Virgin Labfest 4, Kapamilya, Kapuso, Kabisyo Trilogy

The Virgin Labfest is all about “untried, untested, unpublished and unstaged plays” by both budding and recognized artists. On its fourth year, it has accumulated a variety of fans, critics and curious viewers because of its stimulating and innovative line-up of one-act plays, about 30 to 45 minutes each.

I have not been much of a theater-goer these past years because of the two decades I’ve spent as an artist of Ballet Philippines at the CCP. Like many burnt out people, I’d rather stay home, avoid traffic, not bother to dress up and watch tv.

Just a few weeks ago, my husband was asked to be one of the judges at the Wifi Dance Festival. I decided to take a peek and was hit by a torrent of sentiments in the choreographies that I saw. I decided to write about it.

Amazingly, my daughter auditioned for the Labfest Theater Festival and got a role in one of the plays; her debut as an actor. As she took the role home with her each night, I found myself getting involved. Analyzing a script is a far cry from analyzing movement. Words have a different energy from steps. I watched the run of the three plays in the trilogy she was in and was enthralled. If, in dance, the message is interpretative the imagination has to work double time. I surmise this is the reason why many people are intimidated by contemporary dance. Theater is easier to grasp. You can hear the words, watch the action, follow the story and there is less guesswork.

Seeing the bevy of good actors working passionately to shine, I thought it would be a pity if people missed the plays. So here I am writing about Labfest too. I am now a theater groupie! This is not a review. Consider it more of a reaction paper.

All I want to do is drive people to the CCP – regardless of traffic and, you can even wear jeans and shorts – feel the tangible force of a live performance and go home a different person.

Kapamilya, Kapuso, Kabisyo
Las Mentiras de Gloria by Layeta Bucoy
Directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio
Featuring: Bart Guingona & May Bayot
Playdates: June 26 – 3PM/8PM (Thrusday), July 5 – 8PM (Saturday), July 6 – 3PM
(Sunday)
Venue: Tanghalang Huseng Batute

The play opens with a favorite song of mine, “Gracias a la Vida”, sung expressively by
Gloria (May Bayot) as she ‘floats’ behind a plastic wall towards a rough outline of a destitute bathroom. We see nothing but a broken toilet, a sink, a bath cubicle and a box of ‘butabots’ containing her history.

Gloria, who has succumbed to cancer, appears to her twin brother, Utoy (Bart Guingona) and prods him to transform their bathroom into a “kubeta ng mayaman’ for her wake. This is what her colleagues from UP expect to see in their ‘antique’ house.

The conversation begins with an amount of tenderness estranged twins might have but the voyage to perdition closely follows. A valve is opened; childhood memories, connections, isolations, posturings, accusations and absolutions pour.

Finally, the twins’ ugliest truth seeps out – what it is you’ll have to find out for yourself.

Guingona’s and Bayot’s powerful stage presence keeps us glued to the dialogue even as we wince through its sordid revelations.

Director Rutaquio knows his actors well and allows them to maneuver the drama with their own delicate nuances.

Layeta Bucoy’s play speaks of a relationship that has gone out of kilter, as most human relationships do. Like the greasy toilet Utoy tries to
fix, obstructions may be dislodged but the grime clings to each soul for eternity.

Las Mentiras de Gloria merges two compelling actors, an insightful writer and a
responsive director.

Powerful!

Ang Mga Halimaw by Carlo Garcia
Directed by Paolo O'Hara

Featuring: JK Anicoche, Amihan Ruiz, Kristine Balmes, Alvin Obillo, Nar Cabico, Isab Martinez, Mara Marasigan,Philip Evangelista and Oscar Garcia
Playdates: June 26 – 3PM/8PM (Thrusday), July 5 – 8PM (Saturday), July 6 – 3PM (Sunday)
Venue: Tanghalang Huseng Batute

Infiltrating the dark world of assassins can be hilarious if done in a taxi of Ang Mga Halimaw. The play is about hired criminals on a mission; in a pace so fast you pant as you watch. The hoodlum characters are portrayed with such zeal, they end up so endearing you’d take them home to mama.

Because of the ferocious energy of these young graduates from the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA), I advise you not to sit in the front row.

JK Anicoche, as the Taxi Driver, is especially effective. He is a bewildered character, crude and mermerizingly real. He is the one I want to take home. Kristine Balmes, the

Operadang Bakla, is the transvestite who utterly charms us with her dark sexy wit and wintry façade. Nar Cabico, as Lalaking May Pakpak, amuses the audience with his casual detachment on a twitchy baby face.

