A musical presented by the students of AIS 

Treading the board on the 11th and 12th of February at the Lionel Wendt, the students of AIS will present Wiz, an adaptation of the Wizard of Oz, with their own little twists and additions. A perennial amongst children and adults alike, the Wiz by the students of AIS looks set to be both exciting and interesting. 

Sandra Gomes and Shannon Wannakuwatte, the teachers in charge of the production have been supporting the cast and at times the parents every step of the way. 

“We selected The Wiz because it is a fun musical that has a lot of appeal to both kids and adults and has a large cast. The songs are superb and the characters appealing. Jerome De Silva also felt he could do a marvellous set for it, with lots of technical effects.The cast comprises of 76   children between the ages of 9 -16. We held auditions in October but the rehearsal only began in December as we had to wait for the examinations to be over. The whole show was put together in less than two and a half months. The kids had to fit in their rehearsals between their school work and extra curricular activities. We really admire their determination to pull this off. It’s been very stressful, especially with a highly demanding Director in the form of legendary Jerome De Silva. That said he has a wonderful ability to bring out the best in every child”. said Sandra Gomes. 

“The last production staged by AIS was Annie in 2014, which was a runaway success and also directed by Jerom de Silva. AIS has a reputation for staging high quality productions, and has a history of very successful drama. Children learn to express themselves while becoming confident and less self-conscious. Hidden talents are revealed, while existing talent is given wider public exposure. They learn team spirit and cooperation. They learn to help each other and take pride in others' success as well as their own. All in all, drama builds character and knowledge and is vital for every child's personal and emotional growth.” added Sandra. 

The Wiz has two casts who will perform once each on Saturday and Sunday. The roles of Dorothy are played by Shyalina Muthumudalige/Nethmi Gunasekera, the Scarecrow will be played by Chathura Ranasinghe/Vidhaan Chand while the Tinman is played by Val Wedenayake/Chris Christie and the Lion by Santhush Pinto/Nivendre Silva. 

Jerome De Silva, the Director of the production is one who needs no introduction as for several decades he has been inextricably linked to the dramatic arts in Sri Lanka. For AIS it seemed the obvious choice to have Jerome at the helm as three years prior he had directed the school’s production of Annie. 

“The numbers that came for the auditions for The Wiz was overwhelming and we discovered quite a lot of new talent in addition to those who had taken part in Annie three years ago. Since I work with students for most of the week it was not too difficult a task with the young cast from AIS. It has been a nice journey. Of course since strict discipline is a must in any group I work with, they had to get used to my screaming and shouting!” said Jerome De Silva. 

“Acting in productions such as this is very important as these children are more than just honing their talents and sharpening their skills. It helps them to use the left side of heir brain which helps them to think and act creatively. This then has a positive impact on the right side of the brain and helps them in their academic work as it opens out new vistas in their thought processes,” explained Jerome while adding that the students had worked really hard in preparation for the show on the weekend. 

With music direction by Ishan de Lanerolle and choreography by Shanuki de Alwis the cast is ready to wow Colombo as they take you on a journey down the Yellow Brick Road to the wonderful world of Oz. This fantasy will dazzle you with its fabulous costumes, unique upcycled and sustainable sets - something Colombo is yet to see. 

Tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt.