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A spot of culture at Christmas

A busy week for PILC

Burapha art students, teachers showcase prints at Central Festival

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A spot of culture at Christmas

The ladies of “World Without Men” conspire to rid the world of the male species.

Paul Strachan
Does Pattaya have a cultural side to it? This was the question posed a little over two years ago when a group of like minded individuals got together to form a small theatrical group called the Pattaya Players.

Mike Pence portrays a bumbling, gun-toting cowboy who is more clumsy than he is bright.
Now with eight performances under their belts, and with Christmas in mind, the troupe of amateur professionals staged their “Evening of Christmas One Acts”, the venue on this occasion was at the Lake Maprachan Resort, the first open air production for the company. This was taking something of a chance, especially given the way the weather has been playing up recently, however the skies remained clear as the actors took to the stage for their final production of 2009.
These evenings of ‘One Acts’ are something of a winning formula; in this case three short plays, staged back to back with a delicious buffet all for 700 baht.
The first play of the evening was an all female cast, appropriately entitled “A World without Men”, directed by Duane Hauch and the premise of which was the possibility that by the flick of a switch the world could be rid of all men. An interesting thought that had the females in the audience enthralled and the males raising an eyebrow at such a ludicrous idea.
One of the remarkable things about the Pattaya Players is how much talent is obviously abundant in and around town.
This show had many new ‘players including Maxine Watkinson playing the journalist Miss Wisper, Eva Johnson as Millet, Mrs Jones was excellently played by non Welsh woman Michelle Taylor, another new face was Yai Holbrook-Cull who played Mrs Brown and teenager Mary(Mickey) Stuart as the Miss Young who wondered who she could dance with if there were no men.
The cast also had a couple of familiar faces, namely Janet Schaefer as the uptight and upright Mrs Smith, Kavita Lamba as the woman who loses the only important male in her life – her dog - and the woman behind all this mischief, Karen Hendersen as Madame Pavel.

John Fishback and Jaisal Lamba share an intimate moment during “An Implausible Clause.”
It was a fun play that of course had a twist which thankfully brought down the male eyebrows with them turning to their partners as if to say – see I told you – crazy idea.
The next play, again directed by Duane, was a change in pace and subject as John Fishback and Jaisal Lamba (Kavita’s twelve year old son) were the only two actors in ‘An Implausible Claus’. John was utterly convincing as Aaron Lefkowitz, a telephone Santa Claus and a man who was somewhat jaded and in the autumn years of his life. Jaisal played Ja and his performance at such a young age was simply remarkable, not just the amount of lines he had to memorize but also in his delivery which was steadily paced and enhanced by his energy as he used most of the stage whilst John for the main part was seated.
Again this was a play with a lesson and one that could be related to by the audience: that we can all enhance each others lives, if we just take time to talk and share our experiences.
The atmosphere did an 180 degree turn for the final performance “Rollin in the Dough in Mistletoe”, this seeing the core of the Pattaya Players including director Ray Lightbown take on a rip-roaring comedy, which included some very questionable (intentionally) singing and slapstick humour.
Thor Halland played Rolland N. Dough with much gusto, with Wendy Khan as his tarty wife Sandy Claws and Clare Bryant as Holly Berry, Pattaya Player President Christopher Parsons as Mayor Hall, Foo Smith as Sheriff Evergreen and the star of the show Mike Pence as the bow legged cowboy Randolph.
This farce was set around the discovery of ‘Five Golden Rings’ – yes from the “Twelve days of Christmas”, this is where the singing came in. Young Jaisal was also prompting the audience with ‘Boo’ and ‘Hiss’ cards making this a fun filled play that had everybody laughing out loud.
Mounting these productions is no easy task; it involves willing directors, sourcing plays, holding auditions, weeks of rehearsals, liaising with the venue, costumes, lighting, music, sound effects, marketing but most of all a commitment & passion from all involved in taking these plays from the pages of a book and turning those words into moments of magic on the stage.
It also requires an audience, so does Pattaya have a cultural side? By the numbers in the audience and their wholehearted positive feedback, there is no question that Pattaya has evolved into a multi-cultural society with impassioned citizens that know that there is a whole lot more to Fun-City than first meets the eye.
Note: Pattaya Players will return in the spring with details announced on their website wwwpattayaplayers.org and in the Pattaya Mail

A busy week for PILC

Kavita Lamba
It has been a particularly busy week for Pattaya International Ladies Club with the annual Christmas lunch on Tuesday, Dec.1, which was held as usual at the Royal Cliff Hotel Ballroom, magnificently decorated with several ice sculpted reindeers and a giant edible Gingerbread House.
The day started out with something they just love, Christmas shopping! With a large array of venders on hand displaying their decadent, decorative and delightful wares to tempt, how could they resist?
Gillian Thom, president of the PILC then welcomed everyone to the event and introduced the energetic children of Baan Jing Jai Orphanage who had everyone up and singing along at a cracking pace to ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’. They were followed by the irresistibly cute preschoolers from Koh Pai Kindergarten dressed in boater hats and wriggling away in a wonderfully coordinated manner to a few tunes. Santa suddenly appeared with some sweets for the children who were then treated to lunch.
Gillian then invited everyone to tuck into the amazing variety of food that had been set up around the perimeters of the room. It was Christmas fare in abundance with dishes borrowed from all our native countries. After much consumption of food and wine the raffle draw was held raising a hefty 23,000 baht! This money will be used to go towards the Garunyawet Disabled Home visits and the Food Drop Program.
On Thursday, Dec. 3rd, PILC launched the reprint of the “Best Map of Pattaya” for 2010 at Café New Orleans, who also launched their new Italian Menu. The last edition has sold 2,000 copies and raised around 370,000 baht which has been used to enable PILC to support its existing charitable projects. The map has now been updated and includes some new sponsors. The map will be available in Bookazine bookstores and Best Supermarket for around 150 baht per copy, very good value for a map which covers Pattaya and Rayong in great detail.
PILC members get together twice a month for coffee and lunch, and as well as these social activities, they support a wide range of welfare projects in the area. There is also an extensive range of sports and social clubs within the group, including mah-jong, bowling, tennis, and crafts. Anyone wanting to join the group, or who would like more information about its various activities, should telephone Gillian Thom, President, on 081 7626003 or e-mail to pilc262@yahoo.com.

Burapha art students, teachers showcase prints at Central Festival

Pattaya Deputy Mayor, Wutisak Rermkitkarn (center-left), cuts the ribbon to officially open the exhibit at Central Festival Pattaya Beach.

Phasakorn Channgam
More than 100 works of printed art from teachers and students of Burapha University were showcased for five days late last month at the Central Festival Pattaya Beach.

The Deputy Mayor talks to the individual artists and inspects their work.
The 11th Burapha Printed Arts Exhibition, which ran from Nov. 24-28, featured various artworks selected on their unique aesthetic qualities and for the skill the artists used in composing their work.
Pattaya Deputy Mayor Wutisak Rermkitkarn opened the exhibition, hailing the outstanding quality of the prints and saying that they should stimulate discussion among the general public. The exhibition, he added, shows that Thai artwork compares favorably with similar works from other countries.

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