V-Day Production Team Update

My full name is Warongporn Yamprasert (Wow) i'm 23. Graduated from Communication Arts, with a major in Advertising from Chulalongkorn University. I worked in TBWA advertising for 1 year and now i'm helping V-Day with marketing communication planning and fundraising for The Vagina Monologues in  Bangkok, 2009.

I'm Naveeya Pumhiran, or Por for short. I'm the community liason and production coordinator for V-Day Bangkok.  I studied broadcasting and performing arts at the faculty of Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn Unversity. I've been involved in theatre since high school. It's my passion! I'm so exited for the V-Day campaign in Bangkok, that's why I jumped in on the production team and also as an actress.

Romklao Chai-Ariras (Eff) is our stage manager for The Vagina Monologues, and is also involved in various aspects of production and fundraising. Eff has a degree in fine Arts from Rangsit University after 3 years of studying in the College of Fine Arts. She worked and studied in Melbourne, Australia and has since worked in several different roles in Thailand and Israel. Currently she has opened her own overseas study consultancy in Bangkok, "Going Abroad" as a great way to help new students with her experiences on shores afar. Read more!

Get Your Tickets For The Vagina Monologues 2009

Contact: Tickets go on sale beginning Jan 15th at www.totalreservation.com or through their call center, 02 833 5555

Where: Patravadi Theater
69/1 Soi Wat Rakhang, Arun Amarin Road, Siriraj, Bangkok 10700
Tel 02 412 7287-8

When: February 27, 28 and March 1, 20:00 (8PM)

Admission: Standard Ticket, 350B before Feb 1, 400B after
Premium Ticket, 550B before Feb 1, 600B after
VIP Ticket (includes cocktails and dinner), 700B before Feb 1, 900B from Feb 1-14
Student Tickets: 200B standard, 300B premium

Book in a group of 10 or more and receive a 5% discount
Book in a group of 20 or more and receive a 7% discount
Book in a group of 30 or more and receive a 10% discount

Shuttle service will be available from Siam Square to Patravadi Theater:
Friday and Saturday: 50B per person, one-way, 100B round trip from Siam
Shuttle times: 5pm, 5.30, 6.30 and 7 pm
Sunday: 40B per person, one-way, 80B round trip from Siam
Shuttle times: 5pm, 6pm and 7pm. Read more!

February 27th, 28th, and March 1st at Bangkok's Patravadi Theatre

The dates and venue for The Vagina Monologues in Bangkok have been confirmed. The show will go up
February 27th
February 28th and
March 1st
At the Patravadi theatre on the bank of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok. It's a beautiful venue for a historic performance, and we're really excited about it. See the Patravadi's own website for anything you might want to know about the venue, including how to get there. Or just click on "Read more" for quick directions. From Taksin BTS Station, exit at Exit 1 gate
Take Chao Praya Express boat from Taksin pier to Wanglang (Siriraj) Pier
From Wanglang Pier, turn left on Soi Wanglang (the Family Mart is at the corner of Soi Wanglang)
Walk about 600 metres, you will arrive at Patravadi Theatre.

Read more!

V-Day T-Shirts at Tomorrow's Creative Ministry Networking Event

V-Day Bangkok is taking part in a Bangkok networking party tomorrow, December 16th, in order to start raising awareness about our campaign, our upcoming events and, of course, The Vagina Monologues this February 2009!
The party is co-hosted by the Creative Ministry in Bangkok, organized by Zoe, who just happens to be one of our cast members in The Vagina Monologues. See the event invitation below. It's for a good cause other than our own*, but V-Day Bkk will be selling our first batch of limited-edition "The Vagina Monologues" T-shirts at the event. Come on out, support a good cause, and grab a T-shirt to raise awareness in style!

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This month the Creative Ministry joins other groups in our networking franchise to host a special Christmas-themed event @ Bangkok’s newest bar and club – Aura & Synergy.

Date: Tuesday 16th December 2008
Time: 19:00 until 2am
Location: Aura (Between Sukhumvit Soi 2 & Soi 4 - see map attached or click here: http://www.aurarestaurantbangkok.com/map.htm )

Parking: Car parking available outside the venue, in Raja's Hotel
Skytrain: Between Phloen Chit & Nana Stations

Entry deals:
B400 for entry which includes FREE DRINKS & FOOD until it runs out... So get there on time!

