With the Thai Thai and English-language productions of Josh Ginsburg’s “Stick Figures” ending a 34-performance run on June 30 and New Theatre Society’s new comedy “The Place of the Hidden Painting” opening seven days later at Thong Lor Art Space (TLAS), theatre fans from all over Bangkok are spending a considerable amount of time in Sukhumvit 55, or Thonglor as it also known.

And even though, its Facebook page hasn’t revealed much of what’s coming in the next month, this small art centre, converted from a guesthouse and a three-minute walk from a BTS station, already has programmes lined up past the end of this year.

“Running the space is a combination of what we anticipated and what we didn’t expect at all,” says producer and curator Wasurat “Leon” Unaprom, who was part of Democrazy Studio, before he co-founded TLAS.

“By that I mean we’re a production team with the aim of presenting works all year round and our programming has already tapped into other genres of arts, like short film screenings and [visual arts] exhibitions. We’re art entrepreneurs, the way we set out to be from the start.

“But we hadn’t expected it to be so difficult or exhausting. This is mainly due to finances. We have a staff of 10 full-time members, so we’re like a small company. Dealing with artists is also an issue. It was difficult as well for the three of us – managing director Chrisada Sambandaraksa, PR and marketing director Pasachol Niwatwong and myself – to adjust to this new business model and to learn from one another. Drawing the attention, and of course the attendance, of the audience is another major task. We originally decided that each production would run for 15 performances, and now we’ve moved up to 20-25, and ‘Stick Figures’ ran for 34. So, where are our audiences?

“It’s very unpredictable. Some regulars stopped attending after a few productions – perhaps they watched a work that didn’t match their taste or maybe they are having to keep a closer watch on their money. For example, those who used to be able to allocate Bt 1,000 a month for theatre tickets, might have only half of that now during this economic slowdown, and are thus limited to only one production. At the same time, they may have switched to watching films and TV at home and prefer to save their cash for a good meal out. But we do have some die-hard fans, many of them older people and expats,” he says.

Filled with diversity in both content and form, TLAS’s programming is the opposite of predictable and, unlike most companies and venues here, never settles on one successful formula.

“We seriously discussed this issue from the beginning. We’re an art space, not a theatre. We’re also part of the French Embassy’s Galleries’ Night this year and we’re renovating our fourth floor space into a gallery, although I have to admit that we’re not yet in the visual arts circle. We’ve also screened some movies but the best space for that is our ground floor, a main venue for performing arts, which needs to be booked months in advance.

“Anything can take place in this small art complex. Our PR and marketing team works very hard to communicate with the audience – after all, it’s the audience who decide whether or not each work is their cup of tea. We’ve settled for now on just two big productions a year, with a larger cast and stronger appeal for the general public. Last year, we staged ‘Fly with Me, Free Breakfast’ and ‘Lady of Siam: The Musical’ and this year, we’ve had ‘Stick Figures’. For the audience, these are like the first door. Experimental works, imported works, international collaborations and works by up-and-coming artists also have doors through which audiences can enter when they trust in the TLAS brand.”

In early May, for example, absurdist Japanese theatre “1969: Space Odyssey? Oddity!” ran for 10 performances. Unlike most performances, it was not proposed by the company nor did it come on a recommendation from a cultural institute, but was picked by Leon after he saw it at the Tokyo Performing Arts Market (TPAM).

“I saw a lot of new faces in the audience but at the same time many regulars stayed away. With the unorthodox style of the work, we were expecting to draw new audiences, and they showed up. It was a risk of course, and the Japanese artists willingly shared this risk. To be more specific, they took care of their flights, and we provided their accommodation, transportation, meals and a minimal artistic fee, which was all we could afford. In the end, we had a positive response from the audience and critics, the artists were happy and the marketing team was okay with it,” he says.

It was slightly different for the recently ended “Stick Figures”. “We had people coming to TLAS for the first time because of what their friends wrote and shared on social media as well as the coverage on TV. Also, the subject matter [coping with the loss of a loved one] is more approachable, and both cast and crew were top notch. It was another risk as it’s an unknown play and was personally recommended to Chrisada. Then our guest director Pattarasuda Anuman Rajadhon proposed two different casts performing it in two languages and we went with it, In the end, we had 17 performances in English, and 17 in Thai. The American playwright was very happy with it as well.”

And after these experiments, or risks as Leon prefers to call them, in programming, TLAS is now back in the mainstream, aiming to draw the masses with “The Place of Hidden Painting”. Being staged without English surtitles, this screwball comedy is an adaptation of popular novels “Khanglang Phap” and “Ban Saithong”.

TLAS’s persistent productivity and creativity have paid off, Leon says, opening many doors of opportunity.

“It’s truly surprising to us that in just two years, instead of the five years we originally projected, we’ve already had the chance to both attend festivals overseas and also make formal presentations of what we’re doing and how we can work together with them.”

That, Leon adds, has encouraged the partners to create more platforms for TLAS, for example, the annual Low Fat Art Fest. Inaugurated last November, it featured artist-in-residency programmes and collaboration between Thai and international artists that hopefully will lead to international tours of their works.

“Rather than just being seen as a venue, our art fest has become a major player on the international performing arts market. Last year, all Low Fat Art Fest works were international collaborations. We believe in diversity and we value networking opportunities for Thai and international artists. This year the festival will present further progress in some of these collaborations as well as selected foreign works. It will be held in November again at both TLAS and the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), in co-operation with Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF). We’ll also present film screenings and performance arts.”

And now that the programme for the remainder of this year has already been set, the TLAS team is looking forward to 2017.

“Next year, we’re adding another festival to our calendar. This will be on top of the Low Fat Art Fest and 12 productions in the regular programme on which our 10 staff members are already working. It’s not a completely new festival but what we’re picking up from Sun Dance Theatre’s Bangkok Queer Theatre Festival. [Artistic director of Sun Dance Theatre] Sun Tawalwongsri is a good friend of mine and his lease of the Silom venue was terminated last year. We discussed this co-operation at TPAM earlier this year and we plan to focus more on lesbian works. We hope to organise this in May, with about three international works from South Korea, Taiwan and Cambodia in addition to local pieces.”

And there’s yet another new initiative.

“We’re planning a large production of [adaptation of popular novel] ‘Plai Thien’ and we’re thinking about staging it at a larger venue so that the ticket sales can cover the production cost in a shorter run.”

“And we hope to turn our rooftop into a bar.”

AND ELSEWHERE

-Other small and independent venues with frequent programmes include Creative Industries and Blue Box, both at M Theatre, B-Floor Room and Crescent Moon Space, both at Pridi Banomyong Institute in addition to BACC’s 4th floor studio, whose performing arts programmes now fill up almost eight months, and of course Democrazy Studio.