Monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon
About
MONSOON, A MUSICAL TRILOGY is a three-act musical political thriller by award-winning writer, composer, and scholar Erin Kamler, based on her trilogy of stage musicals about human rights in Southeast Asia. The show follows the intertwined journeys of Emma Gable, an idealistic American human rights attorney, and Lipoh, a Kachin migrant sex worker from war-torn Burma, as their lives intersect across Thailand, Rangoon, and Kachin State, Burma. From the brothels and ideological crusades of anti-trafficking missions, to the frontlines of Burma’s civil war and the rise of an ethnic resistance army, MONSOON dramatizes the struggles, sacrifice, and resilience of those caught between the promise of justice and the perils of survival. Inspired by a decade of field research with NGOs, UN agencies, women’s rights organizations, and local communities, MONSOON illuminates the fraught tensions and inevitable collisions between rescue and resistance, power and betrayal, idealism and truth.
About
MONSOON, A MUSICAL TRILOGY is a three-act musical political thriller by award-winning writer, composer, and scholar Erin Kamler, based on her trilogy of stage musicals about human rights in Southeast Asia. The show follows the intertwined journeys of Emma Gable, an idealistic American human rights attorney, and Lipoh, a Kachin migrant sex worker from war-torn Burma, as their lives intersect across Thailand, Rangoon, and Kachin State, Burma. From the brothels and ideological crusades of anti-trafficking missions, to the frontlines of Burma’s civil war and the rise of an ethnic resistance army, MONSOON dramatizes the struggles, sacrifice, and resilience of those caught between the promise of justice and the perils of survival. Inspired by a decade of field research with NGOs, UN agencies, women’s rights organizations, and local communities, MONSOON illuminates the fraught tensions and inevitable collisions between rescue and resistance, power and betrayal, idealism and truth.
Creator’s Statement
The American imagination has long been consumed with the idea of spreading good: We promote democracy around the world; we pledge fidelity to human rights; we like to think of ourselves as allies—even saviors—of the oppressed. But sometimes, despite our good intentions, our efforts to help and heal fall short. If we dig deeply into the struggles of women in the developing world—struggles of violence; gender inequality; of striving to make a living, care for their families, and survive—a more complex picture emerges, in which members of the privileged West, intent on promoting “progress” are in fact, often doing more harm than good.
MONSOON dives into the stories of marginalized women in Thailand and Burma—women whose experiences and lived realities often go unseen. Far from being the stereotypical “victims” they are often portrayed as, suffering in silence and deprived of agency or complexity, many women of this world are savvy political leaders, powerful healers, survivors, providers, and experts in their own lives.
Based on my work over the past decade with women’s rights organizations, UN agencies, and civil society groups in Southeast Asia, the trilogy draws on the lived experiences of migrants fleeing war-torn Burma, ethnic female combatants braving jungles riddled with landmines to fund an armed resistance, Thai sex workers union organizers immersed in a decades-long struggle to claim their rights, activists and leaders working to create change amid a fragile democracy, and the foreign humanitarian personnel, policy experts, missionaries, diplomats, and researchers working to support them. Inspired by my own journey— often tumultuous, constantly eye-opening—through the turbulent social politics of the region, MONSOON seeks to critically interrogate the Western ideal of “rescue”, probe the limitations of “development,” and champion the strength, love, and resilience that drives women’s rights activism in this part of the world.
Creator’s Statement
The American imagination has long been consumed with the idea of spreading good: We promote democracy around the world; we pledge fidelity to human rights; we like to think of ourselves as allies—even saviors—of the oppressed. But sometimes, despite our good intentions, our efforts to help and heal fall short. If we dig deeply into the struggles of women in the developing world—struggles of violence; gender inequality; of striving to make a living, care for their families, and survive—a more complex picture emerges, in which members of the privileged West, intent on promoting “progress” are in fact, often doing more harm than good.
MONSOON dives into the stories of marginalized women in Thailand, Burma and the Andaman Islands—women whose experiences and lived realities often go unseen. Far from being the stereotypical “victims” they are often portrayed to be, suffering in silence and deprived of agency or complexity, the women of this world are savvy political leaders, powerful healers, survivors, providers, and experts in their own lives.
