An Investigative Study of Somalatha Subasinghe's Ability to Choose the Subject Matter and Present it Creatively in Creating Children's Dramas (Based on the Children's Play "Punchi Apata Den Therei")

Abstract

Somalatha Subasinghe, who takes the lead in creating children's drama, is a person who has managed to create a group of valuable children's drama scripts even though she is limited. It can be studied that Subasinghe's skill in choosing the subject matter and presenting it creatively has influenced the successful presentation of children's drama scripts. The research problem is to find out how the subject matter belonging to another country has been creatively presented in a suitable way for the child in Sri Lankan society. The aim of this research is to explore whether the play has been created appropriately by recognising the child's mind on a psychological aspect. There, as the main sources, Subasinghe's play script "Punchi Apata den Therei" and the folktale based on it were studied. Library observation, academic articles and research theses were consulted under qualitative research methodology. Information was also collected through interviews with authentic experts in the field. The subject matter is a strong influencer in determining the creativity of a creation. The same is true for the script. It is a characteristic of a skilled creator to choose the subject according to the nature of the people he hopes to present the play to. It is clear from this drama script that Subasinghe has managed to overcome it. It can be concluded from the study of the play script as well as from the study of the scenes that Subasinghe knew who the child was and the most appropriate method to address the child's mind in presenting a certain idea. Although the child gets to hear and see the folktale used in the creation of the children's drama "Punchi Apata den Therei", it is concluded that Subasinghe has managed to present the subject matter with more creative, artistic, instructional and educational knowledge in the compilation of her creation of the drama with an innovation compared to the folktale. It is observed from this drama that by creatively integrating the subject matter into dramatisation, the child's mind can be creatively approached with enjoyment as well as wisdom.