EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
How it Flows:
Initially we get together in the south of Thailand and begin to get to know each other as we create and perform our fund raising shows on Ko Phan Gan and Samui Islands. Then, we will travel and meet in Bangkok to do some group prep and shopping together for a couple of days. From there we travel by bus to Chiang Mai for some performances in fancy hotels. After a hugely successful showing there, we will continue on to Mae Sot for our work with the refugee and migrant kids!
Mae Sot is a diverse community in the north west of Thailand, on the Burmese border. Many refugee camps are located nearby, and it is the base for many migrant schools and orphanages established to help the Burmese and hill tribe children who have fled from oppression, war and desperate poverty in Burma. We will work with these kids and their families, as well as the local Thai community and schools.
When we first arrive in Mae Sot we will get settled, begin work on developing workshops, group games, and group acts for the opening and finale. We will build toys for the kids, and develop our teamwork, assigning the initial positions for the upcoming week. After three days of prep, we begin with the children.
What a typical day looks like…
There is no typical day! It always changes! But here is an example of what we generally do when working with the kids:
- 7-8 AM wake, breakfast
- 9 AM stretching or yoga as a group
- 10-11 AM personal prep time
- 11 AM- group prep time and packing the trucks
- 11:30/12 PM ish leave to the schools/orphanage, or camp
- 12:30-1 PM set up at the school site
- 1 PM perform day show
- 130-2 PM group games
- 2-3:30 PM ish play shops and activities
- 3:30 PM clean up and pack
- 4 PM return to base
- 5 PM snack or dinner or rest
- 6 PM prepare costumes and toys for night show
- 6:30 PM leave to show
- 7 PM show
- 8 PM return home
- 8:30 PM meal, practice, private time
Every few days we will have a day off, where we can sleep in, go to the pool for a swim, visit a waterfall, do some workshops together, prepare group acts, see the sites of the town and have a nice dinner out!
And here is an example of the kind of jobs all the members of the team will be assigned to do on a rotational basis:
- Truck packing
- Workshop coordinator
- Group games coordinator
- Dipping site and fuel supply
- Timekeeper
- First aid/health
- Face paint
- Day show manager
- Night show manager
- Group meeting leader
- Safety team
- Cleaning
- Music/sound
- MC/Compare
- Communications
- Supply shopping
Each week we will be working for two days with the kids, and, then having a team day ,which means we will be spending half a day personal time( sleep in, hang out, whatever) , and half a day working as a team on team projects ( group performance rehearsals, toy making, etc) . Then we continue like that, two days with the kids, one team day and so on over the course of the time in Mae Sot. We will throw in the odd day completely off as needed.
There is always more demand then we can fill, so if you want to go perform or play with kids in your down time, it can easily be arranged! And for the trips to the more remote refugee camps we will be spending some time just traveling to get there…
So, that should give you a general idea of what we will be doing.