Based on my work over the past decade with women’s rights activists, UN agencies, and civil society organizations in Southeast Asia, the trilogy draws on the lived experiences of migrants fleeing war-torn Burma; ethnic female combatants braving jungles riddled with landmines to fund an armed resistance; Thai sex workers union organizers immersed in a decades-long struggle to claim their rights; activists striving to build peace amid endless civil war; indigenous “sea gypsies” protecting the ecology of the land and ocean, along with the foreign aid workers, policy experts, missionaries, diplomats, and researchers working to support them. Inspired by my own journey– often tumultuous, constantly eye-opening—through the turbulent social politics of the region, MONSOON seeks to critically interrogate the Western ideal of “rescue”, probe the limitations of “development,” and champion the strength, love, and resilience that drives women’s rights activism in this part of the world.
Land of Smiles
Journeying into the brothels, detention centers and NGO rescue operations of Thailand’s north, Emma Gable, a young American human rights attorney with aspirations to “save the women of the world” collides with an imprisoned Kachin migrant sex worker from war-torn Burma whose only goal is to return to the brothel from where she was rescued.
Land of Smiles dives into the world of human trafficking in Thailand as seen through the eyes of sex workers, grassroots activists, NGO employees and other members of the anti-trafficking movement. When an NGO-led brothel raid in Northern Thailand identifies Lipoh, a young Kachin migrant from Burma as being underage, she is detained and branded a “trafficking victim.” Emma Gable, an idealistic law student from Indiana working for the NGO is sent to prepare Lipoh to be a witness in a case against her trafficker. But Lipoh is unwilling to cooperate. She insists that she is eighteen, and was working in the brothel willingly. Not only that—she wants to go back.
What transpires is a journey into Thailand’s anti-trafficking movement—a world burdened by politics, morality and the rhetoric of human rights. As Emma struggles to fulfill her assignment, Lipoh’s journey across the border from Burma is revealed: Emma learns about Lipoh’s farewell to her frail mother and her dangerous crossing of the Meh Nam Khong river under the guidance of “auntie” Soon Nu—a matriarchal community organizer by day and ethnic armed combatant by night. Through hearing Lipoh’s story, Emma discovers that grave atrocities are being committed against the Kachin people of Burma. But these atrocities are overshadowed by a narrative about trafficking that serves the needs of the anti-trafficking movement, rather than the women it is trying to help.
Caught between loyalty to her superiors and compassion for her new friend, Emma must confront a new understanding of ethics, law, and what it means to “rescue” someone who does not want to be saved. More than just a story about human trafficking, Land of Smiles forces us to rethink the stories we tell—and the ones we silence—in the pursuit of justice.
Journeying into the brothels, detention centers and NGO rescue operations of Thailand’s north, Emma Gable, a young American human rights attorney with aspirations to “save the women of the world” collides with an imprisoned Kachin migrant sex worker from war-torn Burma whose only goal is to return to the brothel from where she was rescued.
Land of Smiles dives into the world of human trafficking in Thailand as seen through the eyes of sex workers, grassroots activists, NGO employees and other members of the anti-trafficking movement. When an NGO-led brothel raid in Northern Thailand identifies Lipoh, a young Kachin migrant from Burma as being underage, she is detained and branded a “trafficking victim.” Emma Gable, an idealistic law student from Indiana working for the NGO is sent to prepare Lipoh to be a witness in a case against her trafficker. But Lipoh is unwilling to cooperate. She insists that she is eighteen, and was working in the brothel willingly. Not only that—she wants to go back.
What transpires is a journey into Thailand’s anti-trafficking movement—a world burdened by politics, morality and the rhetoric of human rights. As Emma struggles to fulfill her assignment, Lipoh’s journey across the border from Burma is revealed: Emma learns about Lipoh’s farewell to her frail mother and her dangerous crossing of the Meh Nam Khong river under the guidance of “auntie” Soon Nu—a matriarchal community organizer by day and ethnic armed combatant by night. Through hearing Lipoh’s story, Emma discovers that grave atrocities are being committed against the Kachin people of Burma. But these atrocities are overshadowed by a narrative about trafficking that serves the needs of the anti-trafficking movement, rather than the women it is trying to help.
