Samithi Sok’s
’12-8′ adds nearly $3500 to PPP Charity pool

I am Samithi Sok, the writer and director of ’12-8′. After closing our show, I was lucky enough to be asked to give a few final words about the production:
First, I am happy to report on the production’s numbers. Thanks to the amazing audiences that turned out to see and support the show and our generous sponsors, we managed to raise $3,469 for charity, selling a total of 273 tickets across 6 performances!

The money raised from this show will go to support Exceed Worldwide Cambodia. Working with three clinics in Cambodia, they provide free physical rehabilitation services to those most in need. Moreover, they also train Prosthetists, Orthotists and P&O Technicians at a specialist P&O school.
As someone who requires the use of a prosthetic, Exceed’s mission to provide mobility independence is a cause I wholeheartedly endorse. The ability to care for one’s self, to move around without the aid of others, the ability to feel at least functional, and the frustration and helplessness that comes with not being able to fulfill these basic needs is something that I can all too readily understand. As such, I was extremely grateful to be given the chance to contribute to their work here in Cambodia.
In addition, we were very grateful for our feature in the Phnom Penh Post, which you can read here:

“Khmer playwright’s work makes stage debut” – Phnom Penh Post, Oct 2022

In addition, I would like to thank Java Cafe for inviting myself and my co-director, Marika Els, back to host a Director’s Talk, where we discussed our beginnings as artists, approaches to directing and collaborating, and the process of taking the script from page to stage.
Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped to make ’12-8′ such a success, both the people who came to see it and all those who worked so hard to make it happen! While I may have stretched the definition of the word, I just want to share one final thought:

One of the great privileges of the arts is to be able to connect with those you might never have otherwise; on the stage, and off. I was struck, talking to people after a show or during the intermission, by how much the play’s characters, themes, and story resonated with them. To share this play with you, with my relentlessly hard-working cast and crew, and then to see this work be received so positively, to know it moved and affected you, I can think of no greater reason to love the theater.

Much love,
Samithi Sok