GIBBS CADIZ

Mark Twain was right about Syria

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Philippine Daily Inquirer, 11.08.2009

He called Damascus ‘Eternal City’—indeed, a visitor can savor the present through its past

SAMUEL CLEMENS, AKA MARK Twain, he of the sparkling American wit and humor, wasn’t joking for once when he wrote of a favorite city: “To Damascus years are only flitting trifles of time. She measures time not by days and months and years, but by the empires she has seen rise and crumble to ruin. She is a type of immortality.”

Twain wrote that in 1869. These days, the tourist map tends to overlook Damascus and Syria itself for flashier outposts in the Middle East—Cairo in Egypt with its glamorous pharaohs and pyramids, Israel and its profusion of holy places, even Jordan with Petra. But Damascus can hold a bright candle to these destinations with its own extremely rich history and culture, beginning with its claim to be the oldest inhabited city on earth.

Cradle of civilization
Syria is “historically the cradle of civilization and religion,” said Tourism Minister Dr. Sa’ad Alaah Aga Alkal’ah, citing as proof, among others, the world’s first alphabet (found carved on a mud tablet in the Phoenician city of Ugarit); the definitive development of Christianity as we know it, with St. Paul’s conversion on his way to Damascus (the “Street called Straight” on which he met St. Ananias still bisects the city today); the march of the great Biblical tribes across the country’s length and breadth—Hittites, Amorites, Akkadians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, the Roman legion—along with history’s mightiest warrior-kings from Nebuchadnezzar and Darius to Saladin and Richard the Lion-Hearted.

[Click on photos to enlarge.]

Statue of Saladin, the Crusaders' greatest foe, in front of the Damascus Citadel

Damascus Citadel at night. The fortress was built by Saladin's brother in the early 13th century. Beside it is the famed Al Hamidiyeh souk (market).

Minaret and inner courtyard of the Omayyad Mosque, built in 705 AD and the heart of old Damascus. Inside the mosque is a shrine to St. John the Baptist.

Byzantine mosaic displayed at Al Ma'ara Museum, in the northwestern part of Syria between Hama and Aleppo

Satellite dishes--preferred by Syrians over cable TV--bloom in profusion on apartment rooftops in Aleppo.

Modern Syria is pegging its tourism efforts on the rediscovery of the country’s pivotal role in world history, specifically its central part in the spread of commerce, culture and technology through the Silk Road, the fabled 7,000-mile trade route that transported goods from China to Europe, to Africa, the Mediterranean and back for nearly 3,000 years.

Along the way, Syrian cities such as Palmyra, Aleppo and Damascus became important cosmopolitan trading centers and restful oases for caravans of merchants and adventurers traversing the gruelling transcontinental route.

To highlight its international Silk Road heritage, the country has been mounting a lavish festival every year since 2002 as a way to attract more tourists, visitors and connoisseurs of history and culture. This year’s festival, for instance, brought together performers, musicians and artists from Turkey, Yemen, India, Iraq, Jordan, Spain, Tunisia, China and (much applauded) some high-kicking martial dancers from the Carpathian mountain region of Romania.

Banner announcing the 2009 Silk Road Festival

Opening program of the Silk Road Festival featuring performers from India, China, Africa, Spain, Romania and other countries once linked to the ancient trade routes

(The Philippine Department of Tourism, representing a country itself touched by the southern maritime fringe of the silk route, has a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Syria that calls for “deepening the cooperation in the field of tourism between the two countries, [paying] special attention to cultural and historical tourism.”)

Prickly relations
Despite lingering perceptions of Syria as a dangerous country, derived mainly from its prickly relations with the US—which has accused Syria’s authoritarian government of supporting terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, among other charges—six million tourists are expected to pour in this year, up 10 percent from last year. That includes, said Deputy Prime Minister Abdal-allah AlDadari, an average of 50,000 American tourists a year, despite the absence of direct flights from the US mainland.

What they see when they arrive in Syria is a country that breathes its past even as it embraces the present. Glittering bars and restaurants in Damascus testify to a thriving modern nightlife, even as the city’s most famous souk (market), the Al Hamidiyeh Bazaar, with its ribbons of shops and streets brimming with fruits, perfumes, spices, garments, brass and metalware, handicrafts, brocades, native delicacies and handblown glass, provides a direct echo of the times, peaking in the Middle Ages, when Damascus, with the colonnaded Roman metropolis of Palmyra planted in the desert and the prosperous Aleppo to the north, resounded with the din of caravansaries from far and wide descending on the country.

