INSIDE STORY

Dmitri Gunatilake

I can’t be ladylike and timid. I can’t even laugh in a girlish way – I sound like a dying seal!

Whether it’s a Puccini aria or Broadway showstopper, Dmitri Gunatilake can be counted on to deliver performances that bring an audience to its feet. A young lyric soprano who has already enjoyed her share of time in the spotlight, she has taken on leading roles in multiple local musical theatre productions and been the star of many a recital.

A lawyer by profession, Dmitri recently curtailed her law practice in order to focus more on performing, as well as adding ‘vocal trainer’ to her credits. She currently works with both children and adults, giving future performers the benefit of her knowledge and experience.

With leading roles in Evita, The Phantom of the Opera and The Sound of Music under her belt, Dmitri hasn’t shied away from challenging herself as an actress – including taking on a role in the award-winning production Grease Yaka.

Keen to promote original work, her most recent endeavour (A Million Dreams) gave Dmitri the breadth to test herself as a singer as well as an actress – and the show received both critical praise and popular acclaim.

Part-time lawyer, performer and vocal trainer, as well as full-time diva, Dmitri has proved herself to be one of local theatre’s most bankable stars. And that’s no small accomplishment for someone who is still young and has so many dreams to fulfil.

Pia Hatch enjoyed tea and talk time with Dmitri, discussing everything from how talent doesn’t run in the genes to the value of a life with no challenges and those funny little everyday miracles that give us so much joy.

Dmitri Gunatilake is a chameleon of sorts: one minute, she is the wide-eyed ingénue Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera; and the next, she’s a seductive older woman in Jehan Aloysius’ Reality Show, or an elegantly coiffed artiste whose personality gives her recitals warmth and intimacy that few can match. Dmitri disappears into each of these personae with the ease of a consummate performer.

Across the table from me at a coffeehouse, she presents an equally intriguing mix. Easily tempted into bouts of giggling and eye rolling, she also exudes matter-of-fact professionalism, candour and a generous dose of ‘take me as I am’ personal flair.

RAINBOW HIGH

I’m dramatic! … My friends and family would probably describe me as a dramatic bully!

Asked to describe herself, she mock groans and says: “I’m dramatic! I can’t be ladylike and timid. I can’t even laugh in a girlish way – I sound like a dying seal! But I’m sensitive too.”

She then laughs heartily and adds: “My friends and family would probably describe me as a dramatic bully!”

Unlike many other performers, Dmitri says singing doesn’t run in the family. “It came completely out of the blue! My ability to sing was discovered in school at Bishop’s College – actually, they couldn’t get me to stop singing so the teacher spoke to my mother and suggested that I start singing classes,” she explains.

“For a while, I was the fat kid who was kinda lost and going with the flow; then I discovered singing – or people discovered that I could sing… and things changed from thereon,” she reveals.

Asked whether she can imagine life without singing, Dmitri grows instantly serious, recalling a time during which she didn’t take proper care of her voice and lost it to laryngitis. She recalls that “I couldn’t speak for a month due to laryngitis. I thought I’d die – I’m nothing without my voice.”

For a while, I was the fat kid who was kinda lost and going with the flow; then I discovered singing – or people discovered that I could sing… and things changed from thereon

FAVOURITE THINGS

“I like singing, law and helping children. What I really want, what I’ve always wanted, was to go and work with children in a remote area somewhere far away from anything else, and only focus on the kids,” she discloses.

And she adds: “But if you’re a performer, you need to be seen and heard or people simply forget about you. So for the moment, I’m focussing on what I need to do as a performer; and that means staying in Colombo and on the stage.”

So is this why the proceeds from her shows always benefit a charity?

“Definitely! All the causes we donate to are child related. I will keep doing that until the time comes for me to work with children myself,” she remarks.

Dmitri continues: “Deciding what I should do – stay here, go abroad, be a lawyer or vocal trainer – is my biggest challenge right now,” Dmitri confesses. Boredom seems to be another bugbear.

“I get bored very easily – I need things to be new and challenging; and at the moment, balancing all these different aspects – law on the one hand, vocal training on the other and my own performances – keeps things interesting,” she says.

