children’s theater by WB Ratnayake, Gamini Wijesuriya, Bandula Jayawardhane and Nimal Diyasena. “Once they organized a workshop where dramatists from East Germany also participated. These discussions and the influence of Prof Sarachchandra and Gunasena Galappathi inspired me to study more about children’s theater,” she reminisced. “I went to England, Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union to observe children’s theater following a UNESCO fellowship. There I observed that children’s theater is meant for children. Even Othello could have been produced for children like a story. What’s suitable for a 30-year-old is not suitable for an 11-year-old.”

With these experiences and inspirations, she understood the potential of Sri Lankan folklore in shaping a child’s mind. “When you play for children you have to give them knowledge while shaping the child’s personality. Our folklore has a lot of wisdom which is capable of doing just this,” she iterated. “This knowledge should be given through an aesthetic experience; happiness, sadness or humor and songs. The child is entertained by music and rhythm, therefore it’s easy to drive the message home through songs,” she said. “We give sugar-coated bitter medicine to children don’t we? Songs and humor are like the sugar-coat of children’s theater,” she said. She also said that she sees the relationships and conflicts in society as elements in writing scripts for children. 

She believes that all the productions meant for children, television, radio, cinema or theater, should carry a moral value. She detested today’s cartoons, pointing out how hatred and revenge is being promoted. In her plays, she said, she has tried to illustrate peace, harmony and mercifulness so that the child will also learn the same. “One day after Hima Kumariya, a little girl came to me and said that she is angry with me that I didn’t punish the evil stepmother. I told her, ‘Darling she didn’t know that she was doing the wrong thing. Later she agreed to stay with snow white right? So it’s all right not to punish her, isn’t it?’ Not only the evil stepmother in Snow White, the cunning fox in Red Riding Hood was also forgiven by Subasinghe. She said that this must be the influence of the Buddhist philosophy she so admires.

Lanka Children’s and Youth Theatre Foundation (LCYTF), best known as the Play House, Kotte, established by her in 1981 is also one of her greatest contributions towards the betterment of Sri Lankan theater. Under her direction, LCYTF has produced a number of plays including Vikurthi (Distortion). Vikurthi criticized the politics, education system as well as the values of the family system. It was a complete critique of the education system which turns a child into a robot rather than a sensible human being. She was able to empathize with the school children who saw A.Po.Sa – Sa. Pe (Adyayana Podu Sahathika Pathathra- Samanya Pela - GCE Ordinary Level) as Apo Saape! (What a curse!) Today, Vikurthi is acclaimed as a landmark of modern Sinhala Theatre.

She spoke about the limitations producers and directors of today, have to face. As she pointed out, lack of quality theaters and stages is a great barrier for dramatist to create elaborate presentations. “There should be intimacy between the audience and the actor during the play. A message has be conveyed by the theater man to the audience. That message should get across to the audience,” she explained. “The physical, facial expression of the actor and the voice should reach all the members of the audience. This would not be satisfied if the theater is too large although it has all the sophisticated acoustics or facilities,” she added. According to her, the principles of theater have changed immensely during the past few decades.

“You can’t play theater for thousands of people at once,” she pointed out. She also said that there is no ideal stage for theater productions, other than Lionel Wendt, in the country and it’s a huge disadvantage that the country does not possess theaters that could please the dramatist as well as the audience simultaneously. “We need theaters at least in three or four cities other than Colombo. This is an aspect which is not attended to at all,” she expressed her grief.

She spoke about the family values in society today. “The mother in the society today is not family centered. She is more concerned about the outside. They are in a race with the others and they want their children to follow them. Attention, love and compassion towards the child are not demonstrated enough. It is postponed or neglected because of their need to keep up with the rest of society,” she said. “I have observed that some of the young actors who don’t even have a proper place to live use sophisticated technology such as texting and taking pictures. Surprisingly, parents also support them in these. Parents are compelled to do so due to unemployment,” she opined.  

Subasinghe conquered her home as she conquered theater. Being a busy woman for many years, playing many roles in theater and in society she believes that the contemporary woman is capable of doing much more than what she does. “All you need is to have courage,’ she emphasized. “I managed my time. I always planned what I do, including how I am going to spend my free time. That is how I did all these,” she said.

She continued to speak about the women’s role in the family. “It is not that the man has sent the woman to the kitchen, but it is the woman’s self-consciousness that makes her think she belongs there,” Subasinghe said that Sri Lankan women have still not fully identified what they are capable of. “She is very clever at taking all the responsibility into her hand after marriage. She will do everything from preparing tea in the morning. And after the baby comes, she will be caged in her own house. Nobody told her to be so. Don’t you think that she is responsible for herself?” she posed a question.

Pics by Sakuna Gamage