Sunera young butterflies set for big event The Samanalayaya Drama Festival finals will bring together islandwide talent

The finals of the ‘Samanalayaya 2012’ (Field of Butterflies) will be held on August 24 at S.D.S. Jayasinghe Hall, Dehiwela from 3. 30 p.m. with dramas from Sunera Foundation’s Matara, Panadura, Puttalam and Mawanella workshops taking centre stage.

The annual Samanalayaya Drama Festival is a key event in the Sunera calendar, organised to showcase the creativity of participants from Sunera workshops held around the island.

As in past years, the regional performances of Samanalayaya 2012 were held successfully and workshop participants had the opportunity to showcase their skills in dancing and drama to an audience made up of their friends, family and the community from their locality. The recently concluded 10 regional performances showcased the talents of over 1000 differently-abled participants from about 28 Sunera Foundation performing arts workshops spread across the country.

These regional drama festivals create public awareness on the unique work done by Sunera, using the performing arts as a therapeutic tool for the disabled and giving participants an opportunity to get on stage and show their talent and creativity. Their performances were evaluated by a panel of judges and the best four plays were selected for the finals in Colombo.

Samanalayaya 2012 is made possible by Stefan Deane, a differently-abled young man from Melbourne, Australia who generously came forward with his parents, to sponsor this year’s event and thereby raise awareness in society that ‘Disability is Possibility’.

The event is open to all free of charge, and the public is encouraged to attend and witness the young butterflies in action!