Fil-Am actors play homicidal couple in musical thriller 'Sweeney Todd' in Seattle

By WALTER ANG
June 15, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/4484/fil-actors-play-homicidal-couple-musical-thriller-sweeney-todd-seattle

SEATTLE — Filipino American actors Ben Gonio and Corinna Lapid Munter play a murderer and an evidence-eliminating accomplice, respectively, in "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street," ongoing until July 1.

Ben Gonio as Sweeney Todd.
Photo by John McLellan.

Staged by ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, this musical thriller follows Sweeney Todd (Gonio) as he returns to London to exact revenge on corrupt officials, aided by pie-maker Mrs. Lovett (Lapid Munter). Music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim and book is by Hugh Wheeler.

Co-directors Mathew Wright (who is also ArtsWest's artistic director) and Eric Ankrim have developed a bold vision for "Sweeney Todd" that places race, oppression and power squarely at the forefront of this new telling, says ArtsWest in a statement.

The show has been multiracially cast and includes black, Latino and white actors.

Right time

"We've had standing ovations in all our shows thus far and upcoming shows continue to be sold out," reports Gonio, who felt "honored, humbled and elated" when he found out he had been cast for the title role.

"I submitted a video audition very late in the casting process. Apparently, they were having trouble casting the role, so I suppose I came around at the right time!"

He's appeared on TV shows like "The Librarians" and "Grimm." Recent theater credits include lead roles in "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Love Letters."

Precise

A coloratura soprano (and belter), Lapid Munter had been cast in the ensemble of a 2005 staging of this musical where she immediately fell in love with Sondheim's music.

Corinna Lapid Munter as Mrs. Lovett.
Photo by John McLellan.

"Just singing the ensemble music was so thrilling, so difficult, so challenging. You have to be precise and that's what I like," she says.

The music wasn't the only thing she fell in love with. The Lovett role was a revelation to her, though she never thought she would ever get to play it.

When she found out she was cast as Lovett for this production, "I was thrilled, shocked, surprised, dumbfounded!"

Recent theater credits include Abuela Claudia in "In the Heights" and Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q." Opera roles include Mercedes in "Carmen," Hansel in "Hansel and Gretel," and Rosina in "The Barber of Seville."

Pie

Partial to apple pie a la mode, Gonio was born in the Philippines (Malabon, Rizal) and moved to the US when he was eight years old.

Lapid Munter, on the other hand, was born in Connecticut to Filipino immigrants. "I love peach and blueberry pie. And I must say, I make an amazing chicken pot pie!"

When asked if pork adobo or pork sisig would make a better filling for a savory pie, both voted for adobo.

Another thing they have in common is that performing runs in their respective families. Each has a relative that's popular in Philippine showbusiness: singer/recording artist Gary Valenciano is Gonio's maternal cousin; actor/politician Lito Lapid is Lapid Munter's uncle.

Humanity and relevance

Levity aside, both actors have chosen to ground their characters by tying into their humanity.

Gonio says, "If I were pushed to a point where my family and my child were taken away and I was hauled away for no reason, how would I react?"

Lapid Munter says, "Mrs. Lovett just wants what everybody else wants: a nice life, to be happy, to share that life with somebody. It sounds pretty simple but not everybody has that. And that's what she yearns for."

Both also highlight the relevance of the material in present times.

"It's more relevant today than ever," says Gonio. "If you really peer into the thematic elements like class systems and oppression, it's all grounded in that simple story of a father who has been unjustly wronged."

Munter agrees. "In society, there's always the upper class who will step on the lower class. We can all relate to that feeling of being wronged and wanting to be vindicated. [This story] is always going to be relevant."

Music direction by Matt Hohensee, sound design by Kevin Heard, choreography by Trina Mills, costume design by Siri Nelson, set design by Christopher Mumaw, lighting design by Tristan Roberson.

"Sweeney Todd" runs until July 1, 2017 at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, 4711 California Ave SW, Seattle. Visit Artswest.org.

Fil-Am comedian Ron Muriera helps keep San Jose Stage Company running

By WALTER ANG
June 7, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/4230/fil-comedian-helps-keep-san-jose-stage-company-running

SAN JOSE, California — Filipino American Ron Muriera is San Jose Stage Company's new development director. He's a stand-up comedian, but this new gig is no laughing matter.

Enrico Roselli, Filipino lounge accordionista,
the alter-ego of Ron Muriera.

Muriera is responsible for raising funds for the group, which includes researching for available grants and preparing the proposal applications. He also handles donor relations, which includes reaching out to potential donors and cultivating relationships with them.

He first became involved with The Stage in 2011 as a grants consultant. "I was working with my longtime friend, Filipino American playwright Jeannie Barroga, on her production of `Buffalo'd.'"

After the play ended, he was asked to stay on as a consultant for both fundraising and educational outreach. The position of development director was offered to him last year.

"We hope to announce The Stage's 2017-2018 season line-up very soon," he says. "The Stage's artistic director Randall King has been working on putting together a powerful season to commemorate our 35th anniversary as the anchor arts organization in the SoFA (South of First Area) District."

Comic

If the position and work involved conjures an image of a straight-laced and serious person, it may surprise people to know that Muriera does stand-up comedy, among many other performing pursuits.

"I still perform every once in a while, most recently at Local Color and the San Jose Improv a few years ago as part of the Filipino Kingz of Comedy Tour, a special fundraiser benefit show for victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines." He performs using an alter ego: Enrico Roselli, Filipino Lounge Accordionista.

Ron Muriera

He started his stand-up comedy career during his student days at San Francisco State University, trying his hand at clubs like Holy City Zoo, The Other Cafe and The Punch Line. "I was probably one of the younger would be stand-up comedians at age 18 at the time."

He became one of the founding members of Fil-Am comedy troupe Tongue In A Mood, whose other founders include Kennedy Kabasares, Rex Navarette and Allan Manalo (who went on to reconfigure Bindlestiff Studio in San Francisco into a Filipino American performance venue and theater group).

Theater

Muriera became involved in theater work by way of a professor and a classmate. "My Filipino American Studies instructor, Oscar Peñaranda, announced auditions by the Asian American Theater Workshop (which later became the Asian American Theater Company) for two one-act plays that he had written."

Cast of San Jose Stage Company's "Toxic Crusader."

His friend wanted to go, but not alone. He agreed to accompany her. "The director asked if I was auditioning and I said 'No.' She convinced me to read for one of the roles and to sing a song.

"My friend was not called back." But he ended up being cast in three roles between the two plays.

"It would be through AATC that I would get a scholarship to attend the American Conservatory Theatre, which provided me with the professional training to become an actor."

