Kamler Productions approaches research as integral to our creative mission. At the heart of our work is a research-to-creation model rooted in Dr. Kamler’s concept of Dramatization as Research (DAR), introduced in her book Rewriting the Victim (Oxford University Press). This approach uses dramatic writing and creative practice as research methods in themselves—transforming fieldwork and feminist inquiry into artistic works that both embody and critique their findings. From there, creative production and performance generate new insights that inform advocacy and policy. In this way, each project is not only a work of art, but also a form of scholarship and a catalyst for social change.

Over the past sixteen years, we have worked in collaboration with international development agencies, NGOs, universities, entertainment companies, and civil society organizations across Southeast Asia and the United States to create projects focusing on human trafficking and migration, gender and peacebuilding, women’s economic empowerment, and beyond. From “Land of Smiles,” a critically-acclaimed musical grounded in field research with female migrant laborers, sex workers, activists, and NGO employees that critiques the discourse about human trafficking in Thailand, to “Meridian Lines,” a series of recordings inspired by life as an American abroad, to peer-reviewed scholarship that critically interrogates the gendered dynamics of conflict-affected environments in Southeast Asia, we give voice to perspectives that often go unheard, and shed new light on pressing global issues. Through examining political events that capture the world’s attention, to reflecting on the minutia of the everyday, our productions demonstrate how the arts can be used as a feminist communication tool and a vehicle for understanding the cultural dimension of human rights.