OLIVER PHOMMAVANH

Oliver Phommavanh is a fresh and positive voice for multiculturalism. He’s Aussie born and bred, but comes from a Thai/Laotian background. But don’t let that picture fool you. He is actually a little kid, living in a slightly bigger adult’s body. He loves video games, comic books and collecting toys. Sonic The Hedgehog is his hero, with Mario a close second.

Oliver has never really grown up, so it’s lucky that he’s a children’s author, writing funny stories that everyone can relate to. Thai-riffic! is his first book. It’s a Thai kid named Lengy who just wants to be a normal Aussie kid. He doesn’t want to be Thai anymore, which proves to be a challenge when his parents run the best Thai restaurant in town. Both Lengy and Oliver can’t handle hot and spicy foods, and believe that junk food tastes so good because it’s bad for you.

Back at school, Oliver was a class clown, making kids laugh and getting in trouble with teachers. Now he’s a stand up comedian, still making kids laugh and getting in trouble as a casual primary school teacher (he prefers the term ‘chaos’ teacher).

Oliver uses his stand up comic and teacher skills to deliver engaging talks with an entertaining edge. Think of that zany guy who hosts the TV game show, Deal Or No Deal, multiply him by a million and you’ll get a fair idea of what Oliver can do. He’s got bags of toys and he has ways of making them talk. Oliver caters for ages 9 to 14 and all sizes, whether it’s a small group or a whole grade. He’ll throw in some classroom management for the larger crowds too (yes, he knows how to do that ‘clap, clap, clap’ thing and he’s got a back-up whistle).
Topics include; writing humour (it’s not that ha ha hard!), how to become an author in 2342 easy steps, the inspiration behind Thai-riffic!, bringing Thailand over to your school (it’s like a Getaway segment, without the fancy price tag). Oliver can also run creative writing workshops, specialising in humour, narratives and the ‘whole story’ process.

If kids are into Morris Gleitzman and Andy Griffiths, there’s an awesome chance that they’ll love Oliver’s wacky humour too. He’ll inspire kids to write (though he holds no responsibility for the things they write hehe).

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