He divided his time in college with theater training, working part-time, and doing stand-up comedy. "Being a young man with a lot of energy, I was able to pursue all these simultaneously!"

Community

The energy is still there and he's still involved in several endeavors all at the same time.
Aside from performing, he has more than 15 years of experience working in the non-profit sector.

In addition to his work with San Jose Stage Company, he's been an arts commissioner of the San Jose Arts Commission since 2013 (the first Filipino American to be appointed the position) and is currently chair of its Public Arts Committee.

He's also a national trustee for Northern California of the Filipino American National Historical Society.

Better world

Born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Wahiawa, Oahu and San Francisco, Muriera moved to San Jose in 2006.

"Like my mother, the late Dr. Helen Bautista Muriera, who was a physician for over 30 years in San Francisco, I follow in her steps as an active and committed advocate in service to not just the Filipino and Filipino-American community, but across all communities."

How does he find the time and energy to be involved in all these groups? "There's really no secret. I make time for those issues and concerns that I'm most passionate about: the arts, culture, education, social justice and community."

"As a father of a six-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son, I always remember that at the end of the day, what's most important is family. What propels me to do what I do in the community is wanting to ensure that we have a better world for my children and future generations."

San Jose Stage Company's staging of the musical "The Toxic Avenger" closes its 2016-2017 season. Based on the film of the same title, the musical is about how Melvin Ferd transforms into the superhuman mutant Toxic Avenger, saves the day and wins the heart of a blind librarian.

"The Toxic Avenger" runs June 7-July 23 at 490 S 1st St., San Jose, California. 
Visit TheStage.org or Fb.com/SJStage.

Malou Jacob pens her last play, and some 'Notes for the Filipino Playwright'

By WALTER ANG
June 3, 2017
Philippine Daily Inquirer

"I've just finished what I refer to as my last play," says Malou Jacob.

"'Batang Mujahideen' has as backdrop the Abu Sayyaf's kidnapping of a priest, a principal, some teachers and pupils of Claret School in Tumahubong, Basilan. It's an interpretation of the chaos of our 21st century.

"My hope is it be produced and toured nationally in the regional languages, ultimately changing the mindset of the Christian majority vis-a-vis the Muslim and lumad minorities."

Malou Jacob.
Photo from Philippine Commission on Women.

Jacob says this is her last play because she wants to shift to "testing the waters of poetry" and finally reading her "accumulated books through the years."

But, just in case Jacob can't be enjoined to write another play in the future, audiences, theater artists, scholars, students and up-and-coming playwrights can take solace in the fact that she's codified a few of her pointers for them in a new book, "Notes for the Filipino Playwright."

Published by De La Salle Publishing House, the book contains essays and talks that she's delivered in various conferences and fora. She curated these pieces to revisit her "personal history as an artist, a writer, a woman, a Filipino."

Writing vs acting

After going through all backstage and onstage disciplines with Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta), as is the group's way of training artists, Jacob realized writing suited her more than acting.

Cover of Malou Jacob's book 
"Notes for the Filipino Playwright."

"Peta trained me to write about the others-the majority who are in a worse state than me," she says.

The result of that epiphany are searching, questioning plays that include "Aidao," about the Christian-Muslim conflict, and "Macli-ing," about the assassinated Kalinga leader Macli-ing Dulag and his peoples' struggle for their ancestral land.

Aside from Peta, other professional groups like Tanghalang Pilipino and student groups have staged Jacob's works.

Scene from "Macli-ing" staged by Peta.
Photo from Malou Jacob Facebook account.

Her "Anatomiya ng Korupsyon," about a woman lawyer's struggles working in a corrupt government office, remains popular and was staged in a Hiligaynon translation by University of St. La Salle's Maskara Theater Ensemble in Bacolod and Iloilo just last year.

Her "Juan Tamban," a look at society's neglect of impoverished children and a play inspired by news reports of a boy who ate cockroaches and lizards, was included in Dennis Marasigan's "14 essential plays on martial law" (part 1 and part 2) written for Philippine Daily Inquirer's Theater section last year.

Jacob's book contains the genesis details of some of these works, including the challenges she faced in researching and crafting them.

Reflections

In addition, it "offers a selection of my personal and political writings on the genre of drama and the actualization and mobilization of its potential as play.

Scene from "Anatomiya sang Korupsyon,"
Hiligaynon translation of Jacob's Tagalog play.
Photo from Maskara Theater Ensemble Facebook account

"This collection contains my reflection on the dialectics of life and writing: on how to cross the bridge of life from rhetoric to action in order to reach more subjects, specifically those in the sociopolitical contexts of the Third World."

She prompts readers to reflect on their own stances by way of an inventory of her own: What is my life for? What is my writing for? Should the writer be an advocate of an ideology?

Some of her plays were previously published in the 1994 National Book Award-winning "Teatro Pulitikal." The print edition is out of print, but an e-book edition by Anvil Publishing is currently available.

"I'm hoping that DLSU Publishing House would publish `Teatro Pulitikal: Volume 2' in the future," she says.

Jacob previously taught at DLSU and was the director of its Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center. Meanwhile, she continues her work with Women Playwrights International Philippines, which she founded in 2000.

"We do playwriting workshops to enable marginalized lumad and Moro women in Mindanao and Visayas to be the emerging playwrights of the 21st century," she says.

Visit Dlsu.edu.ph/offices/publishing-house.

Inquirer.net link:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/264247/malou-jacob-pens-last-play-notes-filipino-playwright

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'Noli Me Tangere' opera to be staged in Boston

By WALTER ANG
June 1, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/4128/noli-tangere-opera-staged-boston

BOSTON — The opera version of "Noli Me Tangere" will be shown here via a staging by Opera Brittenica in June, to be sung in Tagalog with English supertitles.

Karrel Bernardo (right) in 
2012 staging of "Noli Me Tangere" in Chicago

The opera has music by Felipe de Leon and libretto by Guillermo Tolentino. Its title is Latin for "touch me not" and its plot is based on the novel by Jose Rizal of the same title.

The story involves Crisostomo Ibarra's return to the Philippines after years of studying abroad and his encounters with love, corruption and attempts at his life.

Filipino Americans in the cast include baritone Peter Rolfe Dauz as Elias and tenor Joachim Luis as Don Filipo and Manlilibing.

Legacy

KGB Productions chair Karrel Bernardo and executive producer Gerardo Gaddi intend to shepherd this opera across the US.

Bass-baritone Bernardo began his singing career in the Philippines and studied under Antonio Hila. Since moving to Chicago, he has been a featured soloist in various church choirs and sung with groups like Filipino folk fusion band Sama Sama Project.

