Forums > Events, Performances and Gatherings > thailand circus for refugee camps-- need volunteers!

Posted: 1st Oct 2007
Hey sounds like a blast.
Super stuff you are doing.
Come on folks, support the Burmese people!

Best of luck to you all.

Matt x

Posted: 1st Oct 2007
Well, I can't do it at the moment, but after sept 2008 it would be a real possibility... The website doesn't seem to have any up to date info on it however...

Sounds amazing!

Live like there is no tomorrow,
dance like nobody is watching
and hula hoop like wiggling will save the world.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Posted: 2nd Oct 2007
Hi ya! Prickyleaf, the website is not going to get more up to date info, as the situation will likely be in flux right up until we go ahead and do it! The refugee camp situation is volatile( I explained a bit of that in another thread I think? One on Myanmar?) , and access is unpredictable, often restricted. So we will just go ahead, gather in my place early Jan, train, prepare, and hope it all goes ahead to perform and workshop in the last two weeks of Jan. It was down to the wire in the same way both previous years... Yet worked out beautiully for all involved.

So just contact me if you are intereted, and we will go from there!

Thanks to those who have expressed interested, wow, what a group!
love ya
A

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 2nd Oct 2007
Oh wow I would have _loved_ to have partaken in this! But at this stage i'm training a new employee who will be taking over my position at work in the first two weeks of January

Hope it all goes well!

ॐ

Owner of burningoftheclavey
Owned by Lost83spy

Posted: 9th Oct 2007
so it's all official, i just booked my flight! i'm really looking forward to helping with this project.

taken out of context i must seem so strange
~ ani di franco

Posted: 10th Oct 2007
oh man! I wish I could do this, sometimes I curse taking the education route

Posted: 10th Oct 2007
ohhhh, wish it was during this summer so I could've helped out!

Chances are i'll be over here in the US in school though. Spread some cheer among the locals at Pai for me - and the kids are amazing! I taught a bunch at Pajee Wang Dang and sankampaeng near Chiang Mai and Sapoeng up north.

Much love Andrea <3

To do: More Firedrums 08 video?

Wildfire/US East coast fire footage

LA/EDC glow/fire footage

Fresno fire

Posted: 20th Oct 2007
Been answering pms, thanks for your interest you guys! yay! Thought I would post one respnse here, for general info...

-----

as for how much money you need, oh, so hard to say! Everyone lives to different standards while travelling. If you dont mind sleeping on my floor for a few weeks, and cooking your own food in my kitchen, well expenses would be minimal, like maybe 200 baht a day. If you want a proper bed, privacy, drinks and or drugs, and some sight seeing or shopping, you could get as high as 1000 baht a day, or hell, more even. Everyone is so different. I would look up some thai travel sites on the web and ask other travellers their budgets. Bring your own toys and costumes etal for performance, as we will have a minimal budget to supplement those aspects...

I can not even guess yet exactly how many people involved, somewhere between ten and thirty?I have not placed a limit on it, and am not resticting involvement to professionals, though performances may be. Non professionals may play many other crucial and fun roles in the project though! Local Haad Tien people always get involved, so we shall see...

All different skills to offer. I do want some, er, lots of, semi/or professionals in place, so things flow and we have a killer show to offer, but aalso want to focus on the heart of the project, which is called " Laughter for Life" So also just want people who bring joy and work well with children, who are caring and fun and innovative. We do this for all of us, the performers and the kids, and the other refugees too... I want a range of circus skills, everything from clowning to poi to acrobatics, to hoop... skills to show kids, skills to teach kids, people with games ad jokes and songs amusing in any language. Performers who can work with the minimum, and make it brilliant...

A side note: FYI-0-Some people already confirmed are asking questions about vaccinations and stuff. They are in this case a good idea as there are sometimes cholera and typhoid in the camps. we wont be bunking there, but due to contact as we do workshops, we should be protected as much as possible...

Fun, inspiration, Laughter for life... come and join us!

and drag the guys and gals from chimera and burnt toast with ya... hug back at you
a

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 23rd Oct 2007
I so wish i could go can't afford to take 2 weeks off from work...
*stupid day job*

Posted: 7th Nov 2007
So, a wee bump and update.. got lots of cool people involved, thanks! Still would like a few more, so jump in and participate... I particularly need a couple more good at general silliness and buffoonery...


Good news, have a contact that can with certainty get us access to some of the refugee camps in the north, despite the current kerfuffles and chaos there.

