Instilling Values through creativity @ ICS 2008C

Puyal 2008, the annual drama festival organized by NYJC’s Indian Cultural Society, took place on 23 February with Mr. Kwek as guest of honour. This was the first year the competition saw secondary schools competing for the coveted championship.

The finals last Saturday saw Cedar Girls’, Crescent Girls’ and St. Joseph’s Institution showcase their excellent acting to a near full house. The competitors had to perform a drama for 15 minutes centred on NYJC’s values; Integrity, Resilience, Compassion, Resourcefulness and Teamwork.

Crescent Girls’ School presented their play on a tried-and-tested setting, the school. Their drama revolved around classmates who worked together to help one another realize their abilities (the values). Safe for one or two moments where the young actresses drew laughter from the crowd, the play was pretty much predictable.

The other two finalists, on the other hand, presented plays that were more thought provoking. Cedar Girls’ presentation looked at the complex situations in a conservative home. It highlighted the problems a widowed mother faced when it came to handling relationships with her daughters and mother-in-law. The drama stood out right from the beginning as the actresses expressed their pain in their monologue delivery ensuring audiences that a great performance laid ahead. True enough, the audience was not disappointed but in awe as the young ladies performed their roles to perfection. Rekha, who played the widowed mother, moved the audience when she shed tears during a monologue. She was clearly the audience’s favourite as she expressed her helpless state when bossed by her mother-in-law and loathed by her teenage daughter.

St. Joseph’s Institution centred their play on a rather morbid theme – funeral. Although the entry lacked props and tended to lend itself to being long-winded, the play interestingly used the conscience (played by a precocious young lad, Thanaraj) to highlight the past and present. Basically the characters, with the help of the conscience, were made to realize their follies of the past and move forward without making excuses for themselves. The transition between past and present was smoothly done. The interesting element of the play was the use of bells tied to the actors’ feet. It provided rhythm to the story. The unique drama showed that a good play can still go on without technical gimmicks. The young men definitely did not make it easy for the judges to decide on the Best Actor Award.

The night ended with the announcement of the results. Much to everybody’s delight, the Best Actor was awarded to Thanaraj of SJI. The Best Actress went to Rekha of Cedar Girls’. They also won the award for Best Script. The overall champions were Cedar Girls’ with SJI coming in 2nd and Crescent Girls’ 3rd.

Other highlights that evening was the inter-racial participation seen both on and off stage. Non-Indian pupils took to the stage to act and dance, while some others helped in being ushers. All in all, NYJC ICS proved that language is not a barrier when it comes to appreciating any culture.

By Mdm Shasila