Isabelle Martinez, the Babaeng Buntis, grips with her screeching yet believable angst. Fantastic role for the talented girl. Oscar Garcia, as Boss, gives relief by being quiet but being there.

I had to see this play twice to understand the story and I’m still groping in its surrealism – the dreamlike juxtopositions applied in text. Writer Carlo Garcia dared to go beyond parameters – as young artists should – and took a good risk.

I congratulate Director O’Hara for making me laugh and probe with awe. This is his first direction at the CCP and I see a fantastic career ahead of him. (Good job Paolo!) He and Garcia are what Labfest is all about: risk, courage and triumph.

A must-see!

Amoy ng Langit by Hase Hiroichi
Directed by Toshiisa Yoshida

Featuring: Mailes Kanapi, Martha Comia, Ana Deroca, Mica Froilan and Tara Cabaero
Playdates: June 26 – 3PM/8PM (Thrusday), July 5 – 8PM (Saturday), July 6 – 3PM (Sunday)
Venue: Tanghalang Huseng Batute

What, really, is the smell of heaven? Three students, a teacher and a ghost would know. The story unfolds in a setting as minimal as Japanese designs go – one bench.

The play is light and funny – thanks to (the Teacher) Mailes Kanapi’s brilliant comic timing and injections of convincing Japanese jargon by the cast. But a familial heartbreak seeps out in the giddy chitchats of the three college sophomores.

The story revolves around a ghost, Chihaya, (Tara Cabaero) who makes her presence known in a rooftop. Her sister, Yu (Mica Froilan), and her friends (Martha Comia and Ana Deroca) defy school rules to visit the forbidden place which eventually becomes a site not only for recreation but for closure. The two siblings, one dead but very much alive and one alive but virtually dead, reach their conclusion four years after the tragedy.

Writer Hase Hiroichi does not spoon-feed us with deliberate information. Candid banter leads to the drama, climax and resolution. Everything is unpretentious. The script, direction and acting are so chaste you want to hug everyone in the play. Director Yoshida, with his simple blocking and lighting effects, presents Amoy ng Langit with refreshing purity.

Like Japanese masters who tell their students to ‘learn by watching their back’, Hiroichi and Yoshida let the audience pick up the clues on their own.

I know the actors found their paths too, given plenty of room to discover their characters personally.

Very Japanese. Very simple. Very light. Very deep, if you penetrate that prohibited place where loss resides. It’s refreshing to watch Pinoys become Japanese. Or Japanese become Pinoys.

Mailes Kanapi is one divine diva of theater, a sparkling diamond who can manipulate her audience at whim. So exciting to watch. Tara Cabaero is a winning performer, pretty, perky and lovely. Martha Comia is a robust actress who can command attention. Ana Deroca is one impressive Japanese which means she can be anything and anyone. And Mica Froilan,
who is my daughter, I’ve given my comments to in private.

The Kapamilya, Kapuso, Kabisyo series of Labfest 4 is all about stories of ghosts in different perspectives. Maybe the word Kamatayan or Kalulua should have been added but never mind. All three plays succeed in making us reflect on mortality yet go home pretty ecstatic.

With the sordid transgressions of Las Mentiras de Gloria and the hilarious malice of Ang Mga Halimaw, Amoy ng Langit is a good ender for the trilogy.

A joy!

The electrifying thing about allowing ‘virgin’ plays on stage is that the creativity of playwrights and directors is not strapped by rules and formula. Some experimentations may work, some may not, but the artists are allowed to succeed, fall short and learn as their works progress. Art is about change and evolution. Those who are strange now may be mainstream of the future … until someone breaks their rules. This is the beauty of Art. It keeps moving forward.

Thank you to the Labfest pioneers: Artistic Director Rody Vera, Dennis Marasigan, Herbie Go and the Writer’s Bloc, Inc. Tanghalang Pilipino, CCP and NCCA for opening doors to the pool of creative and talented Filipinos. Bravo!

Photos by Joma Dela Vega and EVRF

Part 4: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition

Part 4: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition

Okay guys, don’t worry. In general you were truly enticing. I saw you ONCE and you got my first impression. But to an audience, the first impact is IT.

