Onchuma Yuthavong

 

Onchuma Yuthavong is an actress, writer, director, producer and associate professor of drama. She is known as a pioneer of children’s theater in Thailand. As a director and producer, she has been awarded many times for her television productions for children. Her recent stage productions include Plastic Woman (1996), a solo performance for the opening of a theater; Savitri: Love and Death (1997), an experiment on the traditional and contemporary in dance, dramatic text and movement; and The Death of Empidocles (1999), a joint collaboration with a French director and his troupe and a Japanese Butoh dancer and choreographer. Yuthavong’s previous portrayals include leading roles in the productions of Rashomon, Good Woman of Setzuan, The Pillow of Kantan, and as Kate in Mother Courage, where she was praised by the German theater magazine "Theatre Heute."

Yuthavong earned her B.A. from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand and her M.A. in Drama and Theater from the University of Hawaii in the United States. Since 1997 she has held the positions of Founder and Director of Khon Lakorn Studio. From 1995 to 1996, Yuthavong was Executive Director of KAD Performing Arts Center in Chiang Mai, and from 1990 to 1994 she was Deputy Director of the Chulalongkorn University Institute of Thai Studies. Since 1984, Yuthavong has been a committee member of a Working Group on Visual and Performing Arts for the Association of South East Asian Nations. From 1982 until 1994 she was Associate Professor in the Dramatic Arts Department of Chulalongkorn University, and from 1982 until 1984 she served as Head of the Dramatic Arts Department.

As an official representative of Thailand, Yuthavong travels widely, attending international meetings and lecturing on Thai fine arts and performing arts. She runs her own studio, where she serves as an individual acting coach to leading actors, casting directors, and as a creative consultant to various projects for stage, television, and film. Her studio is planning a series of workshops, seminars, recitals, exhibitions, presentations, and performances

Yuthavong has been the recipient of many awards and distinctions, including Producer of the Best Cassette Tape for Children in 1993, Cultural Award from the Governor of Australia (1990), Director of Best Television Drama for Children (1980 and 1982), East-West Center Scholarship from the United States (1972-1974), and Award of Distinction in Theater Arts for University Honors Graduates (1970).

Yuthavong has also lectured extensively on acting, creative writing, fundamentals of play production, and puppetry.