"It began in the fall of 2012. It was the year of the 100th birth anniversary of Felipe de Leon," says Gaddi of their involvement with the opera.

"His son Felipe de Leon Jr. was the chair of the Philippine's National Commission for Culture and the Arts and was seeking ways to commemorate his father's legacy on the international stage."

"Karrel took on the challenge and brought me along to map out a strategy to commemorate De Leon's legacy."

With stagings in Chicago and Richmond, Virginia under their belts, there are plans to produce shows in Maryland and Texas after this Boston production.

Chicago

KGB productions spearheaded a staging in Chicago in 2012 by Da Corneto Opera Company, where Bernardo sang the role of Elias.

It had a cast of 60, six of which were Filipinos, with music direction and stage direction by Lucia Matos, who also conducted the orchestra.

That seminal production inspired philanthropist Loida Lewis-Nicolas to organize a 2013 staging in New York (music direction by Michael Dadap, direction by May Pamana).

Maryland-based Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Asian Artists presented a 2014 staging in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center (music direction by Benjamin Dia, direction by Anna Tsuri).

More shows

Lorna Imperial-Seidel, the foundation's co-executive director, then teamed up with KGB Productions to push for more stagings.

Their collaboration brought the opera to Richmond, Virginia last year, where Bernardo sang the Elias and Alferes roles. It was staged by Capitol Opera Richmond with music direction by Anthony Smith, direction by P.J. Freebourn.

Smith and Freebourn will handle the same responsibilities in the Boston production. Opera Brittenica founder Joshua Collins will sing the Crisostomo Ibarra role.

Smith will also conduct 18 orchestra musicians who are affiliated with other Boston groups such as the Boston Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Juventas New Music, among others.

READ about a staging of a musical version of "Noli Me Tangere" in LA here.

READ about Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (Dulaang UP)'s staging of the opera here.

"Noli Me Tangere the Opera" runs June 16-18 at Strand Theater, 543 Columbia Rd, Boston. Visit NoliMeTangereOpera.com.

This Marikina café serves up Buffalo wings, Yakult smoothies -- and theater productions

By WALTER ANG
May 27, 2017
Philippine Daily Inquirer

One drunken night, Jay Crisostomo IV shouted that he would build a café-cum-gallery-cum-theater.

He'd been working with several theater groups but faced high venue rental fees.

Jay Crisostomo IV, founding artistic director
of Ikarus Theatre Collaborative

"We wanted to perform, to share, to give what we learned. But it wasn't always so easy. The solution was daunting, yet simple. Build your own space," he says.

Crisostomo wanted "a space for artists, both new and old, experienced and learning, known and unknown."

The morning after, his girlfriend put him to task. "After three months, and the support of family and friends, Dito: Bahay ng Sining Café and Art Space opened."

At the second floor of a building along Molina Street in Marikina, the 40-seater café (50 if you count the al fresco seats) and 100-seater theater has hosted painting sessions, art bazaars and performances since then.

Everything

"I used to do everything from mopping the floors, to cooking, to groceries, to directing, marketing, casting, etc."

The café's been able to sustain itself, and Crisostomo has help these days.

Dito Bahay ng Sining Cafe

"It's not always easy to please the young art crowd but our Yakult smoothie and Buffalo wings seem to get the job done. Now I just handle the theater, events, promotions and the groceries sometimes."

When he was in grade school, Crisostomo's parents enrolled him and his sister in the summer performing workshops of Triumphant Peoples Evangelistic Theater Society (Trumpets).

Dito Bahay ng Sining Cafe's Buffalo wings and Yakult smoothie.

"My sister went to jazz and singing. I'm bereft of a single correct tone and cursed with two left feet, so I opted for the theater workshops because I didn't need to sing or dance well. Everyone could act, express. It was so democratic and I fell in love with it."

He went on to join Ateneo High School's Teatro Baguntao under Ron Capinding and Ateneo de Manila University's Tanghalang Ateneo. "That's where I met my mentor Ricky Abad. I shifted from Biology to a double major in Creative Writing and Directing."

Bias

Aside from directing occasionally for Tanghalang Ateneo and other groups like Theater House of Black, Crisostomo's been churning out new plays and directing them for his own group, Ikarus Theatre Collaborative, housed in Dito, of course.

Cast of "No Exit." Gry Gimena (Garcin), Paolo Dumalo (Valet),
Amihan Ruiz (Inez) and Moreen Guese (Estelle).

This year, Ikarus is scheduled to stage Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit" in June, Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" in August and a new work, "Bastion" by Crisostomo in November.

Three people forced to suffer each other's company for eternity; two tramps waiting in vain for someone; people overcome by famine: the season paints a bleak landscape, but it's intentional," says Crisostomo.

"The choosing of the plays is at the mercy of my biases as a reader. My favorite playwright is Beckett, my college thesis was one of his plays, 'Endgame.' I'm in love with existential theater.

"We need to face the void, the impossible, especially in these absurd times when anyone can be shot just because someone calls him a drug dealer.

"That's what the Theatre of the Absurd is for me. The facing of the void. The facing of something insurmountable. Although I won't do something too political with the plays this year, I want to hint at the fact that small things can fight the unbeatable, and, sometimes, somehow win."

"No Exit" runs June 23-July 1 at Dito: Bahay ng Sining Café and Art Space. Visit Fb.com/DitoBahayNgSining.



Inquirer.net link:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/263563/marikina-cafe-serves-buffalo-wings-yakult-smoothies-theater-productions

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Hortense Gerardo’s play in Boston, dance film in NY

By WALTER ANG
May 24, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/3928/hortense-gerardos-play-boston-dance-film-screen-ny-june

BOSTON — Filipino American playwright Hortense Gerardo's new play "Virtuous Reality" will be staged in June at Boston Playwrights' Theatre.

Hortense Gerardo
Photo by Tom Epperson

In this short play, chat room friends Rhett and Scarlett finally meet in 3D and discover a brave, new, unmediated world. Jay Pension directs.

Gerardo also choreographed and dances in the film "Infinite Corridor," which will screen at New Dance Alliance's Performance Mix Festival in New York, also in June.

"Virtuous Reality" is part of the 45th Playwrights' Platform Festival of New Plays, where eight other plays will be staged. Playwrights' Platform is Boston's longest-running playwright-run cooperative focused on developing new works.

Gerardo has previously written a one-act play "On the Fabric of the Human Body" and short plays "The Engagement," "For the Love of Egon" and "Kith and Tell."

Her short play "Death in Venice Beach," about a May-December affair of an older woman and younger man, was staged during last year's festival.

Immigrant family

Earlier in April, a staged reading of Gerardo's work-in-progress full-length play "The Token Fallopians of Middleton Heights" was held, also at the Boston Playwrights' Theatre.

