A new launch pad

Twenty by 35 metres and 12 metres high, the new Nakarin Theatre on Srinakarin Road could be just the ticket in fostering future generations of music and theatre stars.

"This is my idea for creating an opportunity for everyone," says Howard Chen, the president and founder, "a place where young hopefuls can learn from actual professionals, something they can't get in school.

"Bangkok has a lot of places for the performing arts, but the rent is very expensive," Chen points out. "Young artists can't afford that, so they just stop doing what they've been trained for, and we end up with fewer and fewer artists."

Chen runs a company that builds and rents out professional sound systems, including those at the Patravadi Theatre and the Vic Hua Hin, where Patravadi "Kru Lek" Mejudhon suggested he open a venue of his own.

"She came here and I told her I wanted to do something with the space to help artists. She suggested I open a new theatre, and even suggested the name Nakarin Theatre - we're on Srinakarin Road, which everyone knows."

It's a long way from downtown, halfway to Suvarnabhumi Airport, in fact, but Chen's family owned the land.

"It was originally going to be a restaurant parking lot, but when I told my father my idea for a theatre, he really liked it.

"This is a place for performing arts, and we're not going to make much profit, so it's a good idea to minimise the costs at the outset. And actually the location is very good - easily accessible from Rama IX Road and the expressway."

Chen has chosen for his artistic director Chattiya "Lena" Thaipiromsamukkee, with whom he worked on several projects at the Patravadi Theatre, as well as "Bangkok Bananas" last year.

"She's very knowledgeable about theatre and knows a lot of event organisers and media people."

Lena calls the theatre just "an empty space with a lot of equipment to begin with", but says, "It's the artists' creativity that will make it the way they want, and the possibilities are limitless.

"Artists are always welcome to come to talk to us so we can co-produce projects together. They don't have to worry about rent - we'll share the cost and the profit. Meanwhile the space is also available for commercial and other kinds of events."

It's "semi-open air": There's air-conditioning, but the "walls" are screens that can be rolled up to let in a breeze. Rather than fixed seats, there are platforms and chairs that can be configured as needed. The lighting and sound equipment is top-rate.

For this weekend's soft opening, Chen and Lena have chosen "Music Battle: Tik Siro vs Kyle Dillingham", a show they enjoyed at the Fringe Festival in Hua Hin in February.

It will be a delight to again see, among other memorable scenes, American violinist Kyle Dillingham, fiddling while riding a skateboard.

Lena reckons a music concert is the best way to open a theatre with superb sound and lighting and a wide-open feel to it.

"Plus, creativity is a key concept here, and this show is a great example, with its interaction between Western and Eastern traditions."

With Thailand's political troubles in mind, the concert is a fund-raiser for three organisations that aid the human condition - Sawikasikhalai, the Vimuttayalaya Institute and the Dhamma Theatre Foundation, which enjoys the patronage of the Supreme Patriarch.

The official opening is set for November, and a "major" arts festival is being planned for next January.

  READY FOR     TAKE-OFF

- Catch "Music Battle: Tik Shiro vs Kyle Dillingham" on Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm.

- Tickets cost Bt300 to Bt800 at Total Reservation, with all profit going to charity.

- Nakarin Theatre is on Srinakarin Road opposite Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital. It's close to the Rama IX Road intersection. 

- Learn more at www.NakarinTheatre.com.