Entering the last week

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Monday February 16

Annemarie was a bit worried about the effect the session with the Minister and the Secretary of State might have had on the actresses. She remebered how three years ago they were getting very insecure about the play and their type of acting a few days before the opening night. And then we did'nt even have a meeting like the one now at the Ministry with the Secretary of State telling them how they should play curtain texts. So she asked them what their feelings were about all this. 

And luckily they could not have been more positive. A lot has happened with them between three years ago and now. They absolutely recognize that is acting is valid. And they are embracing the work. Maybe the fact that it is so completely different from the style they have been taught at their theatre school: big gestures, extreme facial expression and a one dimensional type of acting which is linked to the classical dancing and acting out of ancient myths. The simpel telling type of acting Annemarie works with is so very different from this, that it is like learning a foreign language and at the same time keeping your own language. The two won't bite each other.

For the rest the stage has been built. 

The visual artists are sowing ricebags together. We have seen that on many ricebags is written 'Thailand', not really the greatest friend of Cambodia so we have to spray paint to wipe all of that out.

Alan, the miracle technicion, from Singapore has arrived and he has assembled our sound set and he thinks it's a really good one. He is buying the speakers. 

Tomorrow we hopefuly have the generator and that will really be a great moment when we hear their voices amplified. This will of course mean a lot of redirecting the quality of their voices.

Yesterday we went for our once in a production party for three hours on a boat on the Mekong and the Ton Lesap river. Everybody about 25 of us. Lots of food and drinks as always. It was great! We left at 5 o'clock PM. Sunset on the river, all gentle people, everybody happy.

Today interviews with the 'Cambodian Daily' and the 'Volkskrant'.

The posters are ready!

Friendly greetings Annemarie and Richt.