Bonnie Zellerbach on Acting Up! March 1, 2010
Posted by admin in : Bangkok, Interview, Networking, Theatre , 1 comment so far
Tell us your background what brought you to Thailand?
I’m an American and I moved to Bangkok from New York in 1991. I was working in Client Sevices for Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising and was brought over to Bangkok to head up that department and to build the Strategic Planning arm of the agency. I met my husband here the year I arrived, and we were married in 1993. Jamie grew up in Bangkok (he’s a Canadian who moved here at the age of 3) and his marriage proposal was a two-for-one: marry me and live in Thailand. So this is our permanent home. I stopped working full time when our twin daughters were born in ‘97 but continue to take on marketing consultancy projects as time allows.
How did the Bangkok Community Theatre (BCT) get started?
I wasn’t here then, but I know that BCT was founded in 1972 when the two existing drama groups (each originating in Bangkok in the late 1950s) decided to pool their resources and form one organization. BCT is a voluntary, non-profit organization of many nationalities who work together to produce English language plays for the local community. We are an organization of people and we don’t have a clubhouse like so many social groups in Bangkok do; however, The British Club has served as our de facto home for most of the last 20 years. They very kindly host many of our club nights, and we often use their facilities for dinner theatre and children’s productions.
In fact, The British Club will be hosting BCT’s March production, the children’s participation play “Pinocchio” and I am the director and playwright. I adapted the classic fairytale in the same format as past participation plays we’ve done: cast of six adult performers (including a rather impish mime) interact with the children in a theatre-in-the round setting. It is really good fun!
What else can I tell you about BCT? On average we stage 4 productions a year with each show requiring volunteers from the community to perform on-stage and to help behind the scenes. People who aren’t comfortable being in the ’spotlight’ often find fun and challenging ways to contribute in terms of Props making, set designing and building, costume designing, prompting, make up, lighting & sound, ticket sales, fund raising… the list goes on. It takes a lot of people to put on a show.
What are some of the most memorable characters you played and what made it interesting?
Wow – so many memories to sift through. I’ve been a member of BCT for almost 20 years and over 40 productions…..Let’s see – I loved playing the chronically comic & ailing Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls.” At that time the twins were just two years old and when they told me I was going to have to wear a sequined bikini with Las Vegas style feathers for my first big dance number, I thought I would die with shame. I’ve never been slim and was still carrying baby fat as well. But fear is a great motivator! I lost tons of weight and still look back on that show with pride!
I also really loved playing the miserly, miserable Miss Hannigan in “Annie.” It was so much fun to be mean and cranky! And I made so many good friends out of the cast and crew of that production.
To be fair, I don’t have any show that I regret doing in any way; I loved each and every one of them. Some of my favourite memories are of shows where I was just in the ensemble – like when I was a dancing tree in “The Wizard of Oz” — because we had such a great team working on it. All in all, my fondest memories are of the shows I’ve done with my long-term friend and collaborator, Angela Daniel. Regardless of the roles I played onstage, we worked together on the production side of things as well and had a ball creating theatre magic.
Having lived in Thailand for a very long time what are some of your tips about settling in to Bangkok?
Get involved. Join groups. Don’t be afraid to show up alone. Bangkok is a wonderful city and has so much to offer! The Thai people will welcome you and the other Expats will, too. You just have to put yourself out there. There are country groups (like the American Women’s Club, ANZWG, etc), there are interest groups (like BCT, The National Museum Volunteers, The Neilson Hays Library, etc) and more. Join several and see which ones suit you best. They all need volunteers to keep their social and charitable projects going, and I think one of the best ways to get to know people and the city is to have a project on which you can work together. For me, Bangkok Community Theatre (http://www.bct-th.org/) has been a lifeline.