A Life in the Theater

" We were told that it showed that we were having fun. I was pretty darn glad to hear that. Some people couldn't believe we managed to pull off a full-length 3-act play. But we made it happen." While I have to confess I enjoyed reading the entire blog post of Christine Hogi Cadlum, about her experience in the Rehearsal and Performance Techniques workshop that was part of the 2015 Tanghalang Pilipino Summer Theater Adventure at the CCP, I have to assert that it was more because I share with her the joy and pride she experienced with her classmates, who I all consider as fellow learners.  For her complete post, here is the link:  http://simply-tymeless.blogspot.com/2015/05/push-rehearsal-and-performance.html?spref=fb

“OROSMAN at Zafira,” the 2008 reimagined dance theater production directed by Dexter Santos for Dulaang UP, based on the original text by Francisco Baltazar. Deviating from the standard komedya where the conflict is between theMoros and the Cristianos, this verse play is about warring kingdoms in the Middle East. A recent list by Entertainment Weekly of the best plays of the last 100 years prompted a timely question from the Script Analysis class I am conducting for the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company: Why is there no such list for Philippine theater? As a response, I hereby proffer a list of what I believe to be a representative sampling of 25 plays that can be considered as landmarks of Philippine theater. The list is arranged chronologically, and includes plays which were and are considered to have broken ground in local theater history, and/or plays which best represent particular theater movements or dramatic styles. I do not offer this as a definitive list, but...

Every year, the Virgin Labfest assembles an outstanding assortment of DIRECTORS and PERFORMERS, coming from various groups and persuasion, brought together by a shared desire to do theater. I have always been awed by the suprises I find in the Labfest, and I should like to think that the playwrights whose works are being performed for the first time as well as the audiences that watch the performances should only be too eager to rush to the CCP from June 25 to July 6, 2014. The names of the playwrights are in all of the posters and collaterals, but those who will be trooping to the Cultural Center of the Philippines for the Virgin Labfest 10:The Harvest will also be seeing the works of any of the following Directors and Actors.     DIRECTORS JK Anicoche  Emman Dela Cruz  Law Fajardo  Audie Gemora  Rolando Inocencio  Jenny Jamora  Ed Lacson Jr.  Melvin Lee  Joshua Lim So   Dennis Marasigan  Chris Martinez ...

Here is the final installment of theater productions I have watched that have stayed with me through the years, inspired by Guelan Luarca’s own list of productions that stuck with him. Excluded are those where I was a member of the cast or the production staff, or later became involved in subsequent stagings (which, definitely, will be material for another list). 11.    Fili  by Floy Quintos (Dulaang U.P., Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater, directed by Tony Mabesa, 1992) Floy Quintos reimagines Jose Rizal’s second novel as it is being told by Pepe to his friend Tunying, and the actor who plays this then goes on to play Simoun.  That’s just the beginning.  Add students on roller skates, the Governor General and his mistress as sado-masochist lovers, and other eye-popping theatrical devices  (e.g. tarot-card inspired periaktoi panels) that only serve to remind audiences that the novel might as well be about us in the present day.  Oh, and I have not tou...

Many things will be said about Mario O'Hara and his myriad contributions to Philippine theater and cinema. But in my memory, it will always be his humble and giving ways that will be etched forever. He notoriously took public transportation and walked to and from rehearsals in CCP,and was infamously averse to press gatherings and public functions, particularly the showbiz kind. I knew his brother Jerry before I met Mario, and by the time we were introduced in the late 80s, he had already made a name for himself as a writer, actor, and director in radio, theater, and film. His generosity as an artist and as a person was well known, and I have had several chances to see this first hand. In the late 80s, Tanghalang Pilipino was staging Ang Ginintuang Bayan, and Mario was playing one of the leading roles, along with Nonie Buencamino and Pen Medina, among others. Nonie's wife, Shamaine, was due to give birth anytime soon, and he had promised to be by...