Now that you know how it feels to compete, take the next step. Go furthur. Move on. Mull on the important rules of competition:

1. Think of a unique concept. Make the judges remember your work. Stand out!

2. Avoid gimmickry. Truth is the silent music of dance, and the loudest.

3. Don’t be afraid to repeat movements. Repetition is a breather. Repetition is emphasis. Repetition is a reminder. Repetition is powerful.

4. Don’t move all the time. Stillness can be a diamond in an outbreak of steps. Be familiar with the drama of immobility.

5. Structure. Structure. Structure. Don’t be carried away by movement itself. Don’t self-indulge. Have a clear beginning, middle and end. Come up with a finished and complete art work.

6. Lock yourself in the room and think, think, think. Get out of the box. Be crazy. Dare. Explore. Experiment. Don’t be safe and dull. Get good music – it will assure 50% of your success.

7. Have a ‘second eye’ and listen to fresh opinion. When you are too close to your work there are many things you no longer see. Make sure your ‘second eye’ is frank and unbiased.

8. Be confident. No one in this world is spared disappointment. Don’t be stumped by failure. Lick your wounds but never succumb to defeat. Tomorrow is another day.

9. Don’t be too proud to keep growing and learning until you die.

10. Don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re just another human being serving God like everyone else. One hundred years from now, who’ll remember your work? … unless you’re another Martha Graham and, guess what? a lot of people don’t know her anymore. Sad, no?

Jury for New Choreographers Competition:

Nestor O. Jardin, Chair

Basilio “Steve” Villaruz

Denisa Reyes

Shigemi Kitamura

Nonoy Froilan

Wi Fi Body Independent Contemporary Dance Festival 3

June 12-15, 2008

In cooperation with CCP, NCCA, Japan Fundation Manila, Instituto Cervantes Manila, Embajada de Espana en Filipinas,Ministerio de Cultura, Gobierno de Espana, Allince Francaise de Manille, Ayala Corporation

Review, Part 3: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition

Review, Part 3: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition
Set 2

Which Way? – choreography and performance by Rhosam Prudencio

The motto is: Start with what is closest to your heart. Add to that good sincere dancing and the Second Place prize is bagged. After basking in this glory, Sam, move away from the weathered where-am-i-where-will-i-go-i-am-confused dance theme. Use that talent to explore untried ideas. Keep discovering yourself. The way may have been well paved for you and, given that, take the many new and winding roads out there.

Subside – choreography by Madonna Louise Vitales, performed by Nicollete Arcaire Agunday

Faint and subdued. I wanted to see more impact and creative confidence. I sensed a holding back, a kind of hesitance in creativity and performance.

Go girls. You took the risky first steps, traipse on, boogie, float, spin, even schlep towards growth. Be more unconventional and assertive next time.

The Spark Within – choreography and performance by Jed Amihan

Another darkie with a bit of spark. Jed contained
illumination in one palm and the spark flickered from without. I wondered, if he placed the light in his mouth … more interesting?

Like Johnny in his Mananggit … guys … utilize the prop. Abuse and misuse it – let it come from your guts. Nice movements, Jed, but give me surprising peaks next time. The light in the palm is so safe. Put it somewhere else but not as a gimmick. Let all the stage lights whoosh then black out on the spark. Something striking like that would’ve made a more memorable ending.

Temperature – choreography by John Philip Martir, performed by Carlos Deriada

and John Philip Martir

Good compositional structure (like the next duet, Blank It). I find duets interesting because there is more room for return thrusts and bounce-offs. This, John did with ample success. Not enough Umph though. Something, something more electrifying should’ve struck me hard I know but it just didn’t come.

It’s a sizzling physical duet but the temperature didn’t exactly rise and fall. Make it hotter and colder.

Blank It – choreography by Chantal Primero, performed by Chantal Primero and Nicole Primero

Delightful and charming girlie duet. Good structure. Good concept. This piece held my attention because I kept wondering where it will go.

Chantal cleverly sets the journey and takes us on a flight to … well, a blanket. Well that’s rare enough! So I was thinking, are they sisters? Lesbians? Friends? Good work, Chantal – you made your audience think.

Manoy – choreography by Julius Legare, performed by Julius Legare and Deejay De Vera

First Place winner and rightly so. It was the most finished product. Message clear. Music and choreography funny. Different. A dance about two basketball wannabes getting too close for comfort, with sensitive nuances of ‘gayhood’ that’s not overdone. Their discomfort is felt intimately – rare in a gay subject – and quaintly portrayed by the two males.