Perhaps not Mae La, the largest, but many of the smaller ones, which could be good, the thought of an audience of 15000 at Mae La was kinda freakin me out! Looks like we may end up up working closely with a great Thai NGO, The Mirror Arts Foundation... They can help direct our efforts to the most needed places, and perhaps assist with translation and transportation, other useful stuff too. Yay!

So, we will be on the road quite a bit, south and north...

More good news, some fabulous people experienced in working in Khao Lak, using circus skills to help with psycological rehabilitation of the children after the tsunami, are helping out! Yay! To what extent I dont know yet, will find out when one of the guys, Steve Groh, gets back from a program in Nepal, and we can talk and hopefully stabilize the plan there.

Money plans fall into place, toy and art supply donations are getting there slowly but surely... wow! Wow wow wow, this is going to be amazing!

I am in mad organization phase, crunching numbers... so dont leave it to the last minute to participate in any way, get a hold of me now, so I can fit you in and balance the big picture... organizational acrobatics! It should be a show...

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 9th Nov 2007
still observing flights......can only do it spontaneously as i have applied for several jobs in berlin.......so if i get a job i cant come....if i dont get one i will come...........but we have to wait and see..........much love to you.......btw shall i send you the dvd????

peace and love,
kisses


tina

- Ho Sa -
kisses & peace & love to beautiful madges
*rever le temps le prendre*

Posted: 9th Nov 2007
thanks sweetheart, will send ya a pm tomorrow when I have more computer time!

At this stage, things are really flowing well, and I can see the plan taking cleaer shape, very exciting. A major resort in Samui is hosting the fundraising show, we have a spectacular locatin and hopefully a huge crowd of monied supporters!

More soon...
love you
a

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 10th Nov 2007
Heh Darl
If I cant make the actual camp - purhaps I can help with the Fundraising at least. When is it?

Feel the Flame
Phirenix

Posted: 10th Nov 2007
Fundaiser is at Tamarind Springs Resort, Ko Samui, on January 11th... It should be quite a big community event! Gorgeous location, check it out online... The other nights are less formal, on Ko Phan Gan. Probably the 9th, and 10th... one at Sanctuary, the other I am debating between two locations and undecided...

Come come! The Samui one will give you lots of connections re performing in Thailand for the places with money-- two agents will be participating and helping set it up, all the hotel owners will be there, etc etc... a good opportunity to profile in a positive way!

More to update this thread tomorrow!

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 11th Nov 2007
People asking for more details... here is an edited copy of something I wrote for one of the foundations we may end up working with... it has all the info in one place, at least the parts of it that are confirmed. The rest is still developing in terms of specifics, but the schedule comes into shape soon!

Still need people, so join in!
***************************************************
Mission Possible: Laughing for Life!!

THE IDEA

The Laughing for Life Circus is an idea that my friend Glenna( a long term resident of Haad Tien Beach Ko Phan Gan) began a few years ago to creatively support disadvantaged children and spread some happiness around... She has gone off merrily traveling, and this year I am the frolic and festivity organizer... It will be the third trip we do, the previous two were in 2004 and 2005 . The first for me though! You can see some of the pictures of past shows on the website for our little fundraising art cafe in the jungle: www.dokbua.org...

Our philosophy is simple : Mission Possible: bring some laughter and joy everywhere you go! We want to help ensure that children in disadvantaged environments also get their Play needs met-- that's why we call it Laughing for Life. Laughter and Play are absolutely essential for children!

WHO WE ARE

This year the Laughing for Life Circus has ten to fifteen incredible circus/fire performers from all over the world gathering in Thailand in January 2008 . The first two weeks we will spend on Ko Phan Gan and Samui, training, making toys , putting the show together , performing fundraising events locally, and arranging the logistics for travel etc. Then we go to Khao Lak to work and play there, and after that, north/north west to offer our play services to schools, refugee camps and hill tribe villages in that area.We have about a week to ten days in each region.

We have highly qualified performers that do break-dance, fire dance( with poi, candles, fans , staff and hula hoop) , acro-balance, juggling, stilt-walking and more... We will be doing face painting for the kids, balloon animals, and mask making, and offer fun, playful workshops in various circus skills.

PROJECT PLAY-
Practical Considerations:


If transportation and basic accommodation ( floor space with mats, home-stays etc )would be great!) can be offered within each locale, it would make things much much easier. It would also keep our costs down so more is available to donate! We can get ourselves there for sure, and may have one van rented to transport our gear. All the performers are prepared to pay for basic guesthouse accommodation and food for the duration of the project if need be, but would love to be personally connected with the families and villagers for at least part of the time !

