Chathuni Uduwela
I am Chathuni Uduwela and I studied Speech and Drama at the Varuni Jayasekara Academy, receiving diplomas at Associate and Licentiate level under Aunty Varuni’s guidance, before going on to join the teaching staff (part time) at the Academy – 2019 marked my ninth year in this position. Outside of Speech and Drama, I focus on policy research and communications for capital markets businesses and regulators. My bachelor’s degrees are in Law and Economics, and I am currently reading for a master’s degree in Public Policy.
My time at the Varuni Jayasekara Academy—first as a student and later as a teacher—helped inform my views on many issues well outside the ordinary scope of the performing arts. I learned firsthand the importance of clear and effective communication in day to day life, the ability of language to transcend boundaries, and the role of the arts in building empathy. These lessons helped shape both my views and interests: whether in the potential to weave social advocacy and activism into theatre education in raising more conscientious young adults or in the importance of equipping early childhood learners with the ability to think, understand and express themselves in English (both of which are topics close to my heart), among others.
With Aunty Varuni, I learned to appreciate and interpret literature, to weave together narratives of my own, to present myself confidently and to adapt to the various situations that life presents. I have put these skills to most use outside of the classroom and examination hall, often in my career as a news anchor and television host, or as a candidate for awards and job opportunities before interview panels. In each instance, the confidence and conviction with which I act and speak (and which Aunty Varuni instilled in me) has helped me in securing my goals.
During my long association with the Academy, Aunty Varuni has evolved from being my teacher and mentor to a friend and confidante. The school has been a creative outlet for students and teachers alike, with frequent showcases in the forms of concerts and competitions adding colour to the overall experience. I am particularly fond of the productions we staged in previous concerts and the special opportunities we had to act in groups for examinations—we shone brightest, together.
My career as a student and professional has benefited greatly from my background in speech and drama, giving me confidence and flair in written and verbal communication. I wrote my first thesis at the Academy, and this formed the foundation on which my later academic research was based. The work ethic and discipline Aunty Varuni instilled in our approach to performances has seamlessly translated into painstaking preparation in the workplace, and the empathy we learned now helps build perspective where views diverge. The easy adaptability that came from years of performing in varying conditions has helped me become a faster learner and a more strategic worker. Together, they have helped me grow at every stage of my career, and I am confident that they will continue to do so in years to come.
Sheshadri Kottearachchi
Sheshadri Kottearachchi is currently reading for a Masters at the University of Oxford, a former United Nations Youth delegate to Sri Lanka with experience working at UNICEF, UNDP and Oxfam.
I joined the Varuni Jayasekara (VJ) Academy at a fairly young age and my experience here has been an integral part of my formative years. Lessons were interactive and always enjoyable. We were always taught much more than mere preparation for examinations; such as respect for others, punctuality and the importance of focus and commitment. As a student, I was childishly unaware of the impact effective communication would have on my personal and professional life. Fortunately, my training and education at the VJ Academy instilled in me, a strong framework on how to become a better communicator – a skill which has helped greatly during both daily interactions and within work environments.
An experience at the Academy that has stayed with me after many years, will always be the few minutes before the examination, when Aunty Varuni would speak to her students as we sat outside the examination room. She would say a small prayer, give us a quick hug and wish us the best of luck before we were sent in. In doing so, she instilled in us a sense of confidence that always had a positive impact on our performances at examinations. That gentle moment of tenderness between a teacher and student is a fond memory I cherish to this day.
I am still very much in touch with the Academy. The atmosphere at the VJ Academy has always been a welcoming one; so much so that years after, I continue to drop by for the occasional visit and it is always heartwarming to see that the school has retained its warm, friendly atmosphere. The advice I have received and the lessons I have learnt at the Academy helped me shape my academic career, kept me grounded and helped me reach the many goals I had aspired for. I have immense gratitude for the knowledge acquired as a student and for Aunty Varuni who remains one of the most incredible educators and mentors I have had the honour of knowing.
Kishani Tennakoon
I am Kishani Tennakoon and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been taught by Mrs. Varuni Jayasekara from a very young age. The many years I spent in her classes have been some of the happiest of my life. I doubt any teacher puts in more effort than Aunty Varuni does to ensure not only that her students excel in their studies and careers, but also to ensure that she produces well balanced human beings with good values.
Her classes taught us much more than Speech and Drama and Effective Speaking. Aunty Varuni taught us how to face life. Whilst her lessons on how to speak clearly and effectively through the use of dramatic elements have helped me many a time when making presentations during my career as a lawyer and a member of the senior management of a private bank, the values she instilled in us have stood me in good stead throughout my life.
Moreover, Aunty Varuni has been far more than a teacher or even mentor to most of her students. As a young child, I received invaluable advice and career guidance from her. As a teenager and adult, I received much encouragement and support to pursue both my legal studies and English Honours degree.
Further, her kindness and generosity are immeasurable. For instance, when my parents passed away a few months prior to my Licentiate (LTCL) examination, it was Aunty Varuni who gave me the strength and courage to proceed with my examination. She not only trained me for the it, but went to the extent of preparing my examination file, taking me to her dress maker to get an outfit done, picking me up on the morning of the examination and taking me to her hair dresser and then for the exam! Further, if not for her 20 calls per day, I am quite confident that I would never have completed my dissertation.