Just one problem. The synopsis read: “Manoy explores relationships of bodies as they relate in the four realms of human experience: the physical, the historical/social, the symbolic/mythical and finally the integrative realms.”

Huh??? Just say it’s about two men who are attracted to one another and there is no closure! This was the winning piece because it was strikingly distinct from the rest.

Mind & Eye – choreography and performance by Joel Simbulan

A bandaged hands. Death in the end? You’ll need to rethink and restructure your message and make it scream. Or maybe do a piece about how your little finger can scratch the hell out of your body. I’d remember that.

Keep going though. Nice try. Don’t lose hope. Slap me a winning piece next year. You’re a fabulous dancer.

Review, Part 2: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition

Review, Part 2: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition
Set 1

Mananggiti (Coconut Sap Gatherer) – choreography and performance by Johnny Amar

Interesting movements, peculiar and out of the ordinary. Johnny starts off well with bamboo kawits but the minute he strips them off his Mananggiti becomes just another dance. He should have explored his unusual props and told a fascinating story about sap gatherers.

He started on the right track but veered to a safe detour, practically saying, “sandali lang, let me get rid of this gear because I want to dance” then, “oh yeah, gotta put the kawit back on …” Sayang.

Tubig-Ulan – choreography and performance by Mia Cabalfin

One of my favorites. Intelligent piece, beautifully danced by Mia. Only thing is, the concept is too broad and hazy.

She writes: “Tubig-ulan ‘di ko mayakap” (You are rainwater that I cannot embrace). A person, an idea, a dream, anything desired – something that seems so close, but that one can never really tangibly grasp – a vocabulary of the body translates this simple phrase.”

Duh? Good solo piece but not award-winning with thirteen others in the running. Mia, next time, try being crazier. I think you have it in you.

Bounce – choreography by Cristine Crame, performed by Richardson Yadao and Jairo

Ibarrientos

Audience Winner Prize. Crowd favorite. Researched and executed well. Too bad we saw Manoy (by Julius Lagare) first, another

basketball piece with a clearer concept. Cristine had a portion with the dancers on the floor. How I wished they stayed there. Playing basketball lying down would have made an impact – really out of the box. The minute they stood up … No! Christine! Don’t!

My advise is, use your exposure in Ballet Philippines – working with all those choreographers and their styles – and find your own Cristine Crame signature. Almost there with more idiosyncratic daring.

The Overture – choreography and perfomormance by Ea Torrado

The most charming and honest piece, very lovely indeed. It revolves around a ballerina’s edgy thoughts before a show. Surprisingly, with a background in ballet, Ea delved into contemporary movement with yawning passion.

She was a moving sculpture with a clear testimonial. Her body was eloquent. She knew what she wanted to say and said it well. This piece should have been one of the winners. It was a stand-out.

Battery Meter – choreography by Billy Sotillo, performed by Leodegario Demafiliz and Billy Sotillo

Good idea for a duet – soul versus machine – but Billy, you needed to nail it more. Active/Passive is different-complicated and you almost had it in the bag. Engaging and straightforward dancing by the two dancers. Brave and sincere.

You’re on the right track to self-expression. Keep going.

Sugilanon ng Awit sa Kahapunon (Stories and Songs in the Afternoon) –

choreography and performance by Deejay De Vera

Oh no another drag queen sob story!

The piece is a curious tale about an imprisoned lover-slayer who sends letters to a radio program. The protagonist Rogie’s liberated gay life ends in the morbid confines of a jail cell. Fortunately, this was stirringly illustrated in movement by Deejay. The Visayan radio voice relating the story adds intensity to the drama and there is poignancy lingering in the air.

Well-said and well-danced. Design can be improved. It was a tad too stretched. Shorter would’ve been stronger.

Moving Thoughts – choreography by Marius Centino, performed by Ian Nick Tiba

What captured me was the essence of the piece but it wasn’t enough. Let’s see … moving thoughts … thoughts moving … that can be a spectacle … so many different reflections … varying dynamics … funny, sad, angry,wild, limp, young, old … I can go on and on.

The problem is, Marius, the title gave you so much potential for movement but you lingered in a few similar thoughts. Next time, explore the idea to the fullest and it’ll be a smash.