PLAYTIME!

Workshops can be done for groups of different amounts- maybe say no more than thirty in one group for teaching, but larger groups for play sessions... again, we can be flexible on how we work this. The performers are experienced in teaching their respective skills, though this will be the first time for some of them to try it in a place where they dont speak English! But Play is a pretty much universal language, and some of our performers do speak Thai. We can work with school -aged children of all age groups, with activities to interest both genders. What we do is intended to be fun and inspirational, and though structured, not particularly formal. Very lighthearted , but stimulating and challenging physical play skills for the kids. Depending on what is best for the location, we can offer one off, single day fun workshops, or can do ones that build skills over a couple of days working with the same group of kids. Again, we are open to the needs and wishes of the various camps and schools in this regard.

SHOWTIME!

We can do performances for any size audience, all ages, and just need a fairly large( ideally more than 20 ft square) flat area with no flammable things overhead and either a high, or better yet, no ceiling... we can adapt the show to any size of the performance area available though, and work with a variety of" stages". Optimally it would be great if there is a sounds system/pa of some sort available, as we will be bringing a small stereo but it wont carry far enough for larger crowds. We would be grateful if lamp oil and torches to line the edges of the dance area can be provided for night shows, but can buy our own and bring it if that is not possible. We will also have some glow toys to perform with for spots when we can not use fire. I have some video clips of some of the performers acts if anyone is interested in checking that out!

The intent of the performances is pure entertainment and inspiration, an enjoyable magical night! We are a silly playful fire circus, with professional and semi professional performers making time and collaborating just for this project, not a professional crew with a massive budget on a world tour or anything! lol... I wish...


TOYS GALORE!

We are raising money through performances on Ko Phan Gan( Sanctuary resort) , and Samui( Tamarind Springs Resort) , to buy art supplies and toys to donate to the children. Also, so far three companies have offered toy donations : HomeofPoi, Flowtoys, and Juggling Plus...Don't know how much will be raised overall yet, as the major shows are in January... We aim to have at least a thousand little art packs, and a variety of Play kits( poi, hula hoops and juggling stuff) to donate . This can be distributed best through the schools , and we are happy to take the teachers recommendation re what toys and art supplies they need. In the past our little art kits consisted of simple things: pens, pencils, paper, erasers, crayons, stickers, etc... The teachers can let us know what they use, and we can get that specifically for them. (Supplies for our workshops will be provided by us.)

****************************************************************************************

Whew. Thats a lot of info! I hope not too much. Just wanted to give you a sense of who we are and what we want to do.


Mission Possible!




Cheers, smiles and laughter...
Andrea

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 17th Nov 2007
Hey lovely.....things are looking up as far as making it over for this goes but i shall keep thee posted!
Hope all is yummy where you are at the moment!!

Posted: 18th Nov 2007
*daily bump*

Hey, sounds all lovely. I might be too entangled here in Goa (with my mum and friends visiting and all), I'll contribute and hope everything is working out wellST!

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 18th Nov 2007
Yay Miss Maus! I really really hope it works out, and let me know how I can help make sure it does.

It looks like we will be staying in some of the villages and farms with the hill tribes and near the refugee camps in the north, so again that should help keep costs minimal... I am sure we can find enough to feed a Maus!

Oh, and apparently there is a handsome swede who may be in the vivinity around this time, and a handsome vagoabondy Canadian sort... all rumours will be confirmed as soon as plane tickets are ( or are not) lol

But seriously people, I still need around three pro performers to fill out the team. Come on, do it! Get in touch with me...

Those of you who have, Thanks. If you have been in touch, but not yet confirmed, pm or email me asap to let me know definitively either way. Press and promo stuff goes out this week, and I need to have an accurate description of what we have to offer...

thanks!
love ya
a

hi tom, come anyways, and bring yer mom ;p

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 21st Nov 2007
A handsome swede eh? Tellhim a cornish Maus says Smiska mig langsammt och voldsammt.;)

Will be doing my best to get there, about to start up my own bar in Kampong som when I get back so I could probably use the holiday by then!
*crosses fingers*

Posted: 21st Nov 2007
*Crosses fingers, toes and legs, and braids hair too... ;P*

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 21st Nov 2007
What are the proposed dates for these shows?