Gibbs Cadiz listed down what he thought to be the 12 best theater performances of 2008. He begins his article with the following: "THIRTEEN, in fact, because one play featured a pair of performances so tightly woven into each other that to cite one actor without the other would be an injustice. In any case, whittling the choices down to 12 is quite a task, considering the good harvest this year of great theater moments. The Old Guard had a run of plum parts, while some young ’uns showed they are fierce talents to be reckoned with—beginning now. Here, in alphabetical order, are 13 names that defined first-class acting in Philippine theater in 2008. 1. Irma Adlawan (Tanghalang Pilipino’s "The Golden Child"). In a production boasting of excellent performances across the board, hers was the most fascinating--daringly contradictory and daringly played. As the tragically obstinate First Wife unable to cope with modernity in a feudal Chinese household, Adlawan was in top form,...

The Philippine Daily Inquirer's GIBBS CADIZ wrote about PHILSTAGE's Gawad Buhay: "Finally, the PHILSTAGE Awards for the performing arts" " AS DENNIS Marasigan recalls it, the first time the idea of performing arts awards to be given by Philstage was brought up, the officers of the organization of professional theater groups were lukewarm. " The entire article can be viewed in his blog here:

Productions by Tanghalang Pilipino (TP), Repertory Philippines (Rep) and the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and Ballet Philippines dominated the first and second quarterly citations of GAWAD BUHAY!, the performing arts awards program organized by the Philippine Legitimate Stage Artists Group (PHILSTAGE). Tanghalang Pilipino’s Kudeta romped off with a total of nine citations while Rep's Hamlet and PETA's Skin Deep tied with six citations each. A Filipino translation of Mustapha Matura's black comedy about a coup that toppled a country's president, Kudeta romped off with citations for outstanding play, stage direction (Floy Quintos); ensemble performance (cast of Kudeta); male lead in a play (Mario O Hara); featured performance in a play (Bong Cabrera and Riki Benedicto); adaptation/translation (George De Jesus III); sound design (Janice Dee); lighting design (Dennis Marasigan); and set design (Tuxqs Rutaquio). ...

Evelio Javier and Edgar Jopson never met in real life, but they have much in common. Both men experienced the beginnings of social consciousness early in their lives and, with their Ateneo education, felt compelled to speak out for their countrymen during the years of the Marcos Regime. While they differed in the manner with which they sought change -- Evelio taking the side of gradualist, enlightened reformist politics, as the way forward for the country, and Edjop believing in violent struggle due to the futility of reforms in the political culture and class structure of Filipino society – they both met violent deaths that turned shocked the Filipino people. Edjop became president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines and led student demonstrations that would later form part of the First Quarter Storm—the most intense period of student activism in Philippine history. Under Martial law, he engaged in a new level of militancy. He joined a labor union as an organizer a...

Every fan has his anecdote about one's favorite actor, and I have one about Mario O'Hara. Many moons ago when I was a Technical Director for the Cultural Center of the Philippines and assigned to oversee Tanghalang Pilipino's production of Shusaku Endo's Ang Ginintuang Bayan, then TP Artistic Director Nonon Padilla and the play's director Jonas Sebastian asked me to understudy the part being played by Nonie Buencamino in the production. Nonie's wife Shamaine was due to give birth anytime during the course of the production, and since the couple were prepared to deliver the baby through lamaze, Nonie just had to be with his wife when she did. Hence, the need for an understudy. Since the most part of my acting career had been made up of filling in for other actors at the last minute, I had the temerity to accept the assignment. Memorizing the lines and the blocking came rather easy for me since I had been watching the rehearsals for quite some time by then anyway....

Following is an article I wrote which was published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the performances of Tanghalang Pilipino's "HIMALA, The Musical" in Shanghai. Miracle in Shanghai By Dennis N. Marasigan Philippine Daily InquirerFirst Posted 00:03:00 01/07/2008 MANILA, Philippines - “Why are Filipinos very good performers, especially in music?” “Maybe because we are blessed with it.” This was the answer given by choreographer Jose Jay Cruz to a question from a Chinese member of the audience at the talkback following the last performance of Tanghalang Pilipino’s production of “Himala, The Musical” at the 2007 Asian Contemporary Festival in Shanghai, China. Afterwards, some other audience members shyly admitted they were moved to tears by the performance. Others were more openly ecstatic. The Festival, which originated in Osaka, Japan but has been organized by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center for the last three years, finally got a Filipino theater group to particip...