It is also Aunty Varuni who taught me the importance of religion and the power of prayer. Needless to say, Aunty Varuni has been an invaluable influence both during my childhood and adult years, just as she has been for many more of her students, for which we are eternally grateful to her.
Ishitha Mannapperuma
I am Ishitha Mannapperuma, currently reading for a Master in Law (M.Phil) at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. I have also completed the Associate and the Licentiate Teacher’s Diplomas of the Trinity College of London in Speech and Drama and was a part time teacher for 14 years at the Varuni Jayasekara Academy before taking a break from teaching after attaining motherhood.
I spent some of the best years of my life as a student at the VJ Academy and thereafter as a teacher there. I believe that my life was enriched with my enrollment at the VJ Academy as I improved in my pronunciation, my public speaking skills, my linguistic skills and my total approach to life. During my years as an undergraduate reading for the LLB, I affiliated myself with the YES FM and the then Channel One MTV as a News Caster and News Anchor which were opportunities that came my way thanks to my public speaking skills acquired at the VJ Academy.
Of all the experiences that I have had at the Academy, getting involved in the Concerts ‘Razzle Dazzle’ and ‘The Flight of Flamboyance’ were definitely the most memorable. It was a wonderful time where we discovered the talents of some of the most discreet students in our Academy. As a teacher at the time, I enjoyed the whole experience of the productions and working with our students outside the classroom. I am sure that all who attended these concerts would agree that those productions were some of best we have seen in the country.
I am very much in touch with the VJ Academy and Aunty Varuni. It’s become a bond that I seem to go back to strengthen over and over again. My life in the legal field has drawn great inspiration from the speech training I received under her guidance. She was the wind beneath my wings encouraging me to reach heights that I thought were impossible. I always sought her advice and still to date seek her opinion on the important decisions I make related to my professional and personal life. Thank you Aunty for being a wonderful teacher, role model, friend, mentor and spiritual guide to me. You always gave me a shoulder to cry on during my trials and was there to shed a tear of joy during my triumphs. I am counting the days until my two little sons can enroll at your Academy. May God Bless you and give you more strength each day to guide the youth in our country to great heights in the world.
Amanda Abeysinghe
I am Amanda Abeysinghe, an Attorney-at-Law by profession, and a final year undergraduate at the University of Kelaniya reading for a Bachelor of Business Management (Special) degree in Human Resource Management, and currently practicing as a junior lawyer in the chamber of a President’s Counsel. I am also a part-time teacher at the Varuni Jayasekara Academy having completed Associate (ATCL) and Licentiate (LLCM) Diplomas in Speech and Drama.
I first walked through the doors of the VJ Academy in the year 2008 as a student, back when it was located down Chitra Lane. Little did I know that this institution would end up becoming such a huge part of my life and that I would meet someone there who would play a significant role in shaping my future.
My time at this Academy was punctuated with good memories and great life lessons. In fact, Thursday was my favorite day of the week back then! I could go into details about the endless vocal and drama skills, starting from the pronunciation of a simple word to the blocking of a complicated drama that Aunty Varuni has taught me over the years with immense effort. However, my most valuable experiences at the VJ Academy go way beyond that.
I personally believe that Aunty has a way of getting through to children (especially the inhibited ones from the less affluent social classes) and understanding their weaknesses and difficulties. She taught me to be confident of myself, my opinions and my self-worth over the years and with that, I was able to make better life choices. Had I not met Aunty Varuni as a student all these years ago, I am certain that my life and I, as a person, would have turned out to be very different.
As much as I would like to say that every single class was memorable there are a few instances that stand out from the rest and that was the day I returned to the Academy as a teacher in 2014. I felt truly blessed because I got an opportunity to give back to the institution that has given me so much. I do hope that Aunty Varuni stays in my life for years to come, mostly because she is more of a second mother to me now and quite easily one of the few people I know, who is genuinely concerned about my success and well being, unconditionally.
The knowledge I acquired as a student of Speech and Drama at the Academy has helped me on numerous occasions in my life. As an Attorney-at-Law these skills have assisted me in making a lasting impression, be it through vocal skills or something as simple as good posture. Apart from that, Aunty Varuni has been my mentor in most of my educational and career decisions. That is why this Academy is not just a place to learn Drama. Some of the most special lessons I learnt from Aunty Varuni had hardly anything to do with Speech and Drama but more to do with life, becoming a better human being and making a beautiful life for myself.
Kiyara Fernando
I am Kiyara Fernando, a fourth year medical student at the University of Bristol, UK, Global Health BSc First Class (Hons) University of Bristol, Co-Author of ‘The Unofficial Guide to Getting into Medical School’, Associate in (ATCL) in Speech and Drama.