The play is a dark comedy that follows Meena and her Filipino family as they assimilate in a fictional suburb in Ohio.

The play had started out as a creative non-fiction memoir about Gerardo's childhood in Midwest suburbia.

Currently a professor of anthropology and performing arts at Lasell College, Gerardo was born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised in Cleveland to physician parents.

"It traces parallel events in the Philippines and in the US from the '70s to the present, refracted through the lens of the Asian American immigrant experience."

Relevant

Gerardo appreciates the role that staged-readings fill in the process of developing a play. "I received useful, constructive feedback. It was great to hear the audience's response during the reading.

Staged reading of "The Token Fallopians of Middleton Heights" held in April 2017.

"They laughed at parts that were intentionally comedic, and were attentive at parts that were intentionally dramatic. That kind of feedback is gold for anyone writing for the stage, because you can feel on a visceral level whether or not you've hit your marks."

The play will be developed further. "While there are currently no set plans for a full production, the play is perhaps more relevant today than ever before because of the political climate."

Movement

"Infinite Corridor" is a meditation on the motions of walking on two feet, tracking its evolution from great apes to fashion models, and concluding with robots.

"The film was shot along an infamously long hallway at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from which the film derives its title. The creation of biomimetic robots began their peregrinations in close proximity to the walls of the Infinite Corridor."

Gerardo's dance training includes modern dance, African dance, flamenco training and butoh.
"Being an anthropologist informs my work as a writer and as a movement artist, and vice-versa."

45th Playwrights' Platform Festival of New Plays runs June 1-3 at Boston Playwrights' Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Visit PlaywrightsPlatform.org.

"Infinite Corridor" screens on June 11 at University Settlement House, 184 Eldridge St., New York. Visit NewDanceAlliance.org.

Visit HortenseGerardo.com.

Bindlestiff’s new artistic director known for 'heart and talent'

By WALTER ANG
May 17, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/3730/bindlestiffs-new-artistic-director-known-heart-talent

SAN FRANCISCO — Aureen Almario had always considered herself a visual artist, until she took a workshop with Bindlestiff Studio and saw the possibilities of doing theater work.

Aureen Almario.
Photo by Robert Saguitan

Nearly two decades later, she has been appointed the new artistic director of the Filipino American theater company.

"Witnessing amazing artists and a creative community that looked like me completely changed my life," she says.

"For most of my life, performance art was something I would not have dared to do. But the Bindlestiff space and the people in it were inspiring and that empowered me to try it."

Homegrown

Almario has been a resident artist at Bindlestiff for more than a decade. Her acting credits for the group include productions of "A Pinoy Midsummer," an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream," A. Rey Pamatmat's "Thunder Above, Deeps Below;" and staged readings of "Monstress," adapted from a short story by Lysley Tenorio, and Jeannie Barroga's "Aurora."

She first heard about Bindlestiff Studio in college when her friend was part of a poetry reading that was staged there. After watching several of the studio's shows, she attended Stories High, its annual theater workshops.

"It's our page-to-stage program where we provide affordable theater workshops in the spring and summer,"Almario explains. It culminates with a show in the fall, showcasing the results of the participants' efforts.

Almario joined the writing and acting workshops, which resulted in her writing a play, "Forever and Ever" and encountering a dilemma.

They couldn't find an actress to perform the mother character. What's a girl to do? Recruit her own mom, of course.

Learning

Born in Davao and raised there and later on in Zamboanga and Manila ("My father was in the Philippine Army and my family moved around a lot."), Almario was ten years old when she moved to the United States, where her family settled in Hayward.

Almario knew that her mother, Rosita, had done a bit of acting in her youth, even doing a short stint with the Manila-based theater group, Philippine Educational Theater Association.

"She'd always tell us the story of how she received a full scholarship for theater arts at University of the Philippines in Davao; but she didn't accept it because her parents wanted her to be a doctor."

Mom auditioned and was cast; daughter debuted as a playwright.

Full of heart

Almario went on to co-found the all-women-of-color sketch comedy troupe Granny Cart Gangstas, where all members are alumni of Bindlestiff's different workshops. She also currently teaches Asian American studies at Laney College.

She has picked up lessons from these workshops that still influence the way she works today.
"From doing multiple productions, I learned the value of communication, organization and preparation."

"I became more accountable and committed to see things to the very end. Once I commit to something, I really approach it with serious intention."

Bindlestiff's board of directors agrees with her self-assessment. Outgoing artistic director Lorna Velasco says of their selection, "Aureen is a force, full of heart and talent, hardworking and bold. The 'Stiff is in capable hands. So proud of you, Aureen!"

Vision

In addition to programming Bindlestiff's productions, supporting fund development and overseeing youth programming, Almario plans to highlight the group's pool of writers/playwrights.

"They are talented. Our mainstage production this year in October will be Conrad Panganiban's play 'Welga.'"

"He's one of our homegrown artists. He started out attending the Stories High playwriting workshops and later on got a master's degree in playwriting."

She adds, "I strongly believe in our Stories High programming and we definitely want to continue with our progress this year."

Bindlestiff Studio's Stories High theater workshops this year includes writing (to be facilitated by Christina Ying), acting (Melvign Badiola and Jed Parsario) and directing (Li-Leng Au).

It will run from May 28 to July 9. The culminating showcase will be from Aug. 24 to Sept. 9.

READ previous coverage of Bindlestiff Studio here.

To apply to the Stories High workshops, email storieshigh@bindlestiffstudio.org Visit BindlestiffStudio.org or Fb.com/BindlestiffStudio.

'Macbeth' and a prelude to it, in a new Artist Playground venue

By WALTER ANG
May 13, 2017
Philippine Daily Inquirer

If you build it, they will come. Or in this case, it will expand.

Roeder Camañag and his cohorts established performing and arts group Artist Playground two years ago, providing Quezon City with at least one new professional theater group in addition to Philippine Educational Theater Association and Sipat Lawin Ensemble (not counting the campus theater groups).

Mailes Kanapi (left) and Catherine Co alternate as Lady Macbeth.
Photo by Jaynus Olaivar

They claimed the 30-seater 1701 The Little Room Upstairs off of Timog Avenue as their home theater and focused on one-act plays. Critics and theatergoers have praised their dexterity in staging productions within The Little Room's limited confines.

The group is now busy preparing to open a new, and bigger, playground. Taking over the penthouse of the West Venue Building along West Avenue, their additional theater has been christened Artist Playground II.

"We can now stage full-length productions with an intermission because now we have a lobby at AP II," says Camañag with a laugh.