Caught between loyalty to her superiors and compassion for her new friend, Emma must confront a new understanding of ethics, law, and what it means to “rescue” someone who does not want to be saved. More than just a story about human trafficking, Land of Smiles forces us to rethink the stories we tell—and the ones we silence—in the pursuit of justice.
Foreign
On assignment with a human rights NGO in gritty, glamorous Rangoon, Emma investigates the struggles of women’s rights activists, diplomats, and humanitarian staff working to end Burma’s civil war amidst the looming Rohingya genocide. Meanwhile, Lipoh navigates the gendered politics of survival within an ethnic armed group.
Foreign interrogates the politics of modern Burma and the plight of women’s rights activists, diplomats, and international aid workers striving to end the country’s civil war amidst the Rohingya genocide. Probing the passion and politics of Rangoon’s peacebuilding elite, Foreign reveals the conflicting dynamics of activist forces working to bring a country from conflict to peace.
November, 2016. Emerging from decades of isolation, Burma (Myanmar) is a nation in transition. Military rule has left the former British colony devastated, and ethnic war ravages the land. Despite this, hopes are running high that Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, which swept the country’s first democratic elections in a landslide victory, will usher in an era of peace.
Reeling from the U.S. Presidential election, Emma arrives in Rangoon (Yangon) to report on the country’s nascent democratic transition. There she meets the dazzling Ma May, a prominent queer feminist leader whom the international donors are enamored by; Annabel Morton, a dedicated aid worker championing women’s rights; her husband Daniel, a self-assured British diplomat; and Oliver Dembele, a smooth-talking Scottish entrepreneur who opens Emma’s eyes to Rangoon’s magnificence and decay. Diving into the glamour and grit of her work, Emma becomes captivated by a nation whose people who seem committed to healing the wounds of their traumatic past.
Meanwhile, up in Kachin State, we return to the story of Lipoh, who has made it safely across the border and is now working as a fixer for the stealthy Soon Nu. Lipoh is married to Aung, a sugar-cane farmer’s son who is rising up the ranks of the Kachin Defense Forces (KDF), while secretly smuggling people, gems, and goods across the Kachin-China border—all in an effort to fund the ethnic armed group while not drawing attention away from its patriarchal operations.
Back in Yangon, as Ma May reaps the rewards of her achievements, she is pulled into tumultuous family dynamics by her father, an illustrious military Commander whom she renounced in her youth. Throwing her support behind Ma May’s organization, Annabel recognizes her attraction to Ma May, and the women’s relationship becomes romantic. Emma discovers the affair – a criminal offense under the repressive regime – and realizes the danger her knowledge could create.
But when a wave of violence breaks out in Muslim-dominated Rakhine State and the people of Burma – including Ma May’s activist colleagues – begin to openly condone mass atrocities and the displacement of thousands, the spell of Emma’s romance with the country is quickly broken. Scrambling to follow the trail of the unfolding crisis, Emma realizes that Burma is not the success story it’s been made out to be.
As the crisis escalates and polarization between the aid workers and the people grows, Emma must decide where their allegiances lie. Caught between her destructive love affair with a country in chaos and the responsibility to report the truth, Emma must decide what she is willing to stand for, and at what cost.
On assignment with a human rights NGO in gritty, glamorous Rangoon, Emma investigates the struggles of women’s rights activists, diplomats, and humanitarian staff working to end Burma’s civil war amidst the looming Rohingya genocide. Meanwhile, Lipoh navigates the gendered politics of survival within an ethnic armed group.
Foreign interrogates the politics of modern Burma and the plight of women’s rights activists, diplomats, and international aid workers striving to end the country’s civil war amidst the Rohingya genocide. Probing the passion and politics of Rangoon’s peacebuilding elite, Foreign reveals the conflicting dynamics of activist forces working to bring a country from conflict to peace.
November, 2016. Emerging from decades of isolation, Burma (Myanmar) is a nation in transition. Military rule has left the former British colony devastated, and ethnic war ravages the land. Despite this, hopes are running high that Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, which swept the country’s first democratic elections in a landslide victory, will usher in an era of peace.
