Friday, April 9, 2010

A brainstorming with Lucy Hannah, UK.




Lucy Hannah is an audio producer, trainer, and radio drama consultant. She’s led and established sustainable radio/audio projects for the BBC and NGOs in areas of conflict around the world. Her recent projects include radio/audio projects with dramatists in Kabul, southern Sudan, and southern Africa. She was writer-in-residence at HMP Rochester, a young offender’s institute.

Recently, Lucy visited Sri Lanaka and had a brainstorming session with me and my friends on radio drama. She unlighted the conventional mine set on creating, Story lining, writing, producing and directing in to a scientific platform. She motivated us to realize that the radio drama industry in Sri Lnaka has to reconstruct its scope in terms of social development and incorporate modern strategies in terms of identifying its original format and influencing the vulnerable community. Thanks Lucy…..

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Internews launches Radio drama, as the voice of the IDPs - 'Sorkkame Entralum', from Monday, on National Service.





Radio drama is a powerful medium of art to empower the vulnerable communities. It acts as a catalyst for social change and contributes to uplift the life standard of communities. People are given the opportunity to witness the realities of their life through radio dramas. Internews Sri Lanka network will broadcast a radio drama for the northern IDPs form today ward.

Sorkkame entralum is scheduled to be broadcast on weekdays on the National Service from 9.45pm as the part of the program called Meendum Valvom again produced by Internews. Each episode of the drama has the duration of eight minutes. The drama has 32 episodes. The story of the drama revolves around eight main characters. The IDPs as well as the Tamil speaking people of the country can listen in it on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from today.

The story of Geeta depicts the struggle of a poor girl who strives to defy her drunkard father’s order to forget her desire to continue her higher education. Uma is another character in the drama which portrays the story of a destitute teacher with an infant and whose husband has been missing due to the war. Sundar is wooing Uma. Raja is a flirt and seeks the love of every beautiful girl in the camp. Ravi had lost his properties and is a drunkard. He is enlightened by his daughter. Ponnamma, grandmother of Geeta, is the captive of the tradition and customs of the society and suspects her grand daughter’s ambition. Vignesh is portrayed as a blind person but endowed with a beautiful voice. He dreams of becoming a celebrity. Sella, an old man, is on a journey to meet his wife after fifteen years of separation. The above characters will enliven the drama by their poignant stories.

The senior artists, such as, Rajeswary Shanmugam, Sandraseharan, R.Yoharajan, Jawahar Fernando, S.Mahindakumar, A.L.Jaffir, Priyadharshani, and Shyalni have played the above characters. Many other artists have taken part in the minor roles. Various new technique and other methods have been used both in script and production of the drama.

Deputy Country Director of Internews Sri Lanka, Ms Manique Mendis maintained that Internews is pleased to contribute to the national programme to resettle the people of the North who have been displaced.

“Internews, which is committed to supporting media as a tool for social development in many parts of the world, has in this instance creatively combined modern international techniques of radio drama, with local themes to facilitate the resettlement process. Through this pioneering radio drama, internally displaced people will be gain knowledge that will equip them to adjust well to the process of resettlement and contribute proactively to national development”, she said
Internews is pleased to invite all of you to listen in the drama and enjoy moments of real life experience of the internally displaced people of northern Sri Lanka.
For further details please contact:
M.C. Rasmin
0773 667530
mrasmin@internews.org