Women buying fish at Al Hamidiyeh Bazaar in Damascus

Fruits in a riot of colors being sold on the streets of the seaside city of Tartus

Young Syrian outside his garment shop at the Suleymaniye Islamic-Ottoman Complex, Damascus

DVDs of Hollywood movies for sale; CDs of Western artists are also abundant.

Man offering cups of traditional Syrian drink to pedestrians for a fee

Bananas--big ones-- sold on the sidewalk in Tartus

These men saw our cameras, went outside their store and asked to have their picture taken.

That age-old mercantile tradition seems to have bred in Syrians a sense of gregariousness and hospitality. Not very many speak English, but even those who don’t will cry “Welcome!” or nod and smile when they see foreigners on the street. Children, especially, love to mug before tourist cameras.

Girls crowd out the boys and confidently vogue for the camera.

Two boys playing at the Omayyad Mosque courtyard pause for a pose. Kids are allowed to be frisky not only at the courtyard, but inside the mosque itself.

Bedouin boys in traditional garb

Schoolkids, two of them in their trademark blue grade-school uniform, have fun in front of the camera.

More schoolkids, this time crowding around a Japanese journalist

After offering me a cup of hot chocolate bought from the vendor in the background, this boy segued into his pose.

The boys were playing soccer, but forgot their game at the sight of the camera; the girls scampered after them.

Adorable kid in native garb with beaming mom and dad inside their clothing shop

Shy kid with grandma

The young boy was no match to the two perky girls, who kept dragging him along and introducing themselves to visitors, including to us.

They came at us from nowhere, smiling endlessly, wanting to have their picture taken and gamely following our hands-on-chin instructions.

This kid's a born performer, joining a group of adult males perform a traditional welcome dance.

Two young boys eating ice cream on a hot afternoon in Aleppo

And just like that, this tyke obliges our colleague Ron Jayme's camera.

While the state apparatus remains palpable with heavy police and military presence everywhere (ensuring low crime on the other hand), Syrian society itself appears to be more open and tolerant than its Arab neighbors.

The October 2009 issue of “Syria Today,” an English-language magazine, openly discusses the question of “Breaking Taboos”—specifically the “Forbidden Trinity” of Syrian society: sex, religion and politics.

The articles tackle changing perceptions about living-in and premarital sex among young couples; the stigma attached to social outcasts such as the homeless and mentally handicapped; the lives of Syrian gay men and women; the increasing popularity of tattoos.

Remarkable chapter
Syrian history has one remarkable chapter that perhaps illuminates its attitude toward women. The desert town of Palmyra, known as Tadmor in 19th century BC, became a magnificent city of Roman arches, columns, temples and an amphitheater with the rise of the Silk Road.

Palmyra's Roman ruins, fronted by the 2nd-century AD Monumental Arch or Arch of Triumph

What remains of the colonnaded avenue leading to the amphitheater

These ruins were once a glittering cosmopolitan destination in the middle of the desert--an oases for Silk Road caravans

Impressively built amphitheater with great acoustics and a breathtaking view of the surrounding plain

The main avenue where once the Arab queen Zenobia had her triumphant processions

Timeless ruins bathed in sunset

The ancient metropolis dramatically lit at night--a sight to behold after driving in pitch-black darkness through the desert

In 267 AD, its king was supplanted by his second wife, Zenobia, who, like Egypt’s Cleopatra centuries before her, would govern her kingdom with a crafty blend of ruthless cunning and feminine wiles.

From her majestic desert city, Zenobia waged war on other tribes, conquering the whole of Syria before grabbing lower Egypt and parts of Asia Minor. Rome, enraged at the loss of its wealthy Eastern province, eventually raised an army which defeated Zenobia. She was brought to Rome and paraded in humiliation before jeering crowds.

Syria, though, has acknowledged Zenobia as a proto-patriot and heroine. From the seminal coins carrying her likeness that the queen had struck in defiance of the Roman emperor Aurelian, there are now Zenobia streets, Zenobia stores and shops, Zenobia five-star hotels and Zenobia ballrooms within five-star hotels, Zenobia brands from textiles to household products, and, no doubt, Syrian girls named Zenobia.

