Wading through political storms

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Thammasat University as well as the 40th anniversary of the October 14, 1973 political demonstrations, students and professors from the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts’ drama department have joined with B-Floor Theatre’s Teerawat “Ka-ge” Mulvilai for the physical theatre production “Typhoon: The Remains”.
“The professors have been following B-Floor’s works for years and invited me to stage this production so their students can work with us,” Ka-ge says. “They gave me freedom to select the story and I came up with the original concept, which has been further developed, like most of B-Floor works, by cast and crew during rehearsals.
“Originally, my thoughts focused on the formation of political movements, comparing the demonstrations to a storm as they instigate change. Students have been part of many movements along with people from various walks of life – I think of these as water drops that join forces and become a storm.”
During the early stages of the creation process, Ka-ge had many political discussions with the drama students. “It’s not that university students these days are not interested in politics but more that they are sick of politics because they don’t hear much truth.
“I asked them to look beyond certain individuals and political parties and really examine our democracy. I divided them into small groups and assigned each to research different phases of our political demonstrations from the 1912 uprising up to May 2010, thus allowing them to understand the whole spectrum and make links to the October 14, 1973 movement that we are marking.
“I’m also interested in ‘memory’, for example, what our educational system asks us to memorise, ignore or even forget; or more recently, which parts of the same event each of the sides chooses to record in its collective memory. A recurring gimmick in the performance is that some characters keep forgetting.”
In terms of directing techniques, Ka-ge has extensively used Anne Bogart’s “Viewpoints” techniques, which he studied while on a residency in New York a few years ago.
“These techniques apply to the actual staging of a production. I’ve seen many people learn them but have never had a chance to apply them in a production.
“It’s been a very good learning experience. Many students are quite surprised that a theatre production can make use of different means of communication – the spoken word, physical movements, images, etc.”
“Typhoon: The Remains” had two previews at Thammasat University’s Small Auditorium two weekends ago, and Ka-ge says the feedback has been mostly positive.
“Some fans of B-Floor’s say it’s easier than most of B-Floor’s works. Of course, I didn’t want to push it too far or make it too abstract as this piece has been collectively created by the student cast members. Also, the main target audience for this performance is students and younger generation audiences who may not be familiar with B-Floor’s works.
“Thanks to the motion graphics design by [B-Floor’s long-time collaborator] Taechit Jiropaskosol, the work is very visual and can still tell a story. There are also a few deeply touching moments, which have moved some audiences to tears.
“After a week’s break, we’re now back in rehearsals again, and I’m polishing some solo parts.”

BLOWN AWAY
“Typhoon: The Remains”, which is part of the Diverse Arts Festival 2013, is at the Pridi Banomyong Institute on Thonglor. Show are at 8pm from Friday to next Monday.
Tickets are Bt450 (Bt350 for students). Call (088) 970 1319 or check out “TheRemains TU” on Facebook and www.BFloorTheatre.com.