Honouring a great teacher

THERE ARE MANY television and movie awards in this country but, perhaps wisely, dance and theatre have only one – the IATC Thailand Awards.
The second edition of the awards ceremony was held on Tuesday evening, in a low-key event renamed IATC Thailand Dance and Theatre Review 2013, a title demonstrating that it’s aiming to be more than an awards ceremony.
The IATC – short for International Association of Theatre Critics – Thailand Centre, with support from Ministry of Culture’s Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC) and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), gave out 15 awards in 12 categories, a necessity as this year, there were three ties.
To begin the evening, masters of ceremonies Malys Choeysobhon and Alice Tsoi asked three critics to share their thoughts on contemporary Thai dance and theatre in 2013.
IATC Thailand’s honorary president Kittisak Suwanaphokin highlighted Bangkok Theatre Festival, whose main venue needed to be shifted less than two weeks before its start, and noted that an increasing number of performances are being staged in unconventional spaces.
Vice-president Amitha Amranand added that smaller-scale musicals, as evidenced by the nominees in the musical categories, and short plays are another two developments that are likely to continue this year.
The first award, for Best Performance by a Female Artist, was won by veteran actress Ranya Siyanont for “Roi Rak Roi Khattakam”, Dreambox’s translation of Agatha Christie’s “Go Back for Murder”. The MCs then sprung the first surprise of the evening by announcing a tie and calling on another critic to present another plaque in this category to Janya Thanyasawangkul’s for her performance of five characters in “Phop Rak Mak Krasan”, Democrazy Studio and Sao Soong Theatre’s adaptation of “The Blue Room”.
Democrazy and TV Munk’s adaptation of contemporary teen novel “Pisat Hua To” edged out Anatta Theatre’s “2475” and Dreambox’s “Lady White Snake” to win Best Book for Musical award, though the latter picked up Best Musical award.
New Theatre Society’s comedy “Monrak Khlong Saen Saep” received two awards for Best Adapted script and Best Performance by an Ensemble.
B-Floor Theatre’s “(In)Sensitivity” won the Best Art Direction of a Play/Musical/Performance and Best Movement-Based Performance awards, cementing its status as the country’s best physical theatre company.
The evening’s biggest winner was Democrazy’s “Chuichai Saneha” whose two lead actors Pramote Sangsorn and Bandit Kaewana tied for Best Performance by a Male Artist.
“This is the first acting award I’ve received in my entire career. It feels like getting an Oscar,” said former teen heartthrob Pramote, adding laughingly, “Do I have to cry now?”
The heartfelt and thought-provoking drama also won Best Play, Best Original Script and Best Direction for which it tied with Thanapol Virulhakul’s “Transaction”.
Accepting the evening’s last award, Best Play, Democrazy’s producer Wasurachata Unaprom noted that “Chuichai Saneha”, which took him two years to realise, was considered both an artistic and commercial risk, yet the tickets for all 18 performances were fully booked before the opening night. Coupled with the awards the play has just won, this shows there remains much space, and hope, for artistic and commercial risks in contemporary Thai theatre.
Before honouring Professor Mattani Mojdara Rutnin, founder of Thammasat University’s Drama Department, with the Lifetime Achievement Award, Kittisak surprised everyone by revealing that he had not only studied with her but also performed in a Christmas play directed by her while he was a student at Triam Udom Suksa School.
The fact that many IATC Awards recipients are Thammasat alumni demonstrates the significance of the groundwork she laid for the development of contemporary Thai theatre more than four decades ago at the Tha Phra Chan campus.
Hundreds of “thank you’s” were heard throughout the event, which was attended by about 150 participants made up of dance and theatre artists, Professor Mattani’s former students and colleagues and members of the press. Each went home with a 78-page booklet with reviews, in Thai and English, of the works nominated for all awards.
That’s clearly a purpose of the event – to give moral support and thanks to artists working in contemporary Thai dance and theatre.
 A BOOK FOR YOU
- To request a free copy of the IATC Thailand Dance and Theatre Review 2013 book, e-mail [email protected].
- To find out more about the IATC Thailand Centre, visit Facebook.com/IATC.Thailand.