.jpg)
Mind Adventures returns to the stage this year after a short hiatus; actor and director Ruvin de Silva (Nine and Starving Children for Noir Theatre Festival 2011) directs his first full-length performance, After Class, an original script written by Jithendra Seneviratne, a recent graduate of the MFA (Theatre – Interdisciplinary) program at Sarah Lawrence College, NY.
With After Class, Mind Adventures also returns to its experimentations with youth-theatre. Mind Adventures had garnered acclaim for performing cutting-edge plays with highly political themes and content targeting a mostly adult audience since its inception in 1999. In 2007, with the production of Chatroom (Enda Walsh), MA opened its doors to a much wider range of audience members, particularly teenagers and young adults.
The next year, after having completed two highly-acclaimed runs of Chatroom, MA produced Samurai (Geoffrey Case), a fantastical adventure tale aimed at the whole family including young children. MA’s first foray into devised theatre in 2009 resulted in The Travelling Circus. Based on a children’s story in the form of allegory and fable, The Boy Who Spoke in Numbers (MASii), The Travelling Circus, a mixture of Absurdism, Surrealism, song and dance, was aimed at audience members of all ages, once again attempting to draw in children and young adults.
After Class explores the dangers of conformism: an issue that dominates the lives of young people across the world, and questions the norms and social trappings by which these lives are framed. It asks questions about identity, ambition and true desire through a portrayal of several young characters, full of aspiration, fighting to create their own voice and have it heard.
Mind Adventures is excited to be working with the best of Colombo’s upcoming young acting talent for After Class. It features Eshara Silva, Thanuja Jayawardena, Brandon Ingram, Pasan Ranaweera, Gehan Blok, Sulakshani Perera, Jehan Gunasekara, Rebecca Munasinghe, Niren Ranasinghe, Dinesha Senaratne and Anuk De Silva.
After Class is produced by award-winning theatre director Tracy Holsinger, Founder and Artistic Director of Mind Adventures. It will go on boards from the 22 – 24 February 2013 at the British School in Colombo (Elvitigala Mawatha). Tickets will be on sale at the British School from 7 February. Follow our Facebook group (facebook.com/mindadventures) or our blog (daytripper.wordpress.com) for more information.
Jithendra Seneviratne
Jithendra Seneviratne is a recent graduate of the MFA (Theatre – Interdisciplinary) program at Sarah Lawrence College, NY, and is currently working as the Operations Manager at Gibney Dance: A creative center for New York’s thriving arts community. Prior to his current position, he worked in technical theatre and production, having held the position of lighting designer, and electrician for numerous productions, including that of Master Electrician for The Mt. Washington Valley Theater Company. He has professional performing credits, the most notable being as The Sexton in Much Ado about Nothing: A production by Shakespeare on the Sound (CT). Jithendra’s early career and academic experience is in business administration, economics and finance.
Synopsis
Suraya is becoming increasingly torn. The champion swimmer has always lived up to and exceeded expectations. Yet, Dorian, a reclusive Renaissance man, is pulling her away from her aspirations, and into his world: A world where the individual’s voice is of greater importance than the expectations of the collective. Worlds away, Nadia feels the same.
Gabriel is forcing her to rethink her role as a public figure and politician in a time of tense transition. As the pressure mounts on Suraya and Nadia, they are quietly forced to look deeper inside; while the world outside is set alight by revolutionaries and extremists. After Class explores the dangers of conformism through multiple lenses. As the two worlds collide at a climactic end, we are left questioning our alliances, value systems and beliefs.
Characters
Suraya – An ambitious college student who has collected many accolades, and is destined for many more
Nadia – The equally ambitious daughter of a radical leader, now facing defeat by the next wave of revolutionaries
Dorian – Seemingly the Suraya’s opposite: Contemptibly turning away from the public eye and expectation
Gabriel – Shares similarities with Dorian, although maturity has turned him mellow and less arrogant
Vílla – A powerful figure of the Far Right, who genuinely believes in his political party’s values
Shanaz – Suraya’s mother: She has much more invested in her daughter than perhaps she should
Natalie – Suraya’s friend and peer: A caring and grounded human being
Kimi – Suraya’s peer, not her friend: The only person who could possibly rival Suraya’s in her ambition
Garry – Suraya’s peer, friend and more
Carson – Bears the kind leadership and intellectual qualities that we are all intimidated by
Coach – Mild mannered and indifferent
Pic courtesy of Mind Adventures
.jpg)
.jpg)
0 Comments
Sahan Perera says:
Feb 28, 2013 at 12:00 am''was perhaps one of the best theatre productions I’ve seen of late, with a stellar cast and captivating script, the play kept those in the audience transfixed as it unfolded'' -this and a synopsis of the play and you call it a review? In my opinion the production was one of the weakest to be presented by the company to date. I have followed the work of Mind Adventures for many years and was saddened by the latest offering. The script was better suited for the radio than for the stage. While i
Sahan Perera says:
Feb 28, 2013 at 12:00 amThia comment was posted under the ''review'' of After Class written by Lake Argent and published on the same website ... Im not sure why the editor has chosen to publish it here but to understand the above comment it would make sense to read the review first .