Chula grads and undergrads show thier smarts in a varied string of dance and theatre shows

The graduate program in dramatic arts that Chulalongkorn University launched a year and a half ago - the country's first - is ready to bear fruit, with a dance-and-theatre thesis showcase.

Starting off the month-long festival called Kornjob - which means "before graduating" - is Chertsak Pra-tumseesakhon's "Same Same".

A smash hit at the Bangkok Theatre Festival, it's a comedy that can also produce a few sentimental tears.

The same weekend Wariya Khattiphibun combines Western acting theories with northern Thai folk dancing in "Noijaiya".

The following week their classmate Wanasak Padung-sestakit psychoanalyses the title character in his solo work "Another Side of Phra Lor", and Ponlarit Samutkalin borrows the deceived demon of the Ramakien for a new play, "Nontuk".

The mood the shifts completely when Sangsan Santimaneeratana presents his/her solo queer performance "Taro, the little poodle". Despite the title, which refers to his/her neighbour's dog, the story is more about the playwright-performer.

After the graduate students strut their stuff, the senior undergraduates will take the stage.

In the intriguingly titled "Dug Da:ns", Jasmine Baker uses ballet as a case study to investigate a prejudice toward conventions that is partly responsible for the limited growth in Thailand's performance scene.

Then Montakarn Suvanatap presents a staged reading with multimedia of her play "Lunatic", reflecting on urbanites who are chronically upwardly mobile.

If these two names look familiar, it's because they occasionally write for The Nation and Xpress.

Closing off the festival is a full-scale production - a Thai translation of the American tragicomedy "Crimes of the Heart".

This 1981 Pulitzer winner, with a dysfunctional family at its core, will be staged by Parida Nobthai, a major in directing.