Thursday 23 October 2008
First female artist wins Silpathorn award for performing arts


First impressions can definitely be misleading. 36-year-old Sineenadh Keitprapai may be small in stature, but speaking to the arts veteran revealed that charisma and energy belied her pint-sized frame. To be honest, the artistic director of Crescent Moon Theatre and director of Crescent Moon Space looks as though a gust of strong wind could sweep her clean off her feet. But trust us when we say that Sineenadh Keitprapai – or “Nad” – is no wilting flower. A renowned stage manager, director, and actress, Sineenadh has also long been an advocate for issues concerning women by using arts as a communication medium.

Without a doubt, her efforts to raise more awareness concerning issues related to women have not gone unnoticed. Recently, Sineenadh became a recipient of the highly prestigious Silpathorn Awards 2008 in the category of Contemporary Arts. The Silpathorn Awards was established in 2004 by the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC) of the Ministry of Culture (Thailand). The awards aim to promote Thai contemporary artists who are in the prime of their career and whose bodies of works have made notable contributions in the area of Thai fine arts and culture.

What makes this win even more special is the fact that the hardworking thespian broke new ground by being the first ever female artist to clinch such a highly coveted award in the field of contemporary arts. Since its inception in 2004, the previous four awardees in the category of performing arts have all been males. But Sineenadh broke the running trend this year with her recognition.

An alumnus of Chiang Mai University, Sineenadh’s first brush with theatre arts happened during her years when as an English major. Her passion for theatre was ignited after watching university productions and she soon realized that the arts were her calling. With over 50 plays she’s either produced, directed or acted in under her belt, Sineenadh Keitprapai has been a constant dominant force in the Thai contemporary arts scene.

Inspirations for her well-acclaimed productions and performances like Purgatory and Venus’s Party – both about women – were garnered from personal life experiences, her mother and friends, and even literary works like novels, short stories and literature. Sineenadh said that a combination of these “opened (her) mind to notice the situation around ourselves”. She also confesses that she “love(s) women characters and stories about women” and their impact on her was “the first step to show and express how I feel through arts”. Other avenues of inspiration, she added, stemmed from “the images, or small situations in society that impact me… (and) from domestic violence”.

One might be inclined to ask if she is a feminist. But the answer from Sineenadh is an emphatic “No”.

“The word ‘feminist’ is complicated for me to understand. There are many kinds of feminists. I think if I were to be a feminist… I have to know how to classify situations that determine when sexism takes place. It’s just too complicated for me”, she explains before laughing heartily.

Besides producing, directing and acting in performances that highlight women’s issues, Sineenadh initiated Women in the Moon, a women-only theatre festival that exhibits innovative new works by local female artists, together with Jarunun Phantachat, an artist from B-Floor Theatre. Incidentally, Sineenadh is also a co-founder of B-Floor Theatre, a group that focuses on physical and experimental theater.

The humble artist said that she was “surprised” when she learnt that she had won. However, she’s quick to explain that winning the award was never on her cards. “It’s not my goal (to win). Even if I didn’t win, I would still continue with my work. But it’s okay and it’s good that I got this award too. Because that means that the people and the government see theatre works as important”, she said. She also revealed that the win helped to boost her profile and that of Crescent Moon Space’s. Sineenadh also claims that she has begun to receive more requests for her to give workshops and put on more performances. Of this, she said, “This is a good thing too because this lets more of the ordinary people know about the theatre”.

She happily went on to mention that more non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are helping more women with the troubles that they are facing.

Sineenadh enthused that Thailand’s burgeoning arts scene is “really energetic” this year. The extension of the upcoming annual Bangkok Theatre Festival – from two weeks to four – will see the return of veteran theatre groups and an emergence of new theatre groups coming together to put up a month’s worth of arts performances.

“In my point of view, I am an artist and a theatre practitioner. I pick women’s issues as a topic for my work as a theatre practitioner. I am only concerned about women and the roles of women. It’s enough to make me understand and be interested in all issues related to them”.

Spoken like a true artist, indeed. Undoubtedly, Sineenadh Keitprapai has paved the way for present and future female artists and will be a shining source of inspiration for others in time to come.