Tanghalang Pilipino holds open auditions for two forthcoming productions: the rock musical “EJ:Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson” scheduled in February and March 2008, and the Philippine premiere of David Henry Hwang’s “GOLDEN CHILD ” which will run from August to September 2008. The rock musical “EJ: Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Edgar Jopson at Evelio Javier” is written by Palanca Hall of Fame awardee Ed Maranan with music by The Dawn under the direction of Chris Millado. Auditions are scheduled from 5pm to 9pm on December 19 and 20, 5pm to 9pm, at the Bulwagang Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, 4th Floor, Cultural Center of the Philippines. Those interested must be prepared to perform a song of their choice and another song from the album “Tulad ng Dati” by The Dawn. “GOLDEN CHILD” wll be performed in both English and Filipino under the direction of Loy Arcenas, who also directed “The Romance of Magno Rubio/Ang Romansa ni Magno Rubio.” Needed are actors and actr...

Ricky Davao is a multi-awarded film, television and theater actor who would really rather be known as a singer who can act. He will jump at every opportunity to show off his singing voice and whose plans for the future not only include directing a film version of Rene Villanueva's "Hiblang Abo" but also an album of salinawits, or standards transliterated into Filipino. Which is not to say that he will also not take advantage of every chance to perform on stage. This week, he resurrects his role as Dado in the Mario O'Hara's adaptation of his own screenplay for Lino Brocka's "Insiang." Directed by Chris Millado (who, like Ricky, also won an Aliw Award for his work on the play), Ricky plays opposite Sheenly Vee Gener (as Insiang) and Mailes Kanapi (as Pacing). As he normally would, Ricky set aside time to do Insiang, making sure that he can devote all his attention and time for the project. Ricky once said in an interview that we have known each other ...

When I go back to Silliman next week with Tanghalang Pilipino's productions of GEE GEE AT WATERINA and WELCOME TO INTELSTAR, it will be my third time to visit the place. I have been to Silliman University and Luce Auditorium twice before : the first was in 1978 when U.P. and PNB brought Tony Mabesa's production of Nick Joaquin's "Tatarin" back to back with Isagani Cruz' "Josephine"; the second was with Repertory Philippines' "The Gingerbread Lady" by Neil Simon in 1983. I have very fond memories of both trips. In 1978, Amiel Leonardia was still the Luce Auditorium's Technical Director. His assistant was a graduate student named Junix Inocian. I recall that Luce Auditorium was comparable with the best theaters in the country, probably next only to Philamlife Auditorium in terms of acoustics. Among the company in that 1978 tour (which was also memorable because I lost my entire bag when we were dropped off by a C-130 cargo plane at...

The year’s best stage event invades Cebu this November!Tanghalang Pilipino’s production of “Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, Ze Muzikal” goes onstage at the SM Cebu Cinema 1 on November 16 to 18 at 3pm and 8pm, sure to give Cebuanos a rip-roaring time as the beloved parlorista turned bodacious superhero shows off her powers outside of Manila for the very first time. Playing Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah once again is singer-comedienne K Brosas. Already famous for her television appearances in Bitoy’s Funniest Home Videos and Hokus Pokus plus her villainous turn as Divina Demonica in Mars Ravelo’s Darna, K Brosas combines zany humor and peculiar vulnerability as the red-headed warrior heroine. Providing ample support to K Brosas are some of the country’s best musical theater artists, among them Arnold Reyes as Dodong, the man with the perfect “noodles”; Kalila Aguilos as the archnemesis Queen Femina Suarestella Baroux, Tuxqs Rutaquio as the gay beautician Ada; Wenah Nagales, Mayen Estanero, Skyzx Labastilla and ...