The influence of her headstrong life and example can still be seen. Though many still prefer to be covered head to toe in all-black robes, Syrian women are free to dress in Western-style clothing, even showing skin. They are allowed to go to school, drive cars, hold office, interact with the other sex publicly.

Maya, our pert and pretty guide, a Journalism student at Damascus University

Bedouin girl taking care of her baby brother. Note the eyes rimmed with kohl.

While the other children were checking out their picture in Ron's camera, this girl tugged at my shirt and asked for her own shot. Sure, kid.

Young woman by the door of her family's dress shop

Mother with two kids in tow crossing the street in Tartus

Veiled women avert their faces at the sight of camera-toting foreigners.

Common sight
In the seaside city of Tartus, a Templar stronghold in the 12th-13th centuries (a well-preserved Romanesque church stands in the old part of town), it’s a common sight to see young lovers cuddling by the seashore, enjoying the sun and breeze.

The seaside city of Tartus, a Templar stronghold in the age of the Crusades

Young couples enjoying each other's company in the sun and sea breeze of Tartus. Men and women are free to intermingle in Syria.

Of Aleppo, meanwhile, John Kelly, in “The Great Mortality,” his exceptional book on the Black Plague, writes that the city was already “an important international trading center and listening post in the Middle Ages.” By 1207, it had its own trade agreement with the powerful city-state of Venice.

The city’s enduring symbol is the Aleppo Citadel, an imposing structure of fortified gates and towers that dates back to 312 BC and sits on a lofty mound from which the rest of the city radiates.

Aleppo Citadel, the ancient city's landmark and the scene of mighty conflict, among them the bloody siege of Tamerlane in 1400 AD

Entrance to the fortress, lit up for festivities

Cathedral-like corridor leading to an inner courtyard

Complementing the fortress is the nearby Aleppo Museum, which houses priceless treasures from various eras, from the Assyrians to the Greeks, the Byzantines and beyond.

Entrance to the Aleppo Museum

Magnificent head of Assyrian statue made of basalt, a jewel in the museum's collection

The statue in profile--a fantastical creature with the head of a man, torso a combination of lion and scorpion, topped with eagle's wings

Mark Twain himself didn’t reach Aleppo. But of “Beautiful Damascus, the Oldest City on Earth,” he was categorical: “Though another claims the name, old Damascus is, by right, the Eternal City.”

A compliment he could have paid the rest of Syria as well.

PLUS: Relinking--Going to market--at Damascus' famous Souk al-Hamidiyeh

Tony Mabesa directs Mary Stuart for Dulaang UP

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

For its 34th Theater Season, Dulaang UP presents “Mary Stuart” by Friedrich Von Schiller, directed by DUP’s founding artistic director Tony Mabesa.

“Mary Stuart” is a dramatization of a historical clash between two strong-willed women in history: Queen Elizabeth I of England and Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland.

The play will be presented in English and Filipino, with Filipino translation by Allan Palileo. The stellar cast includes Ana Abad Santos, Tess Dumpit and Banaue Miclat as Maria Stuart; Shamaine Buencamino and Stella Canete as Queen Elizabeth; with Ces Quesada, Alegria Ferrer, Flor Salanga, Floy Quintos, Richard Cunanan, Ku Aquino, Jaques Borlaza, Allan Palileo, Ron Capinding, Gwyn Guanzon, Ces Aldaba, Fonz Deza, Evert Gandarosa, Eric dela Cruz, Reuben Uy, JJ Ignacio, Brian Arda, Josh Deocareza, and Zafrullah Masahud.

In the artistic team are Eric Pineda (costume), Clint Ramos (set), Voltaire de Jesus (lights), Winter David (video), Jojit Lorenzo (photography), Meliton Roxas Jr. (technical direction), Katte Sabate and Carlo Cannu (associate direction).

“Mary Stuart” will run from Nov. 18-Dec. 6, every Wednesdays to Fridays at 7 p.m. and every weekend at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. with Saturdays at 7 p.m. For more information, call 0906-2263032 or the Dulaang UP Office 9261349, 9818500 loc 2449 or 4337840.

Are locally-mounted Broadway musicals a waste?, part 2

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:01:00 +0000

The bulk of the highly stimulating, thought-provoking discussion here, with valuable inputs from both sides that need to be read in their entirety. Since my Multiply and Facebook accounts also had their share of comments--mostly well-argued additions to the back-and-forth--I'm reposting them here verbatim for those who have no access to my sites there.