Back to back

Debuting at this 120-seater venue is "M Episode," a twin bill of "Prelude to Macbeth," James Chalmer's imagined prequel to Shakespeare's "Macbeth," and a shortened version of the Bard's tale of how the Macbeth couple kills their way to the top.

Directing is Camañag who'd always wanted to stage both plays back to back within a single day. But he realized that having a matinee of "Prelude," then a two-hour gap before a full evening show of "Macbeth," might be too much for theatergoers.

"So that it's not too overwhelming, we came up with 'M Episode.' The 'Star Wars' movies inspired the title of our production. We wanted to make it sound like an event."

"Prelude" will run its complete 40 minutes while "Macbeth" will be cut down to a little more than an hour.

Movement

The famous speeches will be retained, of course, but other portions of the original five-act play will be reconfigured into movement to be choreographed by Myra Beltran.

"We're not leaving 1701 The Little Room Upstairs because it presents its own set of challenges," says Camañag. The company's offices are also in the same building.

"However, AP II excites us. We can explore doing bigger productions and there's more space to play with."

In addition to allowing actors to move around more, it has enough space to house a gallery for AP's visual arts division.

"However, we will retain AP's personality. Just like our first venue, this one will also be an alternative space where you wouldn't think there's a theater and gallery here."

Testing the waters

The group staged a run of "Prelude" earlier this year. "We were testing the waters with heightened language," he says.

Beyond stretching their acting muscles, Camañag says one of the reasons he's fascinated by the story of the homicidal Macbeth couple is because he finds it very relevant to current times.

"The same dynamics and greed that lead to the destruction of the Macbeths are seen in many of our current leaders--how they pursue their ambitions at the expense of the people and country."

Paul Jake Paule plays Macbeth, along with Lora Matunan and Mariella Laurel as Young Lady Macbeth, Mailes Kanapi and Catherine Go as Lady Macbeth, and Mitoy Sta. Ana and Andre Tiangco as Duncan.

Banaue Miclat-Janssen serves as speech and voice consultant, with music is by Jesse Lucas, set and costume design by Reynoso Mercado and lighting design by Anthony Salvador.

READ previous coverage of Artist Playground here. 

"M Episode" runs June 16 to July 1 at Artist Playground II, 4/F West Venue Bldg., West Ave., Quezon City. Call 09759193179 or visit Fb.com/ArtPlayG.




Inquirer.net link:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/262395/macbeth-prelude-new-artist-playground-venue

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Filipino-American playwright Han Ong returns to SF with new play

By WALTER ANG
May 10, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/3579/fil-playwright-han-ong-returns-sf-new-play

SAN FRANCISCO — Filipino American playwright and MacArthur genius grant awardee Han Ong's new play "Grandeur" imagines a meeting between an ambitious young journalist and the late music artist Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron.

Han Ong (left). Carl Lumbly.

Ong's play on the soul and jazz poet, spoken-word artist and musician who explored blues and rap will premiere at Magic Theatre here in June.

The theater group's statement says the play's exploration of "questions of legacy, art, hope, and redemption drives this funny and gut-wrenching exchange."

Playing Scott-Heron is actor Carl Lumbly, known to TV viewers as Marcus Dixon on ABC's "Alias" and the voice of Martian Manhunter on the animated series "Justice League."

Magic's artistic director Loretta Greco helms the production. "'Grandeur' is a stunning and powerful ride; both wickedly funny and poignant in its social relevance, we are honored to be premiering it," she says.

"Han has doggedly trailed and lovingly reassembled another artist of color's rise and fall in order to evoke perspective on some of life's larger questions and to leave a more intricate and complicated tale which asks us to reconsider what constitutes a man's worth."

Genius
Ong's playwriting earned him the MacArthur Fellowship in 1997. The grant is awarded to individuals who've shown "extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction."

Ong made his professional debut at Magic Theatre in 1992 with "Reasons to Live."

"It's exciting, nervous-making," Ong says of his reunion with the Magic Theatre group. "In their season brochure, they called my production a 'homecoming' and that feels right."

Ong says that, like nearly all his plays, he wrote this one "on spec."

"Meaning I wrote it because I wanted to write it, not because there was an assured production at the tail end of the process."

He says something about Scott-Heron touched him deeply. "I believe he's become a forgotten man, despite his wizardry and his mastery as both writer and musician."

Page to stage

Scott-Heron had consumed years of Ong's thoughts. "I'd been thinking about him a lot in the year just before he died. This was because, as in my play `Grandeur,' he released a new album."

The song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," recorded in the 1970s, shot Scott-Heron into the spotlight. His "I'm New Here" was released in 2010.

"It was his first album in 16 years, which begged the question: where was he all these years?"

The singer died in 2011. "He passed away too young at 61. But then again, that body and that mind had a lot of mileage, including from drug addiction. [His death] made him a fixture in my thoughts and imagination."

Ong wrote the play in 2014 and the following year, playwright and novelist Jessica Hagedorn, whom Ong considers a great friend, asked to read it.

"She loved it so much she decided to pass it on to Loretta Greco, and Loretta, in turn, loved it. I think within one year, she had committed to producing it at the Magic."

Magic Theatre staged Jessica Hagedorn's "Dogeaters" last year and is slated to stage her "The Gangster of Love" in 2018. Both plays are adapted from her novels with the same titles.

Genius

Ong was born in the Philippines and moved to the US in his teens. He has written plays such as "Swoony Planet," "Airport Music" and "Play of Father and Junior."

His play "Middle Finger" was staged in Manila with a Filipino translation by theater group Tanghalang Ateneo in 2014.

He has also written novels Fixer Chao, a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year, and The Disinherited.

In 2014, his first play in more than a decade, "Chairs and a Long Table," was staged by Ma-Yi Theater in New York.

"That was my first production after a long voluntary lay-off from the theater. I believe I was gone somewhere between 12 to 15 years."

Theatergoers who follow Ong's output may have more to look forward to. "With 'Grandeur' at the Magic, it feels like I'm 'back,' that it's not just a one-off deal," he says.

"Grandeur" set and video design by Hana Kim, costume design by Alex Jaeger, lighting design by Raymond Oppenheimer, sound design by Sara Huddleston.

There will be a salon with Ong and Greco after the June 4 matinee show.

READ about Magic Theatre's staging of "Dogeaters" here.

"Grandeur" previews start May 31, opens June 7 at Magic Theatre, 3rd floor, Bldg. D, Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, 2 Marina Blvd., San Franciso. Visit MagicTheatre.org.

George de Jesus’ 'Kung Paano Maghiwalay'–the play Aiza used to propose to Liza Diño–is back

By WALTER ANG
May 6, 2017
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Playwright George de Jesus asks: "Where does love go when a relationship ends? Does it go away? Why does it linger? Can it be completely forgotten?"

