“Our Value,” an original theatrical piece by Prom Vorleak
Performance (work in progress) & Artist Talk
6-7:30pm Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Creative Generation Performance Lab
Performance in Khmer with English supertitles
Entrance is FREE and seating is first come, first serve – please arrive early!
For the Creative Generation Performance Lab, Prom Vorleak presents “Our Value,” a work-in-progress. This experimental theater piece explores the lives, resiliency, and vulnerability of four women based on true stories. The testimonies of Kallianei, Teav, Sorpiny, and Chamnan (names changed to protect their identity) reveal how their lives intersect with law and (in)justice. This project is Vorleak’s initial exploration of Anna Deavere Smith’s documentary theater style, in which a sole performer embodies multiple characters. These characters represent real-life people, based on Vorleak’s close observation of their behavior and language. Refined during her residency, the work deepened through research, interviews, and experimentation with performance and media.
Drawn entirely from social media content, the stories of the four women in “Our Values” are intertextually placed in a conversation on stage, through a cut-up technique (or découpé) interspersed with literary reviews by a Cambodian scholar, and archival materials (films and audio). This juxtaposition is an attempt to create theatrical effects and multiple temporalities, while providing nuance and coherence in the stories. This 35-minute work-in-progress (re)centers the stories of ordinary women, which are generally overlooked by traditional media, and how social media made them audible, visible, exacerbated, and scrutinized.
The performance will be followed by a q&a with the artist.
This residency was made possible with the support of many individuals, and the artist is indebted to Dana Langlois, Jean Baptiste Phou, Lyna Kourn, Lim Solinn, Bandol Teav, Sang Sok Serey, Nut Chedtharom, Heak Lakrattha, Yann Channorak, Virekbot Reth Norodom, Sokchea Hang and Reaksmey Yean.
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The Performance Lab is generously supported by Creative Generation donors Debra Fram & Eric Schwartz, Karen & Anthony Adair, Sok Khieu Samithi Art Association and Samleng.
Also check out other Arts events in Phnom Penh, Theatre events in Phnom Penh, Entertainment events in Phnom Penh.
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