Who'll be there from Creative Ministry:
- Actors and Directors
- Advertising Agencies & Marketing Companies
- Feature Film, TV Commercial, Documentary or Music Video Production Houses
- Freelance Cameramen, Directors, Producers, Editors
- Musicians & Art Directors
- Magazine & Newspaper Editors, Writers & Scriptwriters
- Post Production & Animation Houses
- Journalists, TV Correspondents, VJs, Actors, Models & Casting directors

*Proceeds will go to support water purification projects for Thai schools.

See you soon! Read more!

Rock Concert in Bangkok Against Human Trafficking

The following is yesterday's press release from our partners, MTV EXIT, about their upcoming event to raise awareness and strengthen prevention of human trafficking, particularly of Burmese in Thailand, an especially at-risk population.

U.S. ROCKERS THE CLICK FIVE TO HEADLINE MTV EXIT CONCERT IN BANGKOK TO RAISE AWARENESS AND INCREASE PREVENTION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
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THAI ARTISTS POTATO, THAITANIUM, SLOT MACHINE AND BRAND NEW SUNSET JOIN BURMESE STARS PHYU PHYU, YA THA, SAW PHOE QUAR AND KYET PHA WHO WILL BE PERFORMING IN THAILAND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER

BANGKOK 26 November 2008 – MTV Thailand, the MTV Europe Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced a special MTV EXIT concert in Bangkok to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking. The event’s organisers are making a special effort to reach the Burmese migrant community in Thailand, a group at risk of trafficking and exploitation. The concert takes place at Parc Paragon on Sunday, 14 December.

Headlining the concert are US rockers The Click Five, winners of the Knockout Award at the 2008 MTV Asia Awards. Thai artists Potato, Thaitanium, Slot Machine and Brand New Sunset are supporting the campaign with performances at the concert.

These artists are joined by four Burmese stars – Phyu Phyu, Ya Tha, Saw Phoe Quar, and Kyet Pha – performing in Thailand for the first time.

The concert will reach out to the estimated 1 million Burmese migrants in Thailand to promote an understanding of trafficking issues and provide prevention information.

MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) is a project of the MTV Europe Foundation -- a London-based registered charity – to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking and exploitation. MTV EXIT in Asia is produced in partnership with USAID.

MTV EXIT has produced extensive programming and events in Europe and Asia to raise understanding about human trafficking. These have included documentaries presented by Angelina Jolie, Tata Young, Lucy Liu, Rain and other Asian celebrities, a music video collaboration with Radiohead, and multiple live concerts with artists including R.E.M. and Radiohead.

“We are thrilled and feel privileged to have been invited to participate in this exciting concert to help promote the MTV EXIT campaign in Thailand,” the members of The Click Five said. “The campaign to stop human trafficking addresses a fundamental human right that affects all members of our human race. We look forward to playing our music, meeting new friends and doing whatever we can to help in this important cause.”

"Music can be an incredible force for change and through this special concert and the other events that will be held across Asia, MTV EXIT will empower young people and their peers to combat trafficking," said Simon Goff, Campaign Director of MTV EXIT.

"On-the-ground events, like the ones we’re supporting in Bangkok, Phnom Penh and elsewhere in Asia, aim to break the cycle of trafficking," said USAID Mission Director Olivier Carduner. "By working with MTV, NGOs and governments throughout Asia, we can teach young people to protect themselves by learning to identify the tactics used by traffickers and those seeking to exploit."

MTV EXIT television programming is produced rights-free and free of charge for all broadcasters and organisations.
For more information, please contact:
Matt Love, MTV EXIT, +66 837 889 640, love.matt@mtvne.com

More Information:

MTV EXIT
The MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign is an award-winning multimedia initiative to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking and exploitation. MTV EXIT was launched in Europe in 2004, in partnership with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida, and expanded across Asia with USAID in 2007. To date MTV EXIT has produced many MTV documentaries and other programming on trafficking, including Traffic: An MTV EXIT Special, presented by Lucy Liu; Inhuman Traffic, presented by Angelina Jolie; over a dozen localized language versions presented by Asian celebrities; short films; public service announcements; and animation. MTV EXIT and Radiohead collaborated on an anti-exploitation video for their song All I Need, which premiered across MTV’s global network on 1 May 2008. MTV EXIT has also established partnerships with over 100 non-governmental organisations, distributed hundreds of thousands of anti-trafficking brochures in over 25 languages, and reached out to millions of young people through anti-trafficking messages at concerts and music festivals featuring R.E.M., Radiohead, The White Stripes, The Hives, Thievery Corporation, and hundreds of other international and local artists. For more information see www.mtvexit.org.

