The Grand Finale event of the KDU Inter-Faculty Drama Competition 2024 was held on 10th October 2024 from 0915hrs to 1200hrs hours at the FGS Auditorium with the esteemed presence of the Vice Chancellor KDU RAdm Dammika Kumara, VSV, USP, psc, MMaritimePol, BSc (DS) and Mrs. Inoka Shiranthi Weerakoon as the Chief Guests, and renowned actress and social activist Ms. Dulika Marapane and cinematographer and renowned artist Mr. Sujeewa Priyal as Guests of Honour. The competition and event was organized by the Department of Languages (DoL), Faculty of Management, Social Sciences and Humanities (FMSH) and Centre for Gender Equity and Equality (CGEE) in collaboration with English Literary Club (ELC) of KDU, under the themes of ‘Fantasy & Reality’ and ‘Gender Equality in Action’. Dr. Krishanthi Anandawansa, Senior Lecturer from DoL, FMSH was the Coordinator of the KDU Inter-Faculty Drama Competition 2024.
Also present at the Grande Finale event was Dr. Lakshika Liyanage, Dean, FMSH, Dr. Nirosha Wedasinghe, Director- CGEE, other Deans and Directors, academic and non-academic staff and student participants of the drama competition.
The Grande Finale event was the culmination of a series of events in the line-up towards it, starting from the initial screening of 10 scripts (5 per theme) out of a total of 23 scripts received as entries to the competition. Two drama workshops were then conducted by renowned performance artists Ms. Damayanthi Fonseka and Mr. Prasannajith Abeysuriya on 4th September 2024 for the 10 drama scripts/ teams selected to move ahead and perform in the competition. The 1st Round of Drama Performances were held on 12th and 13th September 2024, from which 4 teams were selected (2 teams per theme) to perform at the Grande Finale event. Mr. Lakshan Wattuhewa, Artist and Visiting Lecturer at DoL, FMSH, Ms. Tania Weeraratne, Senior Lecturer (DoL, FMSH) and Mr. Uvindu Harshajith, Temporary Instructor and performance artist (FOE) were the judges for script evaluation and at the 1st Round of performances.
Mr. Uvindu Harshajith stepped down from the initial judge panel to assist the finalists at the Grande Finale in their acting, staging and performance enhancement, and this proved immensely beneficial for all 4 teams to bring out the best at the Grande Finale event.
The Grande Finale event commenced with a colourful welcome dance, followed by a warm welcome speech by Dr. Lakshika Liyanage, who in addition to welcoming the Chief Guests and Guests of Honour and other participants, also detailed the competition’s process as indicated above.
The dramas ‘Kedapatha’ and ‘Sihina Siththam’ from Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (FAHS) and ‘Moha’ and ‘Api Illanne Echcharai’ from Faculty of Law (FOL) contested in the finals, staging some best ever student productions and performances that one could have witnessed at KDU in the recent past. An enthralled and engaged audience to suit reflected the talents of the budding young actors and actresses on stage, making the task of the judge panel challenging. Chief Guest Mrs. Inoka Shiranthi Weerakoon, Guests of Honour Ms. Dulika Marapane and Mr. Sujeewa Priyal, Mr. Lakshan Wattuhewa and Ms. Tania Weeraratne were the esteemed members of the Grande Finale judge panel.
After the captivating performances on stage and rigorous evaluation, the panel of judges decided the winners and Best Actor/ Actress and Best Supporting Actor/ Actress awards. Accordingly, Mr. Sujeewa Priyal was invited on stage to announce the winners of the competition and recipients of the special awards. ‘Api Illanne Echcharai’ from FOL won 1st Place, while, ‘Kedapatha’ from FAHS and Moha’ from FOL secured 2nd and 3rd places respectively. The team leaders of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places received their certificates on stage from The Vice Chancellor of KDU.
The Best Actor award was won by GLM Thathsarani from ‘Kedapatha’ drama by FAHS for her captivating role as an artist in the play, while the Best Actor award was won by NTS Narangalla for his role as a media personnel in ‘Api Illanne Echcharai’ by FOL. Best Supporting Actor award was received by Rivindu Alahakoon for the character Kamal in ‘Api Illanne Echcharai’, while Best Supporting Actress was won by DVSI Dodawaththa for Jayani’s character in ‘Moha’. The certificates and trophies for these outstanding performances were given away on stage by Guest of Honour Ms. Dulika Marapane, who also delivered the Guest of Honour speech at the event, in which she congratulated all participants and highlighted on the importance of how KDU’s unique disciplinary environment coupled with events like this can be used to develop and generate empathetic, hard-working and conscientious individuals for this country, in a time when such people are needed. Following the speech, both Guests of Honour received tokens of application from the Vice Chancellor of KDU.
The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Dr. Nirosha Wedasinghe, Director CGEE, who thanked all the distinguished invitees for gracing the event, Head of Dept. of Languages Dr. Thilini Wijetunge, the Coordinator of the Drama Competition Dr. Krishanthi Anandawansa and all student representatives of ELC and competition participants for making the event a success.
The Grande Finale event concluded with refreshments in the FGS lobby, where dignitaries, guests, staff and students alike had the wonderful opportunity to mingle with the celebrity Guests of Honour and pose for photographs. The KDU Inter-Faculty Drama Competition 2024 Grande Finale concluded thus with the hope of creating more such ventures that would continue to develop the aesthetic and soft skills of both staff and students.
Prepared by Dr. Krishanthi Anandawansa
