Poyd In ChingRoyChingLan 3-16-10

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La Cage Aux Folles กินรีสีรุ้ง

La Cage Aux Folles in Thai musical. Starring by Jame Reangsak. The performance will be held Wednesday May 19 to Sunday May 30, 2010. Total round Peformances : 14 Rounds. At Muangthai Rachadalai Theatre. Don't Miss!!

More details click www.thaiticketmajor.com/performance/la_cage_aux_folles_eng.php

Wattina in The Nation Newspaper about review dance theater

Watch the bubble
By PAWIT MAHASARINAND
SPECIAL TO THE NATION
Published on March 12, 2010

ngual talk overshadows the universal language of dance, but 'Truth' is told
The Ministry of Truth" - with its commentary on the TV reality-show culture typified by "Big Brother" - was a triumph for Israeli choreographer Nir De Volff and Ido Portal and Elik Niv of his Berlin-based Total Brutal Dance Company.

All three have been in residence at Patravadi Theatre since late December thanks to the Goethe Institut Thailand and coordinator Jitti Chompee.

The final performance last Saturday of the show they created demonstrated just how much can be accomplished.

The Israeli director created a strong, six-member ensemble - his compatriots along with Thais Lerwit "On" Sungsit, Amata "June" Piyawanich, Rachanikara Kaewdee and Theerawat "Tina" Thongmitr.

De Volff knows how to use his performers to the fullest effect, in accordance with the message and the style of the performance, such as Leng's acrobatics and On's musical skills.

Assembled like "house guests" in a reality-show-style bubble - in this case the Ministry of Truth, complete with pool, ping-pong table and showers - the cast members used their real names and mocked how exhibitionistic truth is sold on television - as well as how much we love watching it.

The performance would have been wilder and had bigger appeal for the Bangkok audience if De Volff had done some research on "Academy Fantasia", which is quite different from "Big Brother".

Interestingly enough for a performance billed as dance theatre, the messages were conveyed mostly through bilingual dialogue and English narration, not physical movement, and herein lies a problem.

When the Thais were together, they spoke Thai, and when the Israelis shared a scene, they spoke English. The problem was that almost half the audience was expatriates who knew little Thai, while the Thai viewers weren't that strong in English.

Besides, English was the second language for all of the performers, so sometimes the lines weren't spoken realistically. Add to that a flawed sound system and many viewers were struggling to understand.

The result - attention being drawn to other performers elsewhere - reminded me of reality-TV producers using split screens to watch the action in different places simultaneously.

Otherwise, the audience waits until some conflict arose so they could witness some nifty and invigorating dance choreography, with vibrant live music by Suriya Phuengthongthai on an electric guitar in front of the stage.

This, again, mimicked viewers' anticipating the impromptu fights that break out on TV, especially among characters with opposite traits who are bound to collide in such a confined space.

The show's 55-minute running time also made it feel like a TV programme, and limited the time needed to get to know the characters.

Important issues, like the Thai sex industry and homosexuality, were touched upon, but never addressed in detail. Once again, it's like TV, not life - one of the reasons people these days have abbreviated attention spans. We're more interested in short-lived excitement and simulated truth than long-lasting meaning.

Nok Yollada in The Nation Newspaper

The parts of a woman
By Paisarn Likhitpreechakul
Special to The Nation
Published on March 5, 2010

Flawed strategies emerge on a TV debate about 'transgender woman'

Whether you agree with her or not, former Miss Alcazar "Nok" Yollada deserves thanks for raising important questions in a recent TV debate on "transgender women" that became the talk of the nation.

What makes a woman? "One is not born a woman, but becomes one," Simone de Beauvoir famously proclaimed, even if the Thai word phet makes no distinction between her anatomical or social origin.

Society defines womanhood and decides who fits the role, but the question is how.

Is being born with female genitalia requisite? Nature won't be so easily categorised, and people are born with the genitals of both sexes, or neither, more often than you might think.

In fact, any of the presumed "female" characteristics - vagina, ovaries, breasts, menstruation, XX chromosomes, oestrogen, the ability to get pregnant - can be absent in a woman, whether by birth, age, design, medical procedure or accident.

