MEMORIES OF VIRGIN LABFEST 5
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 roles – especially Angeli who could carry a play by herself), and Riki Benedicto and Jonathan Tadioan, both of whome demonstrated precision, understanding of their characters and maturity as actors in their portrayals. (I still feel Tad’s character was the protagonist of the play and should have had the last bow.)
Best roller-coaster ride – without question, Nick Pichay’s ISANG ARAW SA KARNABAL directed by Chris Millado. Skyzx Labastilla and Paolo O’Hara took me (along with the rest of the theatre audience) through one hell of a ride, making me (and I believe, everyone else) think we were on the roller coaster ride with them. The front roll that the two actors did was like the icing on the proverbial cake. By the time they did it, they’ve already brought the audience through the anguish of love, disappearances, and even shit. And I still keep smiling everytime I recall the performance.
Most affecting performance – the ensemble of MALIW by Reuel Molina Aguiila, directed by Edna Vida Froilan. The play starts out slow, and reminded me of Reuel’s earlier works during the Martial Law years (read: I was prepared for a polemical play.) But just as Bembol Roco’s character goes to sleep, the play goes into another direction. Without meaning to, I realized there were tears slowly running down my cheeks midway through the scene between Gigi Escalante and Julia Enriquez. It may be because the tear that seemed to have seeped out of the sleeping Bembol Roco that did it, or maybe the sound coming from others in the theatres desperately holding back their own tears. Another tale of disappearance, this is a memory that, as the play says, “hindi agad magmamaliw.”
Most disturbing characters – Mailes Kanapi’s roles as the Kitchen Medea and her other turn in David Finnigan’s HATE RESTAURANT seemed to have come out of Stephen King. The images from both plays still linger in the mind. Then there is Marjorie Lorico in her almost deranged one-woman performance in ANG HULING LEKTYUR NI MRS. REYES, as well Ness Roque, though not as twisted, also in HATE RESTAURANT. Mayen Estanero was also a disturbed and disturbing victim in SO SANGIBO A RANON NA PIYATAY O SATIMAN A TADMAN, a character so completely different from her shoe store clerk in MAMANUGANGIN NI REZ,
The VLF5 Ellas Inocentes Award – should go to BOY/GEL ANG GELPREN NI MOMMY. Though unlike Ellas Inocentes in tone, this play with Che Ramos and Kimmy Maclang does drive home a similar question – how well do us adults really know and understand the effects of what we do on young minds? And the “children” were a delight. I did wonder whether the casting of Karen Haniel was meant to emphasize the point further? And did I say this was a comedy through and through?
On the whole, this year’s productions were replete with wonderful performances which helped the productions provide very satisfying results. I wonder what would have happened if certain plays had different directors? But that is where the beauty of the Virgin Labfest experiment probably lies—in the unexpected. That’s another “u” word to add to the four (down to three this year, for whatever reasons) that have characterized the festival from the beginning : untried, unstaged, untested and unpublished. I can hardly wait for the next
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 roles – especially Angeli who could carry a play by herself), and Riki Benedicto and Jonathan Tadioan, both of whome demonstrated precision, understanding of their characters and maturity as actors in their portrayals. (I still feel Tad’s character was the protagonist of the play and should have had the last bow.)
Best roller-coaster ride – without question, Nick Pichay’s ISANG ARAW SA KARNABAL directed by Chris Millado. Skyzx Labastilla and Paolo O’Hara took me (along with the rest of the theatre audience) through one hell of a ride, making me (and I believe, everyone else) think we were on the roller coaster ride with them. The front roll that the two actors did was like the icing on the proverbial cake. By the time they did it, they’ve already brought the audience through the anguish of love, disappearances, and even shit. And I still keep smiling everytime I recall the performance.
Most affecting performance – the ensemble of MALIW by Reuel Molina Aguiila, directed by Edna Vida Froilan. The play starts out slow, and reminded me of Reuel’s earlier works during the Martial Law years (read: I was prepared for a polemical play.) But just as Bembol Roco’s character goes to sleep, the play goes into another direction. Without meaning to, I realized there were tears slowly running down my cheeks midway through the scene between Gigi Escalante and Julia Enriquez. It may be because the tear that seemed to have seeped out of the sleeping Bembol Roco that did it, or maybe the sound coming from others in the theatres desperately holding back their own tears. Another tale of disappearance, this is a memory that, as the play says, “hindi agad magmamaliw.”
Most disturbing characters – Mailes Kanapi’s roles as the Kitchen Medea and her other turn in David Finnigan’s HATE RESTAURANT seemed to have come out of Stephen King. The images from both plays still linger in the mind. Then there is Marjorie Lorico in her almost deranged one-woman performance in ANG HULING LEKTYUR NI MRS. REYES, as well Ness Roque, though not as twisted, also in HATE RESTAURANT. Mayen Estanero was also a disturbed and disturbing victim in SO SANGIBO A RANON NA PIYATAY O SATIMAN A TADMAN, a character so completely different from her shoe store clerk in MAMANUGANGIN NI REZ,
The VLF5 Ellas Inocentes Award – should go to BOY/GEL ANG GELPREN NI MOMMY. Though unlike Ellas Inocentes in tone, this play with Che Ramos and Kimmy Maclang does drive home a similar question – how well do us adults really know and understand the effects of what we do on young minds? And the “children” were a delight. I did wonder whether the casting of Karen Haniel was meant to emphasize the point further? And did I say this was a comedy through and through?
On the whole, this year’s productions were replete with wonderful performances which helped the productions provide very satisfying results. I wonder what would have happened if certain plays had different directors? But that is where the beauty of the Virgin Labfest experiment probably lies—in the unexpected. That’s another “u” word to add to the four (down to three this year, for whatever reasons) that have characterized the festival from the beginning : untried, unstaged, untested and unpublished. I can hardly wait for the next
Comments
-tuxqs
- angeli
Karen's casting, honestly was quite accidental. There weren't anymore male actor to pine for so when my SM said he saw Karen play a boy once, I went with my guts. And I thought, well, why not, the play's a gender-bender anyway. Teehee.
Salamat ulit. ;)
Pogi resurreccion's character was well-written, so while watching it I'm pretty sure the strength of the performance could not be credited to Tad alone. It's Layeta's talent.
-Lucy