Lankan children earn an A for acting

BY CHAMIKARA Weerasinghe

VISITING British examiners from The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), lauded Sri Lankan candidates sitting their exams, stating that their communication skills have shown an extraordinary development, that they have performed very well at Lamda graded exams for Spoken English and Speaking of Verse and Prose.

The examiners, Kate Mc Cutchion , Cally Foster and Vivien Heilbron made this observation in an interview with the Daily News last week at the Institute for Examinations in English Music and Speech (IEMS) at Colombo 3, where they have been administering Lamda graded examinations for Sri Lankan candidates for the last few weeks.

LAMDA is the oldest drama school and the largest speech and drama awarding body in the United Kingdom. It offers speech and drama examinations in Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, Africa and the United States.

Kate, Cally and Vivien also said that they were very much impressed with the practical performances by Sri Lankan students during acting and miming exams.

Vivien Heilbron, actress herself from the London stage, an Emmy nominee and an acclaimed British Shakespearean artist, said, "I must say that the area of acting is at a very high level. At one particular exam I found a wonderfully talented female student whose performance would have won recognition in any art school in the world.

There were many cases like that. Most of these candidates would have done well at any level," she said.

Speaking on her experience with the students, Kate said, "The students are very productive. One cannot forget the presentation of their work. They come with the most beautiful illustrations and photos to go with their work."

Cally Foster said here that the teachers who train the students have done a good job with the students.

"The teaching has been conscientious. The feedback from the children is also good. I must say we never thought that so many children would participate the exams," said Kate.