Reeling from the U.S. Presidential election, Emma arrives in Rangoon (Yangon) to report on the country’s nascent democratic transition. There she meets the dazzling Ma May, a prominent queer feminist leader whom the international donors are enamored by; Annabel Morton, a dedicated aid worker championing women’s rights; her husband Daniel, a self-assured British diplomat; and Oliver Dembele, a smooth-talking Scottish entrepreneur who opens Emma’s eyes to Rangoon’s magnificence and decay. Diving into the glamour and grit of her work, Emma becomes captivated by a nation whose people who seem committed to healing the wounds of their traumatic past.
Meanwhile, up in Kachin State, we return to the story of Lipoh, who has made it safely across the border and is now working as a fixer for the stealthy Soon Nu. Lipoh is married to Aung, a sugar-cane farmer’s son who is rising up the ranks of the Kachin Defense Forces (KDF), while secretly smuggling people, gems, and goods across the Kachin-China border—all in an effort to fund the ethnic armed group while not drawing attention away from its patriarchal operations.
Back in Yangon, as Ma May reaps the rewards of her achievements, she is pulled into tumultuous family dynamics by her father, an illustrious military Commander whom she renounced in her youth. Throwing her support behind Ma May’s organization, Annabel recognizes her attraction to Ma May, and the women’s relationship becomes romantic. Emma discovers the affair – a criminal offense under the repressive regime – and realizes the danger her knowledge could create.
But when a wave of violence breaks out in Muslim-dominated Rakhine State and the people of Burma – including Ma May’s activist colleagues – begin to openly condone mass atrocities and the displacement of thousands, the spell of Emma’s romance with the country is quickly broken. Scrambling to follow the trail of the unfolding crisis, Emma realizes that Burma is not the success story it’s been made out to be.
As the crisis escalates and polarization between the aid workers and the people grows, Emma must decide where their allegiances lie. Caught between her destructive love affair with a country in chaos and the responsibility to report the truth, Emma must decide what she is willing to stand for, and at what cost.
Ashes of Gold
Now working for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to prosecute war crimes of Burma’s top-ranking generals, Emma reunites with Lipoh in Kachin State. Together, they are drawn into the heart of the country’s violent military coup.
The final chapter of the Trilogy brings Emma face to face with her most perilous journey yet, as Myanmar’s fragile democracy unravels. Act Three follows Emma from the Rohingya borderlands, to Kachin State in the north, to the corridors of power in Naypyidaw, where truth collides with betrayal, war crimes, and the dawn of a revolution.
Act Three opens in January 2020 in the shadowed confines of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where Emma, now working as a UN investigator, travels to Rakhine State with a team of women activists to document atrocities no foreigner is meant to witness. Their mission ends in tragedy when one is killed, leaving Emma with only fragments of footage—and crushing guilt about another task left unfinished. Back in Bangkok, she presents her evidence to the UN, where her boss urges her to continue building a case against Myanmar’s senior generals. Not long after, as the COVID-19 pandemic emerges and the borders of Burma and Thailand are about to be shut, Emma makes the fateful choice to head in the opposite direction of the fleeing aid community, boarding the last plane back into Yangon. In the emptied city, Emma reconnects with old allies, including Ma May, now more skeptical than ever of Western interventions. Frustrated by Ma May’s stonewalling, Emma pursues a dangerous lead northward to Kachin State and the home of the KDF, known for complicity in war crimes. There, Emma reunites with Lipoh—no longer a teenage fighter, but the wife of a rising commander. But when a Tatmadaw defector’s testimony implicates the army in war crimes, Emma is torn between her mission and her bond with Lipoh, whose husband stands ready to silence the witness in what will become another human rights crime.
The action then moves to Naypyidaw, as Emma and Ma May converge on the capital for a high-stakes UN security briefing, while Myanmar’s generals secretly plot a coup. Pressured by Soon Nu to show loyalty, Emma prepares to name those responsible for war crimes—including Ma May’s brother, Koh Johnnie. But before the briefing can conclude, the Tatmadaw storms the hall, seizing the Parliamentarians, Ma May, and Emma herself.
