Veteran stage actress Bird Neelacha, best known for her endearing comedy performances in plays like Dragon’s Heart or the recent Ruk Kon La Kang, will be joined by 14 fellow stage actresses for the new documentary theater production In Ter’s View to tell their life stories. Neelacha takes time out to tell BK about the ever-changing Thai theater scene.
How did you first get into theater?
I first started with the Makhampom theater troupe back in 1992 when I was about 17, and the prominent Montientong Theatre troupe was still active. Makhampom was a non-profit troupe, so we’d play at places like the sala at monasteries, schools and hospitals. The plays were mainly aimed at tackling social issues, with an annual show to sum up what we learnt from each community. And things just kept growing naturally for me. It’s good to see those who started at the same time as me, like Big Damkoeng, still active in the scene.
Is the theater scene now different to back then?
There’s a similar liveliness and freshness. But the new generation has brought more diversity. We now have different ways of presentation, many new plays with great scripts, and a lot more of conceptual performances, like the one by Best at Ruk Kon La Kang; there wasn’t many like that to see back then. It’s grown along with the social context, too. The fact that the community is bigger now also means more collaboration.
What is it that’s made you so devoted to theater?
It must be the process of preparing a play, where you try to understand what you’re becoming and delivering; the art of drama and delivery. To do so, you have to understand the context of the character and yourself in real life. How I learnt to use and control my five senses made me fall head over heels for performance. I just love how it hones my senses.
We’re most familiar with you in comedy roles.
I started from folk stories, lumtud and e-saew [Central Thailand local plays] by Tua Pradit Prasartthong [founder of Anatta Theatre troupe], playing all sorts of characters from maids and mothers to likay [a traditional form of theater] heroines and in-front-of-the-curtain clowns; the more lighthearted roles sort of became my trademark. They weren’t always the biggest productions, so I would get pretty hands on. I still get to work with many groups; for example, I did the music for the new children’s play Yoo Dee for B-Floor. They’re kind enough not to let me do props!
What can we expect from In Ter’s View?
I always notice that when a group of women gather together, whether it’s our mothers and aunties or a group of girlfriends, there’s a sort of force. And with In Ter’s View you have a group of actresses, six per round. To see them perform together is interesting. There’s so much to take from their different backgrounds and life experiences; I’m sure you can get a lot from their stories alone. I mean, I know most of them, though I think some might not know me, and it’s always fun to see them rehearse.
