Beating words with style

Anjana Gamage

ACHIEVEMENT: All great men conquer the world by action not by words. But reversing the norm she has conquered the world by words, because she has it all; words, style and eloquence.

Achini Abeygunawardene Samarasinghe has been appointed the External Examiner at the London College of Music and Media (LCM), a faculty of Thames Valley University in 2005. She is the only Asian and the youngest fellow member to be appointed to this post.

Abeygunawardene, 33, a Bishopian did her Advanced Level in the Science stream and later ventured into a totally different field and has truly achieved a landmark.

"I must pay gratitude to my teachers -Sunethra Senaratne Vice Principal of Wendy Whatmore Speech and Drama School and Irene Wanigaratne drama teacher of Bishop's College for my achievements and for what I am today", she said.

She has received a number of certificates in Drama and Speech and Public Speaking from the Victoria College of Music in London in 2004.

She has also won All Island certificates for Speech and Drama from the Wendy Whatmore School and when she was at school she had been an active member of the Sinhala drama society and the Captain of the debating teams of both Sinhala and English.

Explaining her views regarding the latest achievement, "There are several misconceptions on the topic of speech and drama. Most of the parents are not aware about this subject and all they want is to send their children for Spoken English classes or Elocution and not for Speech and Drama. The teachers here stick to outdated methods and are reluctant to try their hands on new experiments".

She says that it is a wrong attitude. "For example, 'musical theatre' is a new concept and it is now spreading widely across Western countries as a vital aspect of Speech and Drama. But this will take time to reach Sri Lanka. When it comes to the field of drama and speech 'breathing process' is very important. One is relaxed when maintaining a correct breathing process.

When most politicians address rallies, they do not communicate properly with the public, but only scream with a limited number of words. Voice training methods and body language plays a vital role in public speaking. A person can be judged by the way he or she speaks".

Abeygunawardene, a young mother of two daughters aged three and five is running her own international school.

"I would like to share what I have learnt with others. I have an idea to launch a soft skills training programme shortly and willing to assist those underprivileged who are really interested in the field of drama and speech", she said.

Those interested can contact Abeygunawardene between 9.00 am to 5.00 pm on 0777-688138 or 2400287.