About my stand on all this--you can deduce that by now from reading this blog and my reviews over the years. I'd like to see all kinds of Filipino-made productions, whether remounted, adapted, inspired by or wholly original, whether English-language or in the vernacular, whether perfectly accented or not. I might not like all of them; better that than the monotony of parochial drama. The more types of theater we do, the better in the long run for our actors, artists, practitioners and audience, I think. That's one kind of promiscuity I'm happy to lay credit to and wallow in some more.

The full text of Oggs' review of Spring Awakening is now online, by the way--here.

From my Facebook:

RALPH B. PENA: very old subject. yes, more original works must get produced, no question. but it's too easy to say that staging b'way musicals in manila are about mimicry. they're not. like all theater, some are bad, and some are good. personally, i would rather see more zsa zsa zaturnahs than spring awakenings, any day. but i've also come to accept that theater is big enough to contain us all. even if one can take the position that foreign musicals don't advance the cultural profile of the filipino, it still employs actors and gives them a venue for expression. bottom line: producing companies must invest in filipino writers to begin developing original work. they should set aside a portion of the money they make from producing larson, shiek, et.al., and use that to support an original project. until that happens, then b'way musicals should feature all naked casts.

BOBBY MARTINO: They are a good source for any actors in rehearsal process.I agree that they are only relevant if we put the Pilipino heart in these characters and stories.It benefits the audience to have identification for all of the plots can happen at any point in time, location and race. Our ultimate goal is to at least produce one original Pilipino work, may it be in english or tagalog. It can start with the collaboration of all the Pilipino producers, a national contest where all the new writers can submit original work and established Pilipino artist who have done international works can collaborate with local actors and directors. Our work as talents have always been profitable to foreign producers. It is time that we hone our national identity cultivated by our own stories and raise our voices singing original Pilipino songs. We have done so many rehearsals it is now time to be in "show" mode. To wait for another big international producer to give us a break is like waiting for them to harvest the best fruits of our land. It is time for our own golden harvest season!

Isa sa bawat taon, if we are staging 20 foriegn , ISA lang ang dapat naman para sa atin.It is an industry that needs investments , we have the talent, that is given. we have to nurture the young writers, when this works, more people will benefit and yes the obvious that we are Asia's Broadway will finally be realized. 2010 is the first year, from this year alone so many stories to write, the natural calamities, our acknowledgement and new respect for mother earth is very universal. We have film clips and images, a painted set of real stories, already a lot of songs are written. Local producers should collaborate, artist both locals and international, multi- disciplines, all the best Pilipino's ,O tayo na!

SUSAN ISORENA-ARCEGA: theatrical material is still literature. you appreciate it for what goodness it adds to the soul. the physical interpretation is another thing. the performance methodology i help to espouse is not that popular among production groups that do western musicals, and even less among artists in showbiz. perhaps, therein lies the difference. siguro, sa audition pa lang, kailangan muna ipag-sense memory, mag-ragdoll at humingi ng piso. .just to add to the believability.

MIGUEL DIAZ: i think spring awakening was just a pile of shit. but filipinos love things-foreign. they prefer mcdonalds to sweet potato.

OLIVER OLIVEROS: Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre productions promote diversity. I see the same thing occurring in the local theatre scene. I guess, this all boils down to a matter of preference. If you feel your money and time is best spent in watching Broadway imports, then watch one or two. If you feel you’d rather spend time and money on original Filipino productions, then do so. For the local theatre producer, it has always been a big challenge to fill up the theatre in every performance. Artistic and marketing issues must always strike a compromise. Unless, you want your cast to play to an empty room.

VALERIE FERIA-ISACKS: In some European countries (Schengen ones in particular) they re-adapt the piece to local language, culture, references rather than taking the thing whole cloth like most pinoy theaters do. There are so many parallels between Ibong Adarna and Mid-Summer Nights Dream I'm surprised that nobody (at least that I know and I could be wrong) has done an adaptation playing in that sandbox (using the Adarna creatures and metaphor but the MSND storyline). Then you could sell it to the Shakespeare lovers and the Local theatre lovers...