What if I should fall right through the centre of the Earth and come out the other side where people walk upside-down?!

Posted: 22nd Nov 2007
Hi Eveish! The fundraiser shows are on the 9th tenth and eleventh of Jan 2009. The circus project, shows workshops, donations, activities etc. run until start of february...

Pm me if you need more info, but most is in this thread somewhere!
smiles
a

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 28th Nov 2007
Hey there. Only seeing this thread now...

I live in a world of infinite possibilities.

Posted: 30th Nov 2007
James! I thought I emailed you ages ago!

Please come, I would so love to have you join us... Pm me, lets make it happen! You would love some of the amazing drummers involved. We are doing a drum worksho at one school too, with found objects sort of thing, but the teacher is an amazin wicked drummer.

Eveish, can you come? I really need a hoop person, and a couple more women in general. ( still need three more performers) The ones I had lined up are having a hard time finding reasonable fares from australia.

Anyone have tips on where to get good deals from there to here?

Looks like we have some brilliant schools/programs to work with, little places that never get such events. Off the beaten track to be sure, and all the more wonderful to be able to bring them such joy and fun. I am really happy with how things come together!
smiles
a

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 10th Dec 2007
er . Hey, Women,females, girls... whatever... Laaaadies.... where are ya?

Do you have any idea how many gorgeous, I mean gorgeous , talented smart compassionate sexy men are involved in this project??!!!Yeesh, it is ridiculous, I could make millions off a Calendar. ( now wait a minute, maybe I just figured out how to fund next years project... )

and then as far as females actually coming for the teaching workshops portion of events bit, well, there is er, just me. Me and like ten, amazing hot male fire performers and ultra astounding breakdancers from all over the world...

yikes. I am a lucky one. But still...

Seriously, I need some females! We dont want the kids to think it is just a guy thing to do. Women need to demonstrate their arts too...

Ma'tina girl, get your butt over here!Dont miss this!

I may drown in testosterone... sniffle, please save me...

*****

UPDATE:

So, we have some fascinating places to go. Working with some inspiring amazing projects for kids: School- for -Life, Child LIfe, The Mirror Arts Foundation, and Help Without Frontiers. You can check out their incredible work on line. Support them if you can, they need help. I am so glad someone is helping these children. Some of the challenges they face are just incredible. So we do what we can, and these people do it well. Getting them off the streets, out of the jungle wars, away from the sex trade...

So we will be two weeks teaching and performing with these groups in Chiang Mai, Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, and Mae Sot.
Intense. Exciting, it all comes together well.

And the good news for some of you wondering, yes, it does look like we now will be able to get passes into the Burmese refugee camps. Yes!!! Thanks to Maestro for linking us up to some people who can make that happen. It is important to me cause it is access to the greatest number of kids in one place at one time. I find it so hard to imagine the limitations of their lives there. If we can offer a little Fairy dust magic, light some dreams afire, well, it is a good place to start!

Whew. What a lot of amazing things to do...


The big fundraiser, FLAME will be a wild night, cabaret style. Interactive, outdoors, gorgeous natural setting, chill out area, uv reactive stage area, drum jam circle, trapeze... sky is the limit that night.

I do have females for that one, thank goodness... yay!It is a line up that will set everyones imaginations on fire to be sure, it should be amazing!!!! Tamarind Springs Resort, Jan 11th, Ko Samui. Be there, or be... er, well. Somewhere else ?

lol
love ya
a

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 12th Dec 2007
NOTICE:

Everyone who wants to be part of the project that is going into the Burmese refugee camps need to confirm their participation with me, and get me there details and a copy of their passport, visa and travel documents this week...



Yes! We can get in, and it will likely be the portion of time the 27th of Jan to the beginning of February.

So email me to find out what is requirred, and I will get a fax number where things can be sent to. Needs to be done quick, so dont hesitate.

The reason this bit is a bit serious is simply that I can not ask for permits for people who may or may not be there, this section has to be definate and organized, as the burocracy is major, and it is not easy to get access to these places . We need to treat it with full respect and professionalism. I can have people drop in on other parts of the project, but not this bit.

Confirm

Big smiles
a

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."

Posted: 19th Dec 2007

 Written by: BansheeCat


I may drown in testosterone... sniffle, please save me...

*throws a rescue line with herself attached to the other end*




See you there sweetheart!

Posted: 21st Feb 2011
I want to do this.... Is this program still active? If so, is it offered in the summer?