The traditional Papara-inspired composition "Oru Urula" was created for the Tamil short drama of the same name, which premiered in 2023. This hybrid work functions as both incidental music and a devised composition. Developed through close engagement with the creative process, it evolved alongside the dramaturgy, script, and staging decisions. The core musical material—including the main theme used in the introduction and conclusion—was shaped through process-based experimentation and improvisation, responding dynamically to the emotional arc and physicality of the performance. As such, it stands as a form of improvised incidental music, embedded within a devised theatre context. The Oru Urula composition also served as the pilot project for my research titled “Ha Papara Mary,” which explored the integration of improvisation into traditional Papara music. Following this work, a paper based on the research— “How to Use Improvisation on Papara” —was pre...
The Tamil short drama Oru Urula was written and directed by Sachini Kaushalya Walikala, under the artistic guidance of Suresh Madhushan Perera. It represented the Tamil Short Drama category at the 43rd National Youth Drama Festival in 2023 and had its public premiere on October 20, 2023, at the Elphinstone Theatre. The production was later staged for a second time on November 3, 2023, at the same venue, representing the same category at the 50th State Drama Festival. The drama explores the tragic fate of a woman who travels to the Middle East in search of employment as a domestic helper. Oru Urula follows a young man and woman from Kandy who travel to Colombo to stage a play. To raise funds, they join a gas cylinder company's promotional campaign. While working, they rehearse their play and select a script based on real cases from a police complaint book. In the first dramatization, the man plays a police constable and the woman a complainant. In the second, they re-enact a case ...