JOEY TING: Honestly, we, Filipinos, love to replicate things based on what we hear and see from the other side of the world (US and Europe). We are more capable in patronizing art rather than appreciating art. We are more deliberate when it comes to choosing what's in and what's hot but we actually do not even bother to balance what's art and what's not. It's not really bad to replicate for as long as the audiences get satisfied in what these companies present. In reality, we learn from the Americans and Europeans and it's not bad to learn from them. We just do not know how to have a Philippine accent or trademark in order to say that it is indeed a Philippine staging of a particular Broadway hit. More so, we are not ready to have a series of Filipino musicals, not yet. I believe a playwright must learn to unlearn to achieve a greater impact in the world theater. So far, these playwrights have the same and as old as that of Philippine rituals. More competent theater directors are not given the commercial theaters' slots. Why? they choose not to be part of a patronizing society like our very own culture - the 'showbiz' theater world.

ALEX DOROLA: Whatever, original Filipino musicals are still the best! Adaptation of foreign works, somehow, can be poisonous to Filipino culture. Be original! Kaya naman natin gumawa ng musicals na sa atin lang galing.

ANGELICA-LEE ASPIRAS: Hmmm... I think it's always a challenge to see artistic efforts criticised-especially when referring to fledgeling efforts of a developing theatrical profile in Manila. Here's my thought: regardless of the many good and bad opinions of the production's outcome, we need to be supportive of the intention. Projects may not resemble their American counterparts on many levels, but it takes so much courage and love to commit to ( and be held accountable for) an ambitious idea such as this one. How wonderful it is! Filipinos are known for their ability to adapt to ... well, you name it we've assimilated. This is a quality that sustains us and also camouflages us. When paired with a solid work ethic, it can take us so far :) but now, it would be beautiful to see our identity develop, especially in a venue of endless possibility and expression. They have so much to say over there! The fact that we have the opportunity to even discuss this is so exciting. Each thought is as a seed...

NICO QUEJANO: i agree that there is some form of "cultural disonnect" but good theater is good theater, good art is still good art, regardless of any cultural persuasion that a person might have...not really a total waste, but a little "filipinization" can go great lenghts, i mean i remember watching West Side Story and was totally disappointed with the total "mimicry"

From my Multiply:

MITS SHIMIZU: spring awakening, how appropriate, huh? the critic was one "lucky guy" to watch the musical on broadway that's why may comparison sya. so, are we going to deprive the "unlucky ones" to see the musical in its original form? :) here we go again... chicken and egg phenomenon..apples and oranges... let us not be myopic. think global. art knows no boundaries... we can still retain our filipino identity without resorting to 'filipinizing" everything in our midst. also, i think we have enough filipino materials to negate our concerns regarding the so-called foreign invasions. much ado about nothing really.

JULIE CRUZ: Blargh. I mean, I watch US television series instead of local ones not because they're foreign, but because they're better. Because I've TRIED to like some local stuff, but the sad truth is that a lot of it is crap. Same goes for films, books, and yes, theater. I would be more than happy to support a well-done original Filipino musical production, if it were good enough. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places? But boy, what a sad, sad thing Philippine theater would be without Avenue Q, or Altar Boyz, or Songs for a New World. I think it's ridiculous to imply that we should shun these things just because they're not our own. I fucking LOVE Red Concepcion's original spin on the Mark character. Felix Rivera was an absolutely winsome Princeton. Joel Trinidad's talent and sense of humor is unique, sparkling and inimitable. I would hardly call any of their performances carbon-copies of their Broadway counterparts.

LAWRENCE VILLEGAS: Agree with the comments above, but I think we're being too simplistic here. I can see several points of discussion we can break this down to:

1. Material: Foreign material have the edge here. Before something reaches a place like Broadway or the West End, it gets edited and rewritten, usually based on the intended audience and marketability. Local material don't get that much care and attention. This could be what's lacking with local material.

2. Training: Most of our seasoned performers have gone to greener pastures either abroad or to other industries like TV & film. And we don't have a lot of venues for training new ones before they need to perform professionally. Hard to blame theater people who still need to make a living.

3. Money: Don't expect a Broadway-style production (or expect to mount one) when the audience cannot (or refuse to) pay for proper theater. In the art film world, I think they're trying to solve this by finding artistic material that requires less funding to produce. Maybe we can learn a thing or two from this.

4. Commercial or art: Like film, productions are done either for profit or for art. Seldom do both happen. Should we be mounting commercial productions than will sell, or should we patronize serious art production? Don't get me wrong, there could be a lot of artistry in commercial productions.