As Myanmar teeters on the brink of collapse, Emma, Lipoh, Ma May, and Soon Nu are pulled deeper into the turmoil. Bravely facing the country’s freefall, they each confront their identities, allegiances, and the price of survival in a country on fire.
Now working for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to prosecute war crimes of Burma’s top-ranking generals, Emma reunites with Lipoh in Kachin State. Together, they are drawn into the heart of the country’s violent military coup.
The final chapter of the Trilogy brings Emma face to face with her most perilous journey yet, as Myanmar’s fragile democracy unravels. Act Three follows Emma from the Rohingya borderlands, to Kachin State in the north, to the corridors of power in Naypyidaw, where truth collides with betrayal, war crimes, and the dawn of a revolution.
Act Three opens in January 2020 in the shadowed confines of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where Emma, now working as a UN investigator, travels to Rakhine State with a team of women activists to document atrocities no foreigner is meant to witness. Their mission ends in tragedy when one is killed, leaving Emma with only fragments of footage—and crushing guilt about another task left unfinished. Back in Bangkok, she presents her evidence to the UN, where her boss urges her to continue building a case against Myanmar’s senior generals. Not long after, as the COVID-19 pandemic emerges and the borders of Burma and Thailand are about to be shut, Emma makes the fateful choice to head in the opposite direction of the fleeing aid community, boarding the last plane back into Yangon. In the emptied city, Emma reconnects with old allies, including Ma May, now more skeptical than ever of Western interventions. Frustrated by Ma May’s stonewalling, Emma pursues a dangerous lead northward to Kachin State and the home of the KDF, known for complicity in war crimes. There, Emma reunites with Lipoh—no longer a teenage fighter, but the wife of a rising commander. But when a Tatmadaw defector’s testimony implicates the army in war crimes, Emma is torn between her mission and her bond with Lipoh, whose husband stands ready to silence the witness in what will become another human rights crime.
The action then moves to Naypyidaw, as Emma and Ma May converge on the capital for a high-stakes UN security briefing, while Myanmar’s generals secretly plot a coup. Pressured by Soon Nu to show loyalty, Emma prepares to name those responsible for war crimes—including Ma May’s brother, Koh Johnnie. But before the briefing can conclude, the Tatmadaw storms the hall, seizing the Parliamentarians, Ma May, and Emma herself.
As Myanmar teeters on the brink of collapse, Emma, Lipoh, Ma May, and Soon Nu are pulled deeper into the turmoil. Bravely facing the country’s freefall, they each confront their identities, allegiances, and the price of survival in a country on fire.
Music
Music
Music
Producing Team
Producing Team
CREATOR
Erin Kamler
Dr. Erin M. Kamler is an academic researcher, writer, artist, educator, and communication expert whose work lives at the intersection of feminist social justice and the arts. An award-winning playwright, composer, and musician, Erin uses narrative and performance to explore systems of power, gender, and voice. Her musicals have been staged at leading theaters such as The Public Theater, Berkeley Rep, Playwrights Horizons, and New Dramatists, and have garnered recognition including the Los Angeles Ovation Award and Backstage Garland Awards (Divorce! The Musical), New Dramatists’ Frederick Loewe Award (Runway Sixty-Nine), and Stephen Sondheim’s Young Playwrights Award. Her musical Land of Smiles received critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for its bold critique of U.S.-driven anti-trafficking campaigns in Thailand. As a singer-songwriter, Erin’s work includes internationally released albums that bridge Eastern and Western musical traditions, most notably her 2025 album Refuge, which integrates Buddhist and Jewish mantras with original songs about love, grief, and healing.
Alongside her creative practice, Dr. Kamler brings over sixteen years of experience as a gender equality consultant, program director, and researcher. She has worked with international development agencies, NGOs, UN bodies, academic institutions, and civil society organizations across Southeast and East Asia to address issues of human trafficking, migration, peacebuilding, and post-conflict regeneration. Her scholarship, grounded in feminist, qualitative, and participatory methods, links research to advocacy and institutional change. Her book, Rewriting the Victim: Dramatization as Research in Thailand’s Anti-Trafficking Movement (Oxford University Press), unites creative practice with critical inquiry into international development policy.