Saying that “I grew up at Aunty Varuni’s Academy” is no understatement. I joined the academy at the age of 6 and from then on Aunty took me under her wing, through all the grades of Speech and Drama of Trinity College London, till I was awarded an ATCL Performance Diploma in 2013. I would spend most Thursday afternoons being taught by one of the most extraordinary teachers I have known. Aunty has an incredible ability to communicate with her students – she did not just train us in the performing arts, but advised us on effective communication, public speaking and how to understand the literature behind a role. She expanded our minds and our vocabularies, she encouraged discussion of characters between peers. She taught us to be bold, to speak up, and nurtured within us a belief that no matter our age – what we thought mattered. Aunty has not only guided me in the performing arts, but has molded my personality to-date, she has played an influential role in making me the person I am today!
My time as Aunty Varuni’s student has instilled in me some of the qualities I now appreciate the most about myself. She truly taught me the art of hard work, on how performing a piece did not merely happen overnight. She trained us to appreciate attention to detail. She gave me the confidence to embrace public speaking as an adult, and taught me how to engage with people and speak eloquently.
Aunty Varuni was not only a teacher to me, but a motherly figure for most of my life. She has guided me in the performing arts, listened to my daily qualms as a teenager, given me pep talks before exams and watched from the wings as I tried my best to make her proud. One of the most memorable experiences I have shared with Aunty is minutes before going on stage to perform a piece at the Trinity London Awards Ceremony. I had performed on this stage before, I knew the drill, I had acted out this role before, I should have been fine…but minutes before I was to go on stage I was face to face with a severe bout of the dreaded stage fright. Though I look back at this memory fondly now, almost with an air of comedy, I do recall the intense fear I had before performing solo to an audience of 700. Aunty, with so much kindness and calming control took me aside and spoke to me. She didn’t repeat a clichéd mantra of “you can do it!”, instead sitting me down and talking me through the piece, she told me she was proud of me, that I had worked so hard to perfect the piece and that she had faith in me. Aunty spoke to her students like family, she would embrace us not only in joyous hugs when we saw her after an extended break or when celebrating examination results, but with her words.
I’m now a 4th year medical student, and will be entering work in the NHS, UK next year. The lessons I have learnt under Aunty’s tutelage are invaluable. I feel I am better equipped to speak with patients and their families. I embrace hard work with the dedication and attention to detail all Aunty V’s students have acquired throughout the years. I thank Aunty Varuni for everything she has done for me as an incorrigible child and a work-shy teenager, to make me a more focused, methodical and confident adult today. I cannot thank Aunty V enough (and neither can my parents).
Chathuri Liyanage
I am Chathuri Liyanage I completed the Bachelors Degree in Economics and Management from the University of London, UK, the Masters in Business Psychology from Coventry University – UK, the Associate (ATCL) and Licentiate Diplomas (LLCM) in Speech & Drama and the Associate diploma (ATCL) in Public Speaking. I am currently reading for a master’s degree in Social Research from the University of York, UK.
Once in a while you will find a teacher / educator who will change the course of your life, Aunty Varuni has been that person for me. I still remember like it was yesterday, an extremely shy and timid six-year-old girl walked through the doors of the Varuni Jayasekara Academy with a sense of trepidation and confusion not knowing what to expect. Being the acute introvert I was, I sat in a corner hoping that no one would notice me, I almost do not recognize this girl anymore! Probably noticing the awkward child seated in the corner Aunty Varuni asked me to sit by her side, I walked hesitantly towards her and as I approached she looked at me with kindness in her eyes and asked me what books I liked. For some strange reason a sense of calm and ease washed over me, and I knew that it was going to be alright.
Fast forward a few years, Thursdays became my favorite day of the week (particularly when I had learnt my poetry lines!). During these classes we not only learnt about Literature, Speech and Drama but we also learnt important life lessons, in fact, Aunty V (as we affectionately called her) always delivered these anecdotes of wisdom with such humor that often resulted in waves of infectious laughter among her students.
Aunty Varuni saw something in me that I did not see myself and encouraged me to topple the illusionary hurdles that I had placed before me. For the next eight years or so she trained me in the art of Speech and Drama, at the time my young and naïve self did not understand its value, it is only today that I fully understand the salience of the training I received at the Varuni Jayasekara Academy.
As soon after I completed the Speech and Drama examinations, Aunty encouraged me to read for a diploma in Public Speaking. Today my career as a researcher requires me to deliver speeches and presentations at various forums, I am able to deliver my presentations with confidence because of the training I received.
Aunty Varuni always went the extra mile when it came to her students. Her sincerity and enthusiasm was palpable. She strived for perfection and encouraged us to do the same. Usually a student teacher relationship ends after the training is over, but that was not the case with Aunty Varuni. Even to date despite her busy schedule she will call and inquire to see how I am doing, encouraging me as always to push my boundaries to achieve academic and professional success.
As Maya Angelou once said “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” this quote is reminiscent of Aunty Varuni’s career as she touched the students who entered the doors of the Academy. Aunty, you have been an inspiration to students and teachers alike, in fact, you have been so much more than a teacher to me and many others, and I am truly humbled and blessed to have studied under such a magnanimous teacher. I applaud, honor and appreciate the teacher, parent, friend and confidant that you have to been to me and many others. May the Varuni Jaysekara Academy grow from strength to strength!