This contrariness makes a precise definition of a female elusive, as in last year's case of South African athlete Caster Semenya.

If physical categorisation is far from being clear-cut, a mental classification is nebulous. There have always been those who feel they're women trapped in men's bodies or vice versa, and it's not "all in their minds". A recent study suggests that transgenderism has at least some genetic components.

What is defined by society can thus be redefined by society, according to changing times and circumstances. It wasn't that long ago when women had little chance of financial or personal independence.

They broke free and, just like these born-female rebels, there are born-male converts - the so-called transgender women.

Nok Yollada knew she was meant to be a woman and, not content to merely cross the gender line, she fully became one with the help of sex-reassignment surgery. She is now, anatomically too, a female.

She's not just a transgender, but more specifically a transsexual, and she also has a lofty vision. She hopes that all post-operation transgenders will one day be accorded the rights of women, most importantly the right to legal recognition as such

For her clear sense for equality, she has my respect. I can't say the same for some transgenders in the TV debate whose beliefs are self-defeating. One even said the movement's political focus should remain on issues like HIV/Aids and "youth castration", rather than quality and legal recognition.

Unfortunately, Yollada had two serious flaws in her argument.

First, she spectacularly failed to explain why legal recognition is important. Not having legal documents to match your new gender (such as a national ID card for the bank or a passport while travelling) is a big problem.

Viewers might have been forgiven for assuming she was asking to be called "Miss" only to win social acceptance - or to stoke her ego.

Second, Yollada will get nowhere basing her argument on a World Health Organisation classification that lists transsexualism among psychological disorders. She'll be seen not as a woman but as mentally ill.

The WHO's diagnosis of these "gender identity disorders" has a price tag in term of stigma and discrimination that not all transgenders are willing to pay.

The WHO definition is trouble. It's partly designed to offer trans people in developed countries the hope or expectation of subsidised gender-based healthcare, especially sex-reassignment surgery.

But if transgenderism is really a psychiatric condition, it could be argued that it should be treated with psychiatric drugs. Sex-reassignment surgery, people could then say, would leave the root of the condition untreated and maybe even make it worse.

Basing her argument on conflicting medical opinions rather than solid principles of human rights, Yollada also opened herself to attack by the guest physician, a cytologist who wasn't necessarily an expert on sexuality. The doctor insisted that gender is determined only by sex chromosomes.

Again, remember Caster Semenya.

By then it was too late for Yollada to denounce the WHO classification, which is already losing ground. France last month became the first country to de-list transgenderism as a mental disorder.

Undoubtedly, many countries will follow suit, and then the WHO, as it did with homosexuality in 1992.

When that happens, what will the effect be on Thai transgenders? This is an interesting question, and we'll return to it next week.

Trans Female Association of Thailand

Nok Yollada leader of Trans Female Association of Thailand (changed from Transgender Woman of Thailand that I posted for a while) This is a big topic in Thailand after Nok interview in Woody Talk. Now Nok do new website for TF http://www.tf101.com/
For me this is the right thing to do in Thailand to give some knowledge in this country. Mr., Mrs. or Ms.? maybe soon to let people who have had a sex change officially alter their title and right authority too.


More Nok Yollada's Video Click!

With Love Poster

Nice Poster !

Devils & Divas Comedy Concert

Devils & Divas Comedy Concert / 2 rounds : Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 April 2010. / Royal Paragon Hall.
Divas are Tu Nantida, Amp Saowalug, Tuk Viyada
Devil are Mum Laconic, Opal and Arpaporn
The concert will be held Wednesday March 17, 2010.
At Royal Paragon Hall 2. Don't miss!!

Venue Royal Paragon Hall
Location Siam Paragon Shopping Center Rama 1 Rd; Phathumwan
Show Date : 2 rounds
Date Time
Saturday April 3, 2010. 7.00 P.M.
Sunday April 4, 2010. 7.00 P.M.