Dr. Kamler holds a Ph.D. in Communication, dual MAs in Communication and International Public Diplomacy from USC’s Annenberg School, and a BA in Music Composition from Sarah Lawrence College. Dividing her time between Southeast Asia and the United States, she creates, teaches, and collaborates across disciplines to amplify marginalized voices and foster equity-centered approaches to change.
For more information about Erin’s work visit: www.kamlerproductions.com.
Producer
Gregory Franklin
Gregory Franklin, Emmy, Webby, Grammy, Tony, and Drama Desk nominated, is producer and executive producer on the Emmy-nominated dramatic thriller series, The Accidental Wolf starring Kelli O’Hara and executive producer on the TIFF Centrepiece Programme independent feature, Nomad Shadow. Broadway producing credits include; the revival of Side Show directed by Bill Condon, The Velocity of Autumn starring Estelle Parsons and Stephen Spinella, The Visit starring Chita Rivera, The Great Society starring Brian Cox, Waitress starring Jessie Mueller, The Kite Runner starring Amir Arison, and Ohio State Murders starring Audra McDonald. Upcoming London theatre credits include The Hunger Games On Stage, and Straight Forward currently in development. He serves as an advisor on Prodooser, a web-based software that tracks, manages, and organizes data digitizing the producer-investor relationship. His nonprofit work with Waterwell centers around the ethos of artist-as-citizen as the foundation for theatrical storytelling to create a more just and humane society through theatre arts training & performance and inspired filmmaking & live events supporting the immigration and veteran communities. He serves on the board of Waterwell.org as Governance Committee Chairperson, and the advisory board of Foundation for New American Musicals.
For more information about Gregory’s work visit www.franklintheatrical.com
Producer
David Lipman
David is a writer/producer developing features, series, and theatre. He is currently the Supervising Producer on Bong Joon Ho’s (PARASITE) first animated feature film.
Other recent projects include THE PROFESSOR, SERENITY, KAHLIL GIBRAN’S THE PROPHET, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX, Academy-nominated SHREK 2, SHREK 4D, and the Academy Award-winning SHREK. David has also served as Head of Production at Starlings Entertainment, Vice President of Feature Production at Digital Domain, Managing Partner at Framestore Animation, Supervising Producer and Executive in Charge of Production at Hanna-Barbera, Vice President and Executive Producer for USAnimation, and Head of Production at DreamWorks Animation, where he oversaw production on THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, SPIRIT, THE ROAD TO ELDORADO, ANTZ, and CHICKEN RUN. David has worked in live-action, having been both an Assistant Director and Second Unit Director on several feature films and consulted for several animation studios, including Alpha Animation, Moonbot Studios, and Bardel Entertainment. He continues to have an ongoing relationship with Media Guarantors, a bond company, overseeing all their animated projects.
David graduated from the Art Center College of Design with a BFA in Film. He is a member of both the Writers Guild and the Directors Guild of America.
Cultural Consultants
Cultural Consultants
Donhathai Sutassanamarlee
Donhathai Sutassanamarlee is a researcher, development practitioner, translator, and educator from Thailand. He currently works as a Senior Consultant at a Bangkok-based NGO, Kenan Foundation Asia, where he primarily leads and manages research projects to provide evidence-based policy and/or programmatic recommendations. These research projects cover a wide variety of issues, including MSMEs, women’s economic empowerment, the gig economy, and population policy. Donhathai also serves as a trainer for MSME-related projects at Kenan. He is certified by both Google and Meta to train small businesses in leveraging digital marketing tools to expand their economic opportunities. Prior to joining Kenan, Donhathai previously worked as a lead tutor and research assistant at Monash University; an intelligence analyst at Global Rescue South Asia; and a translator at InfoQuest Limited. He has also worked as a freelance translator for the past ten years.
Donhathai holds a Master of International Development Practice from Monash University, Australia and a B.A. in Linguistics from The Ohio State University, USA.
Khin Yadanar Oo
Khin Yadanar Oo is a researcher from Myanmar working in the areas of natural resources and environmental governance. Over the past six years, Khinhas collaborated with international non-profit development organizations, ethnic community-based organizations, and think-tanks focusing on water governance, national land use, and forest governance policy in Myanmar and throughout the Mekong region. In her roles as coordinator, policy officer, and researcher for organizations such as Oxfam and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, Khin has worked to advocate and build the capacity of multi stakeholder groups including local communities, government administrators, policy makers, and indigenous people.