Andrei Vegas and Andrea Tatad

He tackles the answers in his play "Kung Paano Maghiwalay," a collection of vignettes about disintegrating relationships, which will be staged by Egg Theater Company from May to June.

Almost a decade ago, he was discussing with friends the movie "Closer," specifically the scene where one character (played by Natalie Portman) can be seen falling out of love with her lover (played by Jude Law).

"That inspired me to write this play, drawing from the experiences of some of my closest friends' own break up stories," he says.

Hope and heartache

"KPM was first staged before the concept of 'hugot' became a full-blown trend in both plays and movies," he laughs.

The play debuted as a staged reading in the 2008 Virgin Labfest, followed by a limited run and several productions by college theater groups.

Hope and heartache seems to resonate well with theatergoers. Despite the limited showings over the past few years, the play has gained a following.

"It surprises me when I get to meet young people, students who are familiar with the play even to the point of knowing certain lines that affected them-very 'hugot,'" says De Jesus.

Inquirer Lifestyle's Theater Section editor Gibbs Cadiz gave it an honorable mention for best play (full-length) in his 2009 year-end round up.

Love and marriage

And, get this, in spite of the play's premise, it was actually used as a ploy for singer Aiza Seguerra to propose to actress/dancer Liza Diño in 2014.

"We staged that one-night show specifically for the proposal," he says. Seguerra had reached out to De Jesus asking if he had any plays where the surprise could be revealed.

"I suggested KPM and adjusted some scenes so that it ends with the proposal. Liza didn't have a clue the entire time. We claimed it was a 'fund-raiser' production just so that Liza would think it's a legit production."

Universal topic

"The play dramatizes the quest in finding and defining love, a universal topic placed within the context of the Filipino psyche."

De Jesus is striving to "develop new theater pieces that are reflective of the life of the contemporary Filipinos and the universal values and truth that affect their lives." In other words, plays that touch on the everyday concerns of the Filipino everyman (and woman), all while trying not to be preachy.

"We're bringing it back because I think it still resonates with a lot of people."

"Kung Paano Maghiwalay's" cast includes Renante Bustamante, Rachelle Gimpes, Mara Marasigan, Victor Medina, Juliene Mendoza, Stella Cañete-Mendoza, Sheena Ramos, Paul Jake Paule, Gabs Santos, Sarina Sasaki, Lian Silverio, Andrea Tatad, Floyd Tena, Affy Varona, Andrei Vegas and Teetin Villanueva.

Directed by De Jesus, it runs May 19-June 4 at Pineapple Lab, Makati City. Tickets: 09178040762. Details: fb.com/EggTheaterCompany.




Inquirer.net link:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/261736/george-de-jesus-kung-paano-maghiwalay-play-aiza-used-propose-liza-dino-back

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Playwright Lani Montreal's 'Nanay' in Chicago's 'Night of the Living Moms' fest

By WALTER ANG
May 4, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/3401/lani-montreals-nanay-chicagos-night-living-moms-fest

CHICAGO — Playwright Lani Montreal is curating a festival of stories about motherhood titled "Night of the Living Moms," a pun on the zombie-horror movie "Night of the Living Dead."

From left, Lani Montreal, Carlos Lopez, Heather Jencks
and Silvita Diaz, depicting the EDSA People Power revolution.
Photos by Giau Minh Truong.

"Parenting, joyful as it is, can be an exhausting, and at times, a zombifying enterprise," she says.

"It's going to be a garland of narratives told through poetry, dance and performance about what it's like to be a mother. It's vital for these stories to be told now and new creative work to be developed that validates our experiences as mothers."

Included in the festival is Montreal's new play "Nanay" (Filipino word for "mother"), about a young Filipina coming to terms with her mother's secret identity as a manananggal (a supernatural creature, usually disguised as a woman, that sprouts wings and flies off from the waist up and can reconnect with its lower torso).

"The play is set during the last few years of the Marcos dictatorship, transitioning into the Cory Aquino administration," she says.

New play

Montreal was still living in Manila during those years, writing for the Sunday Inquirer Magazine since it was conceived in 1986 until when she left for abroad.

Silvita Diaz and Alexa Bermudez as mother and daughter.

Montreal stayed in Toronto for a few years where she wrote her first major play, "My Grandmother and I," while working for a non-profit advocacy group.

"During the '90s, the Filipino Canadian community had the highest incidence of HIV and AIDS among immigrant communities. We decided to do a play to raise awareness among Pinoys, and also to create a safe and caring environment for the LGBTQ community."

Supernatural elements and matrilineal themes were already aspects that she worked with even back then. The plot of "My Grandmother and I" features a deceased AIDS patient who summons the spiritual guidance of his grandmother.

Runs in the family

"I imported my mother, Mely Tagasa, from Manila to play the lead. It was quite a successful production in that it brought people together to work towards a common goal."Tagasa is known to generations of Filipinos as the teacher Miss Tapia in the seminal TV sitcom "Iskul Bukol."

"My mother lulled me to sleep with the sound of her typewriter keys clickety-clacking in the night. She wrote scripts for radio soaps before getting into television acting.

"Later on, my sister, Gina Marissa Tagasa, followed in her footsteps and became an award-winning scriptwriter for radio, TV, and movies."

'Multispecies' family

Now based in Chicago, Montreal still writes scripts for the stage while teaching composition and creative writing full-time at Malcolm X College.

Lani Montreal (right) and her family 
(from left) Cameron, Luis, Alexa.

Her recent plays include "Sister Outlaw" and "Looking for Darna" (both staged by Filipino American theater group Circa Pintig) "Dead Dolls" and "Panther in the Sky," which had a staged reading last year.

Montreal is a mother herself and describes her own relations as a "multicultural, multispecies family."

"I am the adoptive mother of two wonderful kids, a 14-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl," she proudly says. "I am Pinay, my husband is Latino, my son is half-white, and my daughter is black! We also have a cat and a dog."

Montreal and her husband adopted their children through the foster care system. "It took six years before we could legally adopt them. It was painstaking, but it was worth it. We are still learning to be a family every day."

"Night of the Living Moms" is, on a personal level, for her daughter. "I want her to see the importance of forging her own identity amid society's unrealistic expectations and finding support for whatever her career path may be.

"On a political level, I believe these stories will create a more nuanced archetype of the nurturing, self-sacrificing mother, as well as to challenge communities to find ways to support mothers who are creating art and discourse in provocative ways."

READ previous coverage on Circa Pintig Theater Company here.

"Night of the Living Moms" runs May 18-27 at Free Street Theater, 1419 N. Blackhawk St., Chicago. Visit Fb.com/NightOfTheLivingMoms.