Human Trafficking
Human Trafficking is defined by the United Nations as "the recruitment, transportation, and receipt of a person for sexual or economical exploitation by force, fraud, coercion, or deception" in order to make a profit. The UN estimates that at any one time there are 2.5 million trafficked victims in the world, with the majority of these victims in Asia and the Pacific. It is the second-largest illegal trade after drugs, with criminal traffickers earning over US$10 billion every year through the buying and selling of human beings. Often, victims are young men and women – the MTV demographic – who are guilty only of wanting a better life.

MTV Europe Foundation
Launched in 2003, the MTV Europe Foundation is a UK-based charity (Reg. No. 1103267) whose overarching aim is to utilize and maximize the power of MTV’s network to educate youth and adults on critical social and human rights issues. The Foundation produces multimedia programming and events aimed at raising awareness and influencing attitudes and behaviors on key issues, as well as inspiring young people to take action. In addition, the Foundation seeks to support nongovernmental organizations that are working on the ground to address these issues and effect positive change.

USAID
USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, is an independent US government agency that receives foreign-policy guidance from the US Secretary of State. Since 1961, USAID has been the principal US agency extending assistance to countries worldwide recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia, based in Bangkok, oversees a broad portfolio of regional and transnational programs, and also provides support to several USAID bilateral missions in Asia. Its regional approach addresses problems that cross national boundaries, such as human and wildlife trafficking, HIV/AIDS, natural resources conservation, trade, and political and economic conflict. See www.usaid.gov and www.usaid.gov/rdma/ for more information..
Read more!

V-Day BKK Production Team

We'd like to take a minute at this point in the campaign to introduce you to ourselves:

As our director and de facto producer, Alanna is the driving force behind getting Bangkok's first production of The Vagina Monologues off the ground. She has a long history of involvement in V-Day and The Vagina Monologues, and as our production team continues to grow, and rehearsals get going, she'll be transitioning to dedicate a greater part of her energy to the direction side of things. She will, however, remain intimately involved in all fundraising efforts, especially in our kick-off and final events held in December and February respectively.

Chris has been an incredible force in getting the production on track, working with Alanna on putting together the press kit material and meeting and talking to women's organizations about partnerships. Chris organized the majority of our publicity efforts for auditions and managed all audition scheduling. He's also heading the organization of our January fundraiser party and has established key relationships with our performance venue, which will be announced shortly.

Matthew signed on about 3 weeks ago to the V-Day team and has hit the ground running, helping at auditions, starting and managing our blog and facebook group (V-Day in Bangkok), and planning our merchandising. He'll also be working on our efforts to help coordinate pre and post-V-Day discussions at universities in Bangkok and other outreach events.

We'll be needing to post more pictures and profiles soon, since our team has already doubled!

Read more!

Vagina Monologues 2009 Cast!

Casting is finished for Bangkok's first-ever official production of "The Vagina Monologues"!
We had an incredible turnout for auditions, which allowed us to put together a phenomenal cast, but also made making cuts an incredibly difficult process. Sadly, we weren't able to cast all the talented women who auditioned, but whether or not you were there, we would love to have you involved in the show. We have openings in publicity and PR, stage managing, and backstage work. If you are interested, please send us an email; we'd be honored to have you as a part of this historic campaign.
The production will be bilingual, with some monologues performed in Thai and others in English. Our first full cast meeting will be next Tuesday December 2nd at 7PM at DemocraZy Studio. Congratulations to all who made it, and we look forward to working with all of you!

Full Cast List:

Sunanda Sachatrakul
Sharai Lewis-Gruss
Pimphat Chutrakul
Pornkamol Akkararungsakul
Katherine Roberts
Naveeya Pumhiran
Caroline James
Zoe Popham
Mary Le-Gruen
Puthitorn Auethawornpipat
Mod
Amelia Salyers
Joanne Ryan
Sonoko Prow
Rita Stockhowe
Yvonne Novakowski
Annie Millard
Miu
Dusanee Promtan
Kim
Rupa Nolan
Isabelle Onians
Joanne Ryan

Alanna (director/producer), Chris (producer) and Matthew (production coordinator) Read more!