by Manusha Lakshan
“That the man who wrote these plays wasn’t mentioned in the State Drama Advisory Board’s ‘Playwrights of the ‘60s baffles me even today.” (Sunil Mihindukula)
Sunil Mihindukula was referring to Sumana Aloka Bandara. When my friend Chathura Pradeep broke the news to me of Bandara’s passing away last Monday, I first wondered how many people, particularly young people, would have heard of his name. In the heady years of Sinhala theatre, in the early 1960s, Bandara lived and breathed theatre. If his works aren’t as remembered today as they ought to be, they were immensely popular then. His sole achievement, for those who have the foggiest notion of what he did, seems to have been introducing Malini Fonseka to the stage. Yet this isn’t all he did.
For two weekends, you will have the chance to experience live one-act plays in Wayne County. Center Stage Theatre will perform One Acts 2021 at the Wayne County Museum on July 23-25. Spotlight Theatre will present A Night of One Acts at the Sabre Cinema on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base on July 30-31.
I asked many of those who have been involved in one-act plays about what makes them special. This article is compiled and edited from their responses.
Gene McLendon started the CST One Act Festival in 2011 to offer a learning opportunity for playwriting. He served as primary director, using guest directors for individual plays, providing a platform for budding directors to test their skills.
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