Deedee Magno Hall and Isa Briones star in 'Next to Normal' in LA

By WALTER ANG
April 27, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/3209/deedee-magno-hall-isa-briones-star-next-normal-la

LOS ANGELES -- Actors Deedee Magno-Hall and Isa Camille Briones will play mother and daughter, respectively, in East West Players' staging of the musical "Next to Normal."

Deedee Magno Hall (left) and Isa Briones

With music by Tom Kitt and libretto by Brian Yorkey, this Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical is about how Diana's mental health conditions affect her spouse Dan and daughter Natalie.

Magno-Hall takes the role of Diana and will act alongside her real-life husband Clifton (who is of partial Filipino descent), who plays Dan. Both just recently concluded the national tour of another Kitt-Yorkey musical, "If/Then," starring Idina Menzel.

Other Filipino Americans in the production include actors Anthea Neri (Diana understudy) and Randy Guiaya (Doctor Fine/Madden/Anesthesiologist); and musical director Marc Macalintal.

Runs in the family

Isa Briones is making her East West Players (EWP) debut with the role of Natalie. Her surname may sound familiar to theater aficionados. Her father, Jon Jon, is currently playing in a little musical on Broadway titled "Miss Saigon" as the Engineer.

Cast of "Next to Normal" at East West Players' 2017 Visionary Awards, 
from left (back row) Deedee Magno Hall, Clifton Hall, Isa Briones, Anthea Neri; 
(front row) Justin Yu, Scott Takeda, and Randy Guiaya.

He says, "I'm very proud of my daughter and have always been. She's a wonderful, insanely talented, kind-hearted person and I'm very excited that she's making her EWP debut. They do great work."

Jon Jon played Georges in EWP's "La Cage Aux Folles" last year opposite Gedde Watanabe as Albin.

"I know it's important to her that she connects with her Asian roots and be recognized in the Asian theater community," he adds.

Unfortunately, he won't be able to catch his daughter's show due to schedule conflicts. "But I'll be cheering her on, as well as my other friends in the show, from here in New York City. If it's extended there may be a possibility of my going."

Artistic journey

When she first found out about the auditions, Isa signed up right away even if she'd just previously played the same role for Pico Playhouse Theatre.

"It's my absolute favorite musical," she says.

While she was excited to land the role, Briones got even more "ecstatic when I realized that Deedee and Clifton would be playing Diana and Dan!"

Deedee Magno Hall (left) and Isa Briones 
wearing Alexis Monsanto gowns
at East West Players' 2017 Visionary Awards.

"I've known them since I was little, and I consider them my auntie and uncle so getting to work with them for the first time is a dream come true."

Briones, whose mother Megan and brother Teo are also actors, says it's surreal to work with her "auntie" for the first time.

"We've only just started rehearsals but so far it's been really amazing. We've been doing some intense work so far, really digging deep into the play itself and the characters."

"Diana and Natalie's relationship is so beautiful despite the pain and the hardships. It's really just about a daughter needing her mother.

"I can't wait to explore those basic yet powerful emotions with Deedee. She's such a talented and inspiring woman. Getting to play opposite her in such an emotional and intimate piece is going to be a great artistic journey."

Mental health

Magno-Hall, who played Nessarose in the first national tour of "Wicked" and currently voices Pearl in Cartoon Network's "Steven Universe," says, "We've only just begun rehearsals, but I've seen Isa play the part of Natalie and she's perfect!

"I've known Isa since she was about two years old, and I've watched her grow into an intelligent, talented and beautiful young woman, inside and out. I'm such a proud auntie, and I am thrilled to be playing her mother in this show!"

She's excited to play Diana. "I live for roles that are complex and far from (or close to) my reality. There is so much to play with and dive into as an actor. It's part of the love of playing pretend.

"Our wonderful director, Nancy Keystone, has provided us with plenty of research about the medical condition of Diana's character."

She's also done her own research, interviewing friends and family that have dealt with mental illness and memory loss.

"That has been helpful in trying to understand in some ways, but of course not completely, the severity of the disease. All I can do is try my best to use what I know and hopefully bring some truth to the character."

Any family

Both Magno-Hall and Briones point out the universality of the musical's characters and their circumstances. "It can be the story about any family, anywhere in the world, regardless of race," says Magno-Hall.

"I'm so happy that EWP exists, giving many actors and artists of color an opportunity to play roles they would not usually be considered for. I do hope the entertainment industry in general continues to take more chances with colorblind casting. My friend, Pearl Sun, an actor of Asian descent, played the role of Diana on the national tour, which I thought was pretty cool."

Briones says that EWP allows audiences to gain "a different perspective and understanding from an Asian American point of view."

"Talking about mental illness specifically in the Asian American community is extremely important, too, as it is not talked about enough on a social level and in the home. It is often prevalent in the Asian culture that such things be kept behind closed doors which may prevent people from getting the help they need."

Directed by Nancy Keystone, set design by Hana Sooyeon, lighting design by Karyn Lawrence, costume design by Lena Sands, sound design by Cricket Meyers. EWP's artistic director is Snehal Desai.

"Next to Normal," previews start May 12, runs May 17-June 11 at David Henry Hwang Theater, Union Center of the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles. Tickets and details at Eastwestplayers.org.

Filipino-American film on love, loss and a dog makes it to Cannes

By WALTER ANG
April 25, 2017
Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/3128/fil-film-love-loss-dog-makes-cannes

LOS ANGELES -- Filipino American Danny Bernardo's film "Jerky" has been selected to screen at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

"Jerky," played by Padfoot, a film written by Danny Bernardo.

Scheduled for screening on May 25 under the festival's Short Film Corner (Cannes Court Metrage), the film is one of 30 entries chosen out of more than 200 submissions for the Creative Minds program block.

Founded in 1946, the festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congres. This year's festival is scheduled for May 17 to 28.

Bernardo wrote and stars in the film directed by Tim J. Lim. Cinematography and editing are also by Lim.

"Jerky" follows Gordon (Bernardo) as he struggles to pick up the pieces of his life after the death of his husband Martin (Edwin Martinez). The biggest obstacle for Gordon is Martin's dog Jerky, whom Gordon never wanted and is allergic to.

"It's a stark and intimate portrait of the grieving process. `Jerky' deals with love, loss, and those left behind," says Bernardo.

Love, loss and pets

Bernardo's own relationships and experiences inspired the film's premise. A few years earlier, he was grieving the deaths of several members of the Chicago theater community, where he'd worked as a theater artist (writer, director, actor) for many years.


JERKY - Official Trailer from Tim J. Lim on Vimeo.


