WEDA Presents...

Over two months, a group of 6 Burmese women living in Thailand and I (a Canadian woman) developed a piece of theatre. Each woman had come to Thailand at a different time and for a different purpose, but all were involved in some way with the Burmese organization where I worked. Some were teachers, one a seamstress, one worked in a shop. They all shared being Burmese, and female, in Thailand. It is from these similarities that they developed the trust to explore their differences and unique stories.
We began without a strict agenda. The table was left open for the women to write about what was on their minds, rather than the issues that perhaps I was most interested to learn about. It is always both more truthful and interesting to listen to what people will say when you give them the opportunity to speak on their own rather than to prompt a voice that a speaker does not have a need to express.
The piece was written in part collaboratively, as the shared situation of being a Burmese Woman in Thailand provided a supportive outlet for exploration for the women. Other stories are unique to the individual woman. Some scenes were written on paper, and others were written while being improvised on their feet. The collage of the scenes explore what life is like now for this group of women, and includes the imbedded influence of their pasts in Burma, as well as the interaction of their future hopes with their present lives. The play was performed for office staff and community members.
This play was written with much dedication and hard work, in English. I believe this demonstrates these women’s willingness and immense effort to communicate their stories with a larger audience. There are stories existing in the lives of every person in Burma, and the current situation in Burma makes it nearly impossible for these stories to escape. Some stories do – by illegal border crossings and dangerous passages on the part of those who carry these stories. A smaller percentage of these stories manage a longer life-span, should the carrier have the courage and be in a position to tell their story. As listeners, I believe we must undertake a responsibility at this point to use our voices to carry on this momentum.

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Examples of some of my favourite scenes are:
1. Police Scene (being caught without identification cards... This scene was done 3 times, with different endings)
2. Drunk Boyfriends
3. Reluctantly Eating Thai Food
4. Demonstrating how to sew a Burmese blouse
5. Travelling the world
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