I Sea - preview

VIEWS FROM THE SHORELINE
By PAWIT MAHASARINAND
SPECIAL TO THE NATION


In 'I Sea', two veteran actresses slip wordlessly back to youth



The Crescent Moon Theatre's body movement workshops over the past three years bear fruit all this week with "I Sea", featuring the first-ever solo performances by its artistic director, Sineenadh "Nad" Keitprapai, and another veteran actress, Farida "Fa" Juraphan.

"Fa and I realised it was about time we did solo physical theatre, since we're both still in good shape," says Nad, the first and still the only female recipient of Silpathorn Award in Performing Arts.

Both women are in their late 30s.

The "I Sea" double-bill includes Nad's "ChANge" and Fa's "FLOTsam", developed separately but with quite a lot in common.

"There are some messages and emotions that we'd like to express, but not through the spoken word," Nad says. "Both of us are interested in and have worked on performances that deal with women's issues."

Both pieces develop from their perception of the sea, says the native of Sam Roi Yod in Prachuab Khiri Khan. "Fa always loves the sea. We both think of the sea all the time, whether we're happy or miserable."

The women then appear onstage in wedding gowns.

"I think it's a dream for most girls to wear a wedding gown one day. I'm married but I chose not to have a wedding reception, and Fa is still single, so neither of us has ever worn one."

The women selected a song with special meaning for them.

"I've chosen 'Love Potion No 9', which I listened to a lot when I was young. Fa's choice is Joey Boy's 'Loy Thalae'."

Nad and Fa used a lot of improvisational techniques while developing their pieces, each with an assistant to record their motion and offer opinions.

"When we put the two pieces one after the other," Nad says, "we saw that we'd both looked back to our youthful dreams. And both pieces have moments of loneliness and misery."

"I Sea" also features motion graphics by Taechit Jiropaskosol and Wattanapume Laisuwanchai.

Nad, who put together the 2007 Women in the Moon: Women Playwrights and Directors Festival at the Crescent Moon Space, plans to continue creating works about women's issues.

"This one has given me time and the opportunity to rethink and reflect on the issues, and I'm very happy with the results, so I'll carry on."

She's seen a "significant" increase in recent years in the number of female theatre artists creating works about women's issues, offering their points of view. "That's another important trend in contemporary Thai theatre."

TO SEE

- "I Sea" runs from tomorrow through Sunday at 8pm at the Crescent Moon Space in the Pridi Banomyong Institute near the Thonglor Skytrain station.

- Tickets cost Bt300 at (084) 647 4783.
- Learn more at www.CrescentMoonTheatre.com.

Thank you information form The Nation Newspaper
see:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/VIEWS-FROM-THE-SHORELINE-30158255.html


photo by Boaz Zippor