"One of those was my good friend Matthew Gunnels. He'd been diagnosed with cancer years before and he'd adopted a dog named Beef.

"We were really devastated. In all of the things we were doing after we lost Matt, we took for granted what was happening to Beef and his own grieving process."

Bernardo says the film explores "the everyday 'mundane-ness' of what it's like when a loved one dies and the things that we have to do that aren't so romantic and glamorous."

It also explores the creatures or living beings that mourn the most-pets who can't talk. "What must they be going through? Grieving and unable to communicate it."

West Coast to Midwest and back

Bernardo was born in West Covina, California, to parents who left the Philippines with his older siblings to escape martial law.

Danny Bernardo (left). Tim J. Lim.

He recently relocated back to the West Coast, where he's currently artistic director of Grey Ensemble Theatre.

He's written plays such as "Mahal," "Tomas," and "F*ck My Life" and has acted or done production work for Chicago theater groups such as Goodman, About Face, Victory Gardens, Lifeline, Silk Road Rising, American Theater Company, and Porchlight Music Theatre (where he's Artistic Associate emeritus), among others.

Canine debut

Completing the cast are Dani Woodson and, making his film debut as the titular character, half German Shepherd and half Straffordshire Terrier, Padfoot.

Bernardo (left) and Edwin Martinez

"Padfoot is the sweetest dog who tries to hug and kiss every person he meets."

Padfoot's mother had belonged to a homeless man who bred her in an attempt to sell her puppies. "They were rescued by the amazing Dogzhaus Rescue. Padfoot was the last one to be adopted, and I'm thankful I saw his adoption page when I did. He and I have a very special relationship."

Bernardo had tried to find a dog trained for film work, but scheduling conflicts gave Padfoot a paw in the door. "It gave us pause at first because I'd only had him for a couple of months when we shot the film."

"I made sure that everything in the script that Jerky had to do was stuff that Padfoot could do on cue. In the end, the natural chemistry we have as dog and owner really shone through because Tim was able to capture and edit some amazing moments."

Labor of love

Shooting took three days in Bernardo's home in the Echo Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, with a budget of under $1,000.

Screencap from "Jerky." Gordon (played by Danny Bernardo)
with his husband Martin (played by Edwin Martinez). 

The film is produced by Bernardo's production company Twelve 3 Productions in association with Fluster Pictures.

Twelve 3 is committed to diversity and inclusion, he says. "The principal cast is made up of non-white actors of different backgrounds and the production team consists of primarily women and people of color."

"It was a labor of love for all of us," Bernardo says. "We hope that this film presents a time in life that many of us are sadly familiar with, in a way that is truthful, cathartic, and uplifting."

Bernardo and Lim have opened an online crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for their airfare to and accommodations at the festival.

"Because we aren't competing in the main festival, travel and accommodations won't be provided for us," he says.

If they can make it to the festival, the pair plan to take the opportunity to network with industry professionals there.

As for Beef back in Chicago, "He's doing very well! He's living happily with Matt's friend and roommate."

Visit Fb.com/JerkyFilm

How seeing her mother Winnie get directed by Behn Cervantes in UP lured Tami Monsod into theater

By WALTER ANG
April 22, 2017
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Tami Monsod is playing Vivian Bearing in Twin Bill Theater's ongoing production of Margaret Edson's "Wit," a play about a university professor's assessment of her relationships, or lack thereof, as she faces imminent death.

Tami Monsod
Photo by Cres Yulo

Previously adapted into a made-for-TV movie starring Emma Thompson, the one-act play won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999. Twin Bill's production is directed by Steven Conde, who also helmed "My Name is Asher Lev" and "Once Upon a Mattress" this year.

Similar to her character, Monsod also teaches (theater to high school students at International School Manila) and has a master's degree.

But unlike Vivian, Monsod fosters meaningful connections with other people. "In the past and present, I've had many beautiful relationships," she says.

Starved for stories

The lure of theater came from "wanting to see stories happen in real time," she says. "I love stories.

"As an adolescent, I was first drawn to 'story staging' while watching the eccentric Behn Cervantes direct my mother at the University of the Philippines."

Her mother is noted economist and Inquirer columnist Solita Monsod, also known by her TV nickname, Mareng Winnie.

But way before that, as a child, she'd refuse to eat dinner unless her maternal grandmother came up with a story on the spot. "Due to her improv skills, I didn't starve."

"I also learned from my father who used marvelous, merciless mimicry in his dinner jokes. He could tell a story about a cockroach and make it so tragic we'd cry."

Though she took an acting class in college after avoiding acting in high school, she went on to work as an Economics and Spanish teacher.

But theater kept inserting itself back into her life; she was recruited to direct theater artists Joonee Gamboa and Roy Alvarez ("I saw them take badly written text that they edited as they acted, massaging it this way and that, until the wonderful story underneath pulsed to life") and spent years of writing and staging shows for her parish church "as a hobby."

Stumbled into acting

Her teaching colleagues noticed her bent, and encouraged her to teach theater.

"Realizing I was in it for the long haul, I took a master's at UP for formal grounding," she says. "At UP, I saw a notice for auditions and stumbled into acting."

It wasn't easy in the beginning. She recalls rehearsing a Shakespeare play, and "our director, the brilliant Jonas Sebastian, was exasperated at my imprecise use of the iambic pentameter. I was slow at getting it. He said to me, in front of the cast, that a co-actor who was my former student was 'much better' at it than I was.

"I could hear my ego cracking in the ensuing quiet."

She resolved to work harder. "I learned very fast after that. When the play opened, Jonas singled me out in his Director's Notes in the souvenir program, praising me. I was floored.

"That relationship was an unforgettable lesson and an honor. He passed away recently. Now I wish I had praised him, too."

Monsod is a 2014 Philstage Gawad Buhay recipient for her work in Repertory Philippines' "August: Osage County."

And while she's acted for groups such as Dulaang UP, Actor's Actors Inc. and New Voice Company, teaching theater has always been constant.

"I've taught theater ever since. I've had many, many students I now count as dear friends. My students are my inspiration."

In "Wit," she is joined by Sheila Francisco ("Rabbit Hole," "August: Osage County"), Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante ("Fun Home"), Raymund Concepcion, Jillian Ita-as, Francis Matheu and Bibo Reyes.

Set design by Kayla Teodoro, lighting design by Joseph Matheu, sound design by Vince Lim. 

"Wit" runs until May 3 at Mandell Hall Auditorium, Trinity University of Asia, E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave., Quezon City. Tickets: Ticketworld.com.ph. Details: Fb.com/TwinBillTheater.


Inquirer.net link:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/260387/seeing-mother-winnie-get-directed-behn-cervantes-lured-tami-monsod-theater

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