A Life in the Theater

During the past two weeks, I was saddened to hear about the demise of three people who were a part of my life in ways that they or those close to them may never have imagined. What exacerbated the feeling of loss was that I got to learn about their passing after their remains had been brought to their final resting place, and thus made me unable to pay my last respects to them. Through this note, I hope to make up for the failure. Dr. Ledivina Carino was only my professor in one subject at the then UP College of Public Administration, and one which I was not even able to complete. It was a always a pleasure, unlikely as it may seem, to engage in discussions with her in class as it was always stimulating and enervating. Beyond that, I got to meet here several times thereafter during the CCP’s attempt to come up with a law prescribing an Artists Career Service. Representing the University in our discussions, she would guide our proceedings with efficiency in ways that were warm and convi...

Instead of selecting what I thought was the best play or best actors or best production in the Virgin Labfest 5, I decided to write about the memories I still carry around in my head, one week after watching the performances. Most disturbing plot twist - DOC RESURRECCION, GAGAMUTIN ANG BAYAN provided the most unexpected twist among the VLF5 performances. As I had described to anyone who cares to listen, the play can be characterized by laughter through two-thirds of the play, punctuated by a loud, collective gasp, followed by a long silence til the end of the play. The images (both seen and imagined) remained with me way after the performance ended (and persist until now.) A great collective effort among all involved – playwright Layeta Bucoy and director Tuxqs Rutaquio (maybe they should let others benefit from their individual genius next time around), and actors Crispin Pineda, Peewee O’Hara and Angeli Bayani (all of whom showed restraint in what could have been scene-stealing r...