Most recently, Khin’s research has focused on the extractive industry sector. Her study assessing the governance of jade and gemstone mining in Myanmar was published by Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) as part of the annual Natural Resource Governance Index. In addition, Khin recently served as a teaching assistant at the National University of Myanmar (NUMM) led by the Burmese American Community Institute, which offers certificate programs to students who have joined the civil disobedience movement in Myanmar.
Khin holds an M.A. in Natural Resource Management from Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok and a B.A. in Agricultural Science from Yezin Agricultural University in Naypyidaw. She is fluent in Burmese, English, and Thai.
Recording Artists
Recording Artists
Jillian Lewis
Jillian has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on tour, in group and solo concert and cabaret and at countless regional theaters. Film/TV credits include: Law & Order SVU, Show Me A Hero, Mount Joy. Next up: The Pinup Girls @ Casa Manana & Golden Rainbow @ The York. Jillian teaches privately and through many organizations and has an album coming soon. In her time in New York she has participated in the development of roughly 200 new projects. For more information about Jillian’s work visit www.jillianlewis.com
Cathy Ang
Born to Chinese-Filipino parents in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Her parents met at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and immigrated to the USA to start their medical careers. She credits her 2 older sisters, Stephanie and Kimberly Ang, as taking a large part in raising her and as her role models. She grew up primarily in Cupertino, California, singing at home but not seriously considering pursuing performance. She was accepted to NYU Steinhardt’s Vocal Performance program, however, and “fell in love” with acting in their Musical Theatre department. She has since lived in New York, working primarily in theatre and voiceover. She is best known for voicing Fei Fei in Netflix’s Over the Moon (2020). For more information about Cathy’s work visit IMDB
Melody Butiu
Melody Butiu can currently be seen as Sofia in The Queen of Versailles on Broadway, a new musical by Stephen Schwartz and starring Kristin Chenoweth. Recent credits include Estrella in Here Lies Love by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim (Broadway), and Tita Yvonne in the film Easter Sunday, starring Jo Koy. Other credits include Doctor Zhivago (Broadway), Here Lies Love (off-Broadway), as well as plays and musicals throughout the country, and as far as Thailand (Land of Smiles in Chiang Mai) and Singapore. Film/TV credits include: Untold: This is My Story, FBI, Call Me Kat, Mom, This Is Us, The Kominsky Method, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Kingdom, Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, Gotham, and True Blood. For more information about Melody’s work, visit www.melodybutiu.com.
Gabrielle Wagner
Gabrielle is a singer/actor/writer/director. Film/TV credits include: Mad Men, Wilfred, Firefly, Strong Medicine, Stonerville. Theatre: she recently starred in The Lifespan of a Fact, 2020: a Fantasy, and Valer, was an Ovation nominee for her role in Erin Kamler’s world premiere of DIVORCE! the Musical, and received a Garland nod for Best Lead in a Musical as Polly in The Threepenny Opera. Other favorites: A Ring in Brooklyn (Gina), The Most Happy Fella (Rosabella), Suburbia (Sooze), Prelude to a Kiss (Rita), Cabaret (Sally). As a writer, her musicals; City of Light and iWish and play, Pot Odds, were produced multiple times from 2012 to 2022. Many of her short plays have been produced around the country. She has an MFA in Playwriting/Screenwriting from Point Park and a BA in Theatre from Smith, and is a member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and Dramatists Guild. For more information about Gabrielle’s work visit www.gabriellewagner.com
Kristian Espiritu
Off-Broadway credits include: Here Lies Love (Ensemble/Soloist). National tour: School of Rock (Ensemble/Patty u/s). East West Players: Interstate (Adrian), Merrimack Repertory Theater credits include: The Rise and Fall of Holly Fudge (Holly), Pioneer Theater Company: Once on This Island (Erzulie). Other credits include: Music Theatre of Connecticut, Disney Cruise Line, Leviathan Lab, New York Musical Festival, New York Classical Theatre. TV credits include: Love Life, Ray Donovan, Hunters, Younger. Kristian is also a certified intimacy professional, fiber artist and owner of How Bout Knot. For more information about Kristian’s work visit www.kristianespiritu.com.