We've seen Shakespeare commercialized and Filipinized. Purist would call that bastardation of the classics, but it does serve its purpose to capture new audiences. We've seen great productions of it, and we've seen thousands of bad ones. But it doesn't mean we should stop doing Shakespeare.

Maybe the Spring production just wasn't ready when it had to run. That's always a risk taken in mounting theater productions. But good thing there are still people taking that risk. And there are still the critics who tell us the truth for us to learn from.

ALWYN IGNACIO: Tama na! Itigil na ang mga "second rate, trying hard, copy cat" theater companies na masyadong bilib sa mga ginagawa nila, At pagalitan rin natin ang mga broadsheets na OA sa pagbibigay ng espasyo sa mga press releases ng mga copy cats na ito na para bang hindi magiging kumpleto ang buhay natin kung di natin mapapanood ang kanilang mga palabas.What do we gain from these imports? Ano pa, eh di actors who speak with peculiar accents? Hahaha. That's all.

LEA SALONGA: Shows like Avenue Q, Spring Awakening, and the like will always have a place wherever they play, because they have something relevant, funny, and pointed to say. As for foreign versus local, there is a lot of crap on both sides of the Pacific... it's all just a matter of figuring out which is which.

Reverend, you are so busted

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Via The Daily Dish:

A northeastern Pennsylvania priest has been removed from his duties after church officials say he accidentally displayed inappropriate pictures from his computer before Sunday Mass.

The Diocese of Scranton said the Rev. Edward Lyman was using his computer on Oct. 25 to project an informational DVD about the annual diocesan fundraiser when four photos were displayed. They featured what church officials describe as “minimally attired adult males.”

Diocese spokesman William Genello said the photos were not pornographic, did not include minors and were not taken by the priest.

“Minimally attired adult males.” Love the primness.

Video: Not While I'm Around, by Marvin Ong and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:11:00 +0000

She plays Mrs. Lovett, he plays Tobias in Repertory Philippines' production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, which opens November 14, 2009 at Onstage Greenbelt 1, Makati City.

For some reason, YouTube has been acting up and won't upload my new videos, except this clip of Marvin and Menchu singing perhaps Sweeney Todd's most familiar song, during the presscon held last week. Preceding the YouTube fuck-up (excuse my Fwench) is my Flip video running out of battery during the song and chopping off the closing lines. When it rains--it floods, indeed.

What refuses to be uploaded are two more clips--one of Franco Laurel (as Anthony) and Lena Mackenzie (as Johanna) singing Kiss Me, and, most interestingly, Audie Gemora (as Sweeney Todd) and Menchu tearing into A Little Priest, at the end of which hot pies were served to the media crowd. Macabre touch, delicious pies.

After having listened to them, I can say with assurance at this point that this Sweeney Todd will be better--much better--sung than the movie version. The score, including the choral parts excised from the Tim Burton film, will be performed in its entirety.

The rest of the cast includes Roger Chua (Judge Turpin), Robbie Guevara (Beadle), Liesl Batucan (Beggar Woman), Robbie Zialcita (Pirelli) and Juno Henares (Mrs. Lovett understudy).

And the ensemble: Ring Antonio, Cara Barredo, Teenee Chan, Red Concepcion, David Cruz, Hans Eckstein, Jejie Esguerra, Naths Everett, Jay Glorioso, Rona Guba, Collins Gutierrez, Gary Junsay, Raul Montesa, Jay Pangilinan, Meynard Penalosa (who also understudies Sweeney Todd), Marisse Santos, Glory Sicam, James Stacey, Oliver Usison (Mr. Fogg and Judge Turpin understudy), Joy Virata and Rem Zamora.

A sprawling cast, an expensive musical that's also dark and daunting, and in December yet. Why this, why now, why not next year, say February--was a question asked of co-director Michael Williams. “It'd be worse in February, during Valentine,” he quipped. The long and short of it: Rep wants a topnotch musical to close its season with a bang, and the actors are keen to challenge themselves. “Sweeney Todd is like the Olympics for any theater actor,” said Audie.

“A dream come true,” echoed everyone else--a trite phrase, but you could tell they were dead serious about it. This is Sondheim, after all--and not only minor Sondheim, but Sweeney frickin' Todd.

The musical runs November 14-December 19, 2009. For tickets and inquiries: 8870710, 8880887, 8919999. Visit www.repertory.ph or www.ticketworld.com.ph

Belated All Souls' Day entry: Historic Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:25:00 +0000

This National Historical Landmark (so designated by the National Historical Institute) was part of the itinerary of the Quezon-Laguna heritage tour I joined a couple of months ago. [Click on photos to enlarge.]

The Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan, Laguna is said to be the only one of its kind in the Philippines. Built in 1845-1851 by Franciscan friar Father Vicente Belloc, the cemetery became the burial ground first of Spanish clergy then of the town's wealthy or prominent inhabitants. The chapel, the catacomb and the wall surrounding the premises--of Baroque design, with wrought-iron grills and stonework--seem to be well-preserved.

Because the subterranean space was limited, many more were eventually interred above ground, or their remains moved there. The catacomb now holds only 36 crypts, while the impeccably manicured park above ground has around 250 graves stacked box-like on both sides of the wall that flank the chapel. During the revolution against Spain, the underground vault, entered through a side door in the chapel, also became a hiding and meeting place for Laguna Katipuneros.

It's an eerie, transporting experience descending the stone steps toward the underground cavern--and more so reading some of the 19th-century names and dates on the remaining gravestones. Travel blogger Byahilo says no photo- and video-taking are allowed inside the chapel and vault. But on the day we visited, our group was allowed to. Lucky me, because now I can bring you all the way from the park to the chapel to the historic underground cemetery with my images.

Next time you're on a trip to Laguna, make sure to drop by this unique heritage destination. The place is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Sunday; entrance is free.

Gantimpala Theater's El Filibusterismo opens November 8

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:13:00 +0000

“El Filibusterismo”, Dr. Jose Rizal’s second novel, comes alive on stage as a riveting drama beginning November 8, 6 p.m., at the Open Air Open Auditorium in Luneta, Manila.

Penned by playwright Jomar Fleras under the direction of Roobak Valle, this stage adaptation is the final installment of Gantimpala Theater’s Four Classics.

The play’s central character is Don Simoun, the scheming jeweler who secretly plans a revolution, to be played by actor Roeder Camañag.

“Being Simoun is extremely tiring to do but very fulfilling,” says Roeder. “The biggest challenge is to be able to convey all the complex emotions of the character knowing the obvious physical limitations. As Simoun, I must wear a wig, dark shades, an old gentleman’s hat, a coat that constricts my movements. Thus, I must make use of my body effectively so that the audiences can feel my emotions.”

“This season, the drama will present a more fluid narrative. We are weaving the story in such a way that the unfolding of the plot is very smooth. With the help of our director Roobak, all the actors, whether they portray major or minor roles, are discovering fresh nuances about their respective characters,” he adds.

“It’s my commitment to Gantimpala,” he says of the role which he is doing for the fourth time. “Most people do not realize that staging the Four Classics is a big challenge and a responsibility. Our audiences are students, and majority of them are watching a theater production for the first time. As an actor, this is my opportunity to nurture the future watchers or shall we say supporters of Philippine theater through these plays. I am supportive of the company’s advocacy, which is to present Filipino classics to the youth. They must embrace and be proud of their own heritage first. Let me concretize this, in England, when they want Shakespeare, then all they do is watch the Royal Shakespeare Company. In our country, if you are a teacher, or a well-rounded Filipino who has a liking for the classics, then by all means, it is imperative that you watch a Gantimpala play. We guarantee you that what we present is excellent Filipino theater. This is an experience you will never forget.”

Camañag’s co-actors are Dante Balois (Padre Florentino), Ronald Concepcion (Kabesang Tales), Abel Napuran (Tata Selo/Don Custodio), Francis Cruz III (Basilio), Hazel Orencio (Juli), Pamela Hundana (Doña Victorina), Billy Parjan (Kapitan Tiyago/Ben Zayb), Kristian Chua (Isagani), Meldea Flor Formacil (Paulita Gomez), Mark Paolo Angelo Cayabyab (Juanito Pelaez), Arkin Da Silva (Placido Penitente/Imuthis), PJ Paule (Padre Salvi) and Richard Manabat (Padre Camorra).

The creative team also includes Joseph Mattheu (lights designer), Charyl Chan-de Guzman (production manager), Glendel Dacumos (stage manager), Jojit Lorenzo (photos) and Tony S. Espejo (Artistic Director).

Other performances are slated on November 13 and 14, (10 a.m./2 p.m.), Cinema 3, SM Southmall in Las Piñas, November 20, 21, 27 and 28 (10 a.m./