Life was tougher when she was a full-time lawyer. “It was hard! I spent six years juggling law exams and theatrical productions. But the high I got from that was incredible – and I loved it. Now my time is managed much more on my own terms. I keep myself busy… I’m either performing or rehearsing to perform. That suits me because I need stress and deadlines to keep me going,” she admits with a laugh.

But Dmitri does know how to chill when she wants to, admitting to the guilty pleasure of watching Christmas movies (but never in December) when she wants to relax. She also harbours a desire to holiday in Greece one day but adds with her usual disarming honesty: “Possibly that’s only because I want to take some good Instagram photos!”

ANGEL OF MUSIC

Dmitri has one priority when she performs and that is to “always deliver the message.” She elaborates: “If you’re singing, remember that every song has a story and you need to tell that story. Learn the message of the song and deliver it to your audience.”

When it comes to protecting her voice in the lead up to a performance, she has a strict set of rules. “If I have to sing, I avoid late nights and make sure I don’t get wet in the rain. I’m on lots of medication, I never share water with anyone and I don’t get close to anyone who looks even a little bit like they might be ill,” she reveals.

“On the day of the show, I get there early and do my hair and makeup. Then I walk on to the stage barefoot and take a look at the audience, and I breathe and do my vocalisation – and that sets me up for the performance,” she explains.

How about nerves?

“Oh I always have nerves – that’s normal. If I didn’t, I would be worried,” she says.

So if stage fright isn’t an issue, what’s the most challenging aspect of performing?

“Acting with people I don’t like and having to pretend to like them… or worse still, be in love with them!” she exclaims.

Dmitri has a realistic attitude to criticism and advice: “Don’t ask people what they think unless you really want to hear the truth. I don’t mind what people say to me. Really, that’s their opinion; it’s up to me how I choose to take it.”

Inspired by talent of any and all kinds, Dmitri says her advice to future performers would be to “grow a thick skin.”

“People tend to think that the theatre is all a bunch of fun folk hanging out and having a great time living their creative dreams. But in reality, there’s a lot of politics. Even in a small theatrical community, you need to be ready to work through the politics – and work hard for everything you want,” she explains.

Talking about theatre in Sri Lanka, she feels that Sinhala-language theatre has evolved far more than its English equivalent. And she bemoans the lack of interpretive plays and serious roles that she’d love to get her teeth into.

“The biggest issue is the lack of sponsorship. People don’t see the value in investing in serious theatre. They don’t see it as a professional activity that needs and deserves support,” she laments.

What I really want, what I’ve always wanted was to go and work with children in a remote area somewhere far away from anything else, and only focus on the kids

NEVER ENOUGH

Dmitri’s bucket list of roles to play includes many musical theatre classics like My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins but as an actor, she says she longs for something meatier: “I’d like to play a psychopath – a character like DC’s Joker!”

Her favourite stage is the Lionel Wendt, of course: “The Wendt is home. Doing ‘A Million Dreams’ there meant a great deal to me.” In addition, her experience with getting that show on the boards has given Dmitri a taste for directing.

“It was my thing and I could change anything at anytime. I enjoyed that very much and would definitely want to do it again,” Dmitri says. The show was positively reviewed but typically, she shrugs off the reviews and states: “Yes, I wanted to do something different, I needed a different medium through which to express a great deal of emotion. But I don’t want to talk about that since it’s done... now it’s time to move on to the next thing!”

Dmitri has plans to be back on stage in December; and she has many other creative pots on the boil. “In terms of performances, I want to move away from Colombo, and explore Kandy and Galle. I also want to do more original work and take those shows abroad. And I would like to start a choir,” she reveals.

In some ways, Dmitri Gunatilake seems to be living her dream. To a question about what she’d do with her time if she had a day to herself, she replies: “But all my days are like that already.”

Her life seems to have been planned with foresight and ambition. But ask Dmitri what makes her happy, and she responds spontaneously and with absolute sincerity: “The yellow flowers down Deans Road on the way to Hulftsdorp.”

And there it is again… that quintessential Dmitri dichotomy.

So what really is most important to her?

She responds: “I give everything when I perform. I want audiences to feel what I’m giving them… and be moved and transported by it, and always remember it.”

Deciding what I should do – stay here, go abroad, be a lawyer or vocal trainer – is my biggest challenge right now