Much in common, more to come

The Asia New Zealand Foundation, New Zealand's leading non-government authority on Asia since 1994, earlier this month organised its first ever performing arts tour. Thailand is often overlooked when it comes to contemporary performing arts but the Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF) was on the itinerary, along with the Shanghai Contemporary Theatre Festival. 
And even though the annual festival was abruptly cancelled as Thailand went into deep mourning following the death of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the foundation stuck to the original plan, and arranged for the three to meet and discuss with their Thai counterparts in their studios and spaces, before continuing on to Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore.
Earlier this year, the foundation launched an open call for applications. Three Auckland-based artists were finally selected—Alice Canton, an independent actor, theatre-maker and teacher; Ben Crowder, artistic director and executive producer of Theatre Stampede; and Chye-Ling Huang, actor, puppeteer, writer and co-founder of Proudly Asian Theatre Company (PAT).
Both Canton and Crowder had visited Bangkok previously yet prior to this five-day visit, Canton admitted: “I had no idea of what the contemporary performing arts scene was like in Thailand. My understanding of the sector was based on what I had seen and read on traditional art forms. Contemporary practice seemed small and dormant”.
 Crowder added: “I must confess my knowledge on Thai contemporary dance and theatre was pretty poor. I had done some research – mainly on theatre on a previous visit a few months ago [his new play is set in Thailand]. I had found the B-Floor website but unfortunately they had no work on whilst I was there.”
Before their arrival, the visiting artists studied dance and theatre review booklets published in the past three years by the Thailand centre of International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC). Likewise, their Thai counterparts studied their bios and work samples. 
In an intensive four days here, the three New Zealand artists also met with New Zealand’s ambassador to Thailand Ben King who discussed possible artistic exchanges between the two countries. They watched only one theatre performance, labelled as an open dress rehearsal and originally scheduled as part of BTF – that of an Indonesia-Japan-Thailand mask performance “Ocean’s Blue Heart”.
However, they visited eight venues where contemporary performances are frequently held, namely Chang Theatre, Democrazy Theatre Studio, Thong Lor Art Space (TLAS), Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts, Crescent Moon Space, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), B-Floor Room and Creative Industries. Moreover, the three New Zealand artists observed rehearsals of five dance and theatre performances: Democrazy’s adaptation of “The Pavilion”, B-Floor Theatre and Theatre Momggol’s (Korea) “Something Missing”, 18 Monkeys Dance Theatre’s “Red Peter”, Crescent Moon Theatre’s adaptation of “Death and the Maiden” and B-Floor’s “Fishy Clouds”. 
They also had meetings and discussions with artistic directors, managers, resident directors, playwrights and choreographers of BTF, Pichet Klunchun Dance Company, Democrazy, TLAS, B-Floor, 18 Monkeys, Crescent Moon Theatre, BACC, Creative Industries, Anatta Theatre Group, 8X8 Theatre, and Wandering Moon Performing Group. All these artists are in their mid-to-late careers and their works are currently the blood in the veins of contemporary Thai dance and theatre. A visit to the Culture Ministry’s Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC) was not included, which might have been wise given that when Korea Arts Management Services (KAMS) took South Korean directors and producers to the Office, the conversation was diverted to K-Pop!
“Essentially the tour has opened up possibilities for me and has me dreaming about collaborations and exchanges. I was inspired and excited to find that the dance and theatre scene has a thriving experimental and contemporary practice, and the focus on new works and international collaborations was something I hadn’t expected,” Huang said later.
“It was such a pleasure to encounter the practitioners, companies, and venues working in Bangkok on the trip – they are so vibrant, active, and prolific! Canton added. 
“It was like uncovering a whole new facet of Thailand that had up to this point been invisible to me. It completely shifted my perspective of art-making in Thailand, in terms of understanding the form and content being developed and explored by local artists.”
Crowder noted, “The strengths seemed to be the people and the passion. In some ways it felt quite pioneering – the artists we met were embracing the realities they were in and forging forward. There was a strong desire to create work away from naturalism—all pretty exciting.”
Huang agreed, saying: “The attitudes of the practitioners we met is a huge strength and something New Zealand work could learn from. Making up to nine works a year with the same and often less funding support is mind-boggling for myself as a theatre maker who stages on average one show per year and works freelance on other projects in between. The willingness to risk, create and keep pushing forward seems to be an ingrained attitude that perhaps springs from governmental restrictions – censorship-wise and funding-wise – and it is this attitude that makes Thai theatre bold and interesting.”
On the other side of the coin, Huang wondered about the impact of such speed. “Are the works ever performed again, refined, and does the exploration continue? Or is work simply made for the now? Either way, in my short experience Thai works seem to be on the pulse and aiming to remain relevant to the minute, which I applaud”.
Crowder concurred. “It would seem that many artists are very prolific, which I believe is a great way to generate material and refine creative processes. However, at times it is fantastic to have time to let work sit and embed.” 
The three artists were positive about the future of exchanges between the two countries. Huang noted: “I see a lot of similarities between companies and spaces like Crescent Moon, Democrazy, Thong Lor Arts Space, B-Floor and New Zealand companies like my own [PAT] that produce work on a similar scale and are interested in exploring similar themes and forms. Having English as a common language is also a huge advantage. The next steps will lead towards the reality of collaborations, namely finding funding. Our arts council [Creative New Zealand] has not identified Thailand as a priority country in Asia, but Alice, Ben and I will be lobbying for that to change. Other NGOs like the Asia New Zealand Foundation who made this trip possible are more flexible and it's exciting to see the broadening global mindset emerging and opportunities like this being created for entry-mid career artists to be able to connect without the pressures of a hard sell.”
Crowder agreed: “There is definitely potential for collaboration between the two countries. My sense is the respective theatre and dance scenes are a similar size, so in many ways to get something going is pretty tangible. It just needs to start. Once an initial collaboration begins I am confident other connections will be made and the gates would open.” 
As for Canton: “I think that given both Thailand and NZ have limited financial resources in developing collaborative partnership, the quality of the relationship becomes the most important part of engagement. Developing a cultural understanding and creating space for a meaningful exchange through art, education, and community outreach become important so that more people may be involved in a collaboration and it is not perceived as an ‘insular’ creative project.”
Yet as Crowder said “I am not sure how best to move things forward from the Thai end”. Problem is neither am I.