Joan Almedilla
Broadway, national tour & regional credits include: Miss Saigon (Kim), Les Misérables (Fantine), The King and I (Lady Thiang), Jesus Christ Superstar (Mary cover), Mamma Mia! (Donna), Assassins (Sara Jane Moore), Chess (Florence), Krunk Fu Battle Battle (Jean). She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Disney Concert Hall and The Apollo Theater. Film/TV: “Pam & Tommy” on Hulu (2022), “Griselda” on Netflix (TBD), “Bupkis” on Peacock TV (2023), “Commencement” (Prime Video), “Nurses’ Station” (YouTube series), “Shatter Belt” series (SXSW 2023), “Next of Kin” (in festival circuits 2023.) For more information about Joan’s work visit www.joanalmedilla.com.
Renee Albulario
Currently performing in Broadway’s Here Lies Love and recently seen in David Byrne’s American Utopia. Favorite projects include NY City Center’s The Wild Party (Nadine), Jason Robert Brown’s The Connector (Veronica), Reefer Madness (Sally), and the Untitled B52s Project. Regional credits include: Seattle Rep, Weston Playhouse, NCT, Ogunquit, Gateway, NCT. Film/TV credits include: The Tonight Show w/ Jimmy Fallon, One Life To Live, Ricki & the Flash. Commercial credits include: Amex, Match.com. Proud NYU/TISCH grad. For more information about Renee’s work visit www.reneealbulario.com
THAI LANNA MUSICIAN
Khru Add Panutat Apichanatong
Khru Add Panutat Apichanatong is a renowned Lanna (Northern Thai) musician and composer. Together with his bands, “The Salor” and “Nakatan”, he has been performing domestically and internationally. He has released more than 20 albums covering the range of strict old-school tradition, to adapted Thai pop music, improvisation and contemporary styles. As an exceptionally talented musician in his desire to be able to play with modern western tuned music he has mastered adapting a range of his traditional instruments, like strings, drums, and flutes to western tuning. (The Lanna music scale is based on 8 equal intervals within an octave.) Having inherited the skills and craftsmanship of instrument making from his father, he is now the first instrument maker creating cross cultural instruments in Western tuning.
Sound Design
André Pluess
André Pluess is a sound designer and composer specializing in live theatrical performance. Projects include the Broadway productions of Good Night Oscar, The Minutes, 33 Variations, I Am My Own Wife and Metamorphoses, as well as the Lincoln Center production of The Clean House. His designs/compositions have been featured at regional theaters throughout the country including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Seattle Repertory, Yale Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf Theatre, the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, The Huntington, South Coast Repertory and Playwrights Horizons.
He has received numerous awards for composition and sound design including multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards, an Ovation Award, a Barrymore Award, a Helen Hayes Award, and Lortel and Drama Critics Circle Award Nominations. Film credits include the score for Showtime’s feature length documentary The Business of Being Born, as well as the short films Cell Watch, Netuser and War Words. André is an ensemble member of Looking Glass Theatre Company.
For more information about André’s work visit www.andrepluess.com
Recording Engineer
Thomas van Nes
Thomas van Nes, born 1959 in Leiden, Netherlands, has been living in Thailand since 1986. After obtaining a BA in History from Leiden University, he followed his passion instead and has been working with music all his life. First as a performer, singer songwriter of acoustic music in various bands, collaborations and solo since 1980 all over Europe and Asia, and since 1997 as studio owner, sound engineer, producer and owner of his own label of relaxation music. Whenever he’s not in his music studio working on his own or on clients’ projects he is losing himself in painting. His painting has been likened to his music with bold colors, underlying themes, interesting lines and unique style. For more information about Thomas’s work visit www.thomassomusic.com
Title Photography by Chawkaew Poungpeth and Khin Yadanar Oo.
Contact
For more information please contact:
Gregory Franklin
©Copyright 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Franklin Theatrical Group LLC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Contact
For more information please contact:
Gregory Franklin
©Copyright 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Franklin Theatrical Group LLC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.