Gate Open Approx. 30 minutes before show start.
Public Sale From Saturday February 27, 2010 onward
At Distribution Chanel
(On 1st day open sale at 10.00 AM.)
www.thaiticketmajor.com
More picture on Facebook fanpage

With Love (ด้วยรัก) new Poyd's movie

Poyd in new Thai Romantic Drama movie 'With Love (Duay Rak)' with Tol AF4 from 96Film same company from the lasest Poyd's movie. For me this is a cheap movie for me sorry to say that. Hope Poyd with got a great movie soon^^'.
www.withlovemovie.com

Lukpad in Nong Mai Rai Borrisut

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If truth be told

'The Ministry of Truth' is a theatre satire of the TV reality show 'Big Brother'
Published: 3/03/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Outlook

Although its grandest mission, Fringe Festival 2010, recently lowered its curtain last month, the renowned Patravadi Theatre continues to maintain its reputation as a space where international artists and locals meet. And this week, Tel-Aviv-born artist Nir de Volff will offer local audiences his directing skills in physical theatre with a live performance of The Ministry of Truth.

Hailing from Berlin, where he is now based, De Volff's company Total Brutal is widely known on the international performing art scene for its outrageous and aggressive choreography that combines physical expression and body contact to create intensity and strong energy for the characters on stage. For this production in Bangkok, De Volff said he has been in Thailand since December to create a workshop to search for local dancers capable of performing in his style.

''It has been almost three months since I arrived in Thailand. I first started by hosting a workshop with Thai dancers. The workshop was well accepted as we had 45 people registered,'' said De Volff.

To accompany two male performers from Israel, de Volff selected three performers though his workshop. However, his idea before landing in the City of Angels was to have a chance to include the character of a ladyboy in his work.

''At the end of the workshop, we had a talented male actor who works in a theatre in Bangkok, a female dancer and a male acrobatic dancer, together with the two Isrealis. Then we organised a meeting with ladyboys to search for a special one with a unique character, not one of those who is always out in clubs and only cares for Chanel,'' he said, laughing.


''Then, during the meeting with a few ladyboys, we found Tina. She is a graphic designer and she can act. So, she is not a typical ladyboy, in that sense. On the other hand, she is a normal human being.''

During an exclusive interview with Theerawat Thongmitr, or Tina, she revealed that she was slightly hesitant in the beginning, wondering if her character would turn out to portray ladyboys negatively.

''I find this chance a challenge, but at first I wasn't sure if I'd made the right choice. But the character in this show allowed me to be myself and I can say that it is not just another show with a katoey character,'' she explained.

Although the inspiration of the show derived from the TV reality show Big Brother, its title, The Ministry of Truth (changed from the working title ''On Air''), rather came from George Orwell's novel 1984, in which the term Big Brother also features as a character of a totalitarian government.

''I only take the style, the familiar setting from the Big Brother TV show, but the content of my work is the opposite. It is closer to the idea of war and peace in George Orwell's book,'' he said.

With performers from Thailand and Israel, the key messages in this piece are in dialogues that touch on controversial issues of freedom and war, gender and cultural clashes. Living under the same roof in The Ministry of Truth are six housemates trapped in voluntary incarceration, in which they share exchanges and express their emotions physically through choreographic movement and verbally through brain-tickling conversations.

''Metaphorically, the process of watching this show is like getting drunk then you get hit in your face. As for my own impression, I see the direction of art here is on the same nice level. So here I am offering a different kind of show, something real and open for an argument,'' De Volff concluded.

Through special coordination by the producer of the show, Jitti Chompee, who is also veteran dancer and choreographer, 'Outlook' was given a brief background of the project, as well as exclusive photographs during rehearsal and a sneak peak for the shows.



''I do believe that there are many gifted Thai dancers and artists out there. And what I can do is find a way to offer them inspirational performances from overseas, instead of the typical commercial shows,'' said Jitti, who received loud applause last year for his choreography for a contemporary dance performance of Carmen.

''Thanks to Goethe-Institut Bangkok and Patravadi Theatre, I could continue bringing artists to stage a good show for audiences. And this special work by De Volff is definitely not to be missed,'' Jitti added.

The Ministry of Truth’ will be staged at Patravadi Theatre from 6 to 8pm on March 5 and 6. Tickets are 400 and 200 baht (students), available at www.totalreservation.com or on 02-833-5555. For modern dance enthusiasts, director Nir de Volff will hold a special contemporary dance workshop on March 6 from 2 to 5pm; visit www.patravaditheatre.com for more information.

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