Formation of the Colombo Association of Language Skills & Dramatic Art

Filling a lacuna in the field of Speech and Drama training and English Communication, the Colombo Academy of Language Skills and Dramatic Art (CALSDA) was established in 2000 by two distinguished connoisseurs – Mrs. Varuni Jayasekera and Mrs. Zulfika Musafer. From a modest beginning as an Academy with just two Directors, CALSDA expanded with amazing rapidity to achieve the status of an Association, in 2022, consisting of a membership of over 150. The Colombo Association of Language Skills and Dramatic Art [CALSDA] renders an unique and active service to teachers, students and practitioners of the arts by way of annual workshops, seminars, meetings and other opportunities to exchange ideas and resources.

The place of English in Sri Lanka has been, for decades, a highly contested and sensitive topic. Much emphasis has always been placed on the desirability of fluency and dexterity in the wielding of this language, to secure employment opportunities or simply to establish one’s place in the social milieu one inhabits. Thus, the skillful use of English, to say nothing of the ability to perform and present one’s talents at interpreting literary texts in English, has always been connected to one’s self- confidence and positive self-perception.

It is from this perspective that the value of CALSDA becomes truly clear. Within a span of twenty three years, CALSDA has secured for itself a reputation for being an accommodating, intuitive examining body with a firm grasp of the psyche of Sri Lankans, young, old and all ages in between. The examining body CALSDA – consisting of one of the largest and most qualified panel of Examiners in the country – responds with empathy and assists meaningfully in the all-important task of developing confident, bright and competent individuals who are an asset to any profession they seek to adopt and any workplace or field of activity they choose to engage in.

There are, in Sri Lanka, many teachers of Speech and Drama, Spoken English, Communication Skills and allied subjects, each of whom present over 300 students who sit for CALSDA examinations and exponentially improve their mastery of English and the Performing Arts. These teachers’ only qualification, for reasons of possibly accessibility, is the CALSDA diploma. There can be no better index of the yeoman service rendered by CALSDA to the cause of developing English proficiency and the Performing Arts in the country, than the numbers of these teachers who enjoy fulfilling careers, while being enablers of those whose lives they touch through their teaching.

Even those who have a passion for the dramatic arts and aspire to heights of greatness on stage and possibly screen, find in CALSDA’s suite of drama and effective communication examinations a launching pad for their foray into the world of performance. The positive and encouraging face of CALSDA’s examiners ensure that these performers enjoy an enriching examination experience while the process of training for the examinations themselves grants them invaluable understanding of and insights into the subtleties of the dramatic arts.

CALSDA has something for everyone. In a world that is moving at a pace that sometimes seems frenetic, this is an Association that provides a nurturing, understanding and gently educative experience for those who seek to enhance their abilities and hone their skills in order to make for themselves and for their communities a brighter and a more promising future.