Made for 'Miss Saigon'
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The musical's captivating star is a natural-born singer - in no need of TV votes
‘I’ve never had any formal training in singing or acting,” says Kanda “Net” Witthayanuparpyuenyong, the star of “Miss Saigon”, currently onstage at the Muangthai Rachadalai Theatre. That’s quite a surprise.
“The only theatre class I ever took was yours!” she adds. That’s even more of a surprise. Actually she’s talking about a basic introductory session that colleagues and I conduct for hundreds of students each year at Chulalongkorn University.
Net’s major was Mandarin when she graduated from Chula a year and a half ago. She earned second-class honours but never felt confident enough to put the language to use professionally. Meanwhile, though, she’d been spending long extracurricular hours with the CU Band.
“I saw the band play during the freshmen welcoming events and was really impressed with the way they entertained the audience, the way they sang and danced, full of sheer joy. I decided right away I wanted to be part of that.”
Within weeks Net had auditioned and become one of the band’s lead singers, a role she kept through her entire four years of study.
“In my first year I also applied for ‘The Star’, but I only got past the first round. I realised I wasn’t that good a singer, so I never applied for another singing contest. I was happy just performing with the CU Band and entertaining people as a university student.”
The band offered no formal singing lessons, Net says, but alumni conducted regular workshops for the students, “and I think my singing improved significantly”. The band’s variety of musical styles also required her to adjust, further enhancing her talent.
During her third year Net saw the Scenario musical “Lom Hai Chai”, featuring hit songs by Cheewin “Boyd” Kosiyabong.
“I was deeply moved,” she says. “I wanted to be part of the chorus – they sang and danced so powerfully. And then, just before I graduated, I auditioned for the re-staged version of ‘Thawiphop’ and got into the chorus. That was my first professional job.”
Having no acting experience, Net relied instead on “heart” to create a presence onstage, aided by Scenario’s acting workshops, during which she realised, “It’s not just performing but expressing what you feel and think.”
Next came a small role in “Si Phaendin”. She played Praphai, who Net calls a materialistic high-society woman – the polar opposite to her. She gives full credit to the acting coaches involved in that show.
And now it’s the role of a lifetime – at least so far for her.
To win the chance to play Kim in “Miss Saigon”, Net outclassed several established stars who would have been bigger draws at the box office. Producers Takonkiet Viravan and Cameron MacIntosh picked Net instead after the latter saw her audition video.
“I was dumbstruck just to be invited to audition! I listened to the CD and realised the songs would be very difficult with such a wide range of tones, from soft to strong, and notes from very high to very low.
“My deepest gratitude goes to Khun Boy [Takonkiet], but actually I’ve never asked him why he gave me this chance!”
Rehearsals started in May and Net received two weeks of extra training from Australian singing coach Amanda Colliver. “She focused on voice projection, which is one of the most important skills in musical theatre. She completely changed my attitude about singing and gave me a lot of confidence.”
Her acting skills were honed in sessions with dramatist and movie director ML Bhandevanov “Mom Noi” Devakula, which Net likens to a “dharma retreat”.
“I came to understand myself and my own nature much better. I learned how to clear my mind and let the spirit of the character inside me.
“And I learned how to adapt Kim’s loss of her son to my own loss – my mum passed away many years ago. It was like the ‘emotional recall’ and the ‘magic if’ that I learned in your class, right?” (I’m sure my colleague at Chula is smiling along with me right now.)
Net says she’s delighted to have had “a decent professional career” thus far. “Not only can I make ends meet, but I can also save some money for the future. I don’t have to do any other jobs.”
Well, she’s certainly proved already, for many thousands of theatre-goers, that you don’t have to be “The Star” on television to be a star onstage.
Net’s idol is Radklao “Tongneng” Amaradit, a fellow alumnus of the Chula faculty of arts and CU Band who’s performed in many Scenario and Dreambox musicals. I foresee a similar career path and matching fame.
Lights go up
“Miss Saigon” continues at the Muangthai Rachadalai Theatre at the Esplanade Ratchadaphisek until November 18.
The show has been translated into Thai but there are English surtitles.
For more details, see www.misssaigonthailand.com or www.thaiticketmajor.com.