Edna Vida Froilan: CCP Wi Fi Body Dance Festival 3: Review, Part 1

Edna Vida Froilan: CCP Wi Fi Body Dance Festival 3: Review, Part 1

CCP Wi Fi Body Dance Festival 3: Review, Part 1

Wi Fi Body Dance Festival 3

Cultural Center of the Philippines

June 12-15, 2008

Kudos to Myra Beltran and Paul Morales for their successful Wi Fi Dance Festival 3 held at the CCP last June 12-15. There is an abundance of creative talent in the Philippines and the two tirelessly supply the niche for many young choreographers. They are, themselves, choreographers of note and it is generous of them to give the limelight to the youth, supporting and encouraging them every step of the way. Thank you, Myra and Paul for your bighearted endeavor. Bravo, too, to the CCP for hosting the exhilarating dance event and the next two coming events: Labfest for theater and Cinemalaya for film. These, I will write about in my coming blogs.

I went to see the Wi Fi competition to peek at the latest pool of smarts in dance. Yes, I enjoyed myself immensely and went home pleased that the future of dance in our country is secure. A nagging thought bothered me, though. Artists need not only support but a straightforward evaluation as well. There are a few dance critics here and one of them, Steve Villaruz, happened to be a Wi Fi judge. Uh-oh.

Although I’ve reviewed dance works in the past, this is not one of my favorite tasks. I escape it with fervor, as a matter of fact. I was a dancer. I choreograph. I know how hard it is to be there and do that. It can be annoying to have a critic sniff and scoff at something you practically killed yourself to do – they pan you in one blow, tsk tsk, cough cough – and leave the building not knowing they’ve exterminated your career for life. Most exasperating are critics who don’t know what they’re talking about and judge works for the sake of having an opinion.

But, after some praises and compliments, I remember having to face the hard facts as a young artist. I took destructive and constructive criticism blow for blow, fell, got wounded, cursed but essentially GREW. Fearing the worst critique in every project, I learned to labor for excellence. It had to be that or nothing. Of course, failure also provides a good dosage of artistic vitamins but at least one must fail trying. The daunting critics in my early career were my sisters, Alice Reyes and Denisa Reyes, and National Artist for Design, Salvador (Badong) Bernal. Boy, they don’t mince words. Now, thanks to them, I am the worst critic of myself. Meaning, I can’t even fool me.

So I have decided to put on the hat of Simon Cowell; nitpick, analyze, find fault, fuss, appraise, be frank and, most importantly, be honest. I’ve noticed that many young choreographers hear nothing but the bravos of their friends and supporters in the audience and it saddens me that they actually believe they are always fantastic. We used to shiver in fright as we waited for reviews after a show – but that was when the critics actually wrote reviews. Hardly anyone does today for dance. So, sorry guys but you need this and it’s so not gonna be easy for me.

Hence, I begin with a lecture. Someone once told a choreographer that if her audience didn’t understand her work … it didn’t work. This was when she was forced to write something about her piece in the program because the audience couldn’t quite get it. I kept that in mind. In my creative movement workshops, I tell the participants to ask themselves two questions: Who am I? and What do I want to say? Then, say it well in a complete, finished and interesting work of art. ‘Interesting’ means not masturbatory nor self-indulgent.

This became rather clear to me when I watched a solo performance of a female dancer in a festival abroad. Movement after movement took place – beautiful and unique as they were – then more movement after movement after movement. We sat for an hour frying in a pan that offered nothing but self-indulgence. I went home very angry that night I think because it reminded me of my earlier works. So I researched on craft and makeup.

The Wi Fi’s New Choreographers Competition had fourteen participants do a seven to ten-minute number each. In such competitions, these minutes had better be good. Be striking. Be memorable. Be unique. As I said, the bane of dancer/choreographers is their mass supply of movement. Like an overdone feast, no matter how beautiful the movements are, they end up boring. When push comes to shove, a good concept and structure will always save the piece.

Another observation of mine is too many dance works today border on anguish and torment. This is my plea to all contemporary choreographers. The audience knows distress all too well – err, especially Filipino audiences. Contemporary dance can also be funny, beautiful, pure abstract, pleasant and have those good old beautiful lines. Give us a break from REALITY. If I’m full of angst, do I want to see someone else’s? Ain’t going through that traffic to CCP to be reminded of my problems. I’d rather watch my daughter on television in MYX.

Now, a final dodging of possible hurt feelings. I told a singer that I had to coach not long ago, “Can I be frank with you like I am with my children when I want them to be better?” He said yes and tutoring him was a breeze. Now brace yourselves and tomorrow I shall submit Part 2 of this review. I will analyze each choreography and give my two cents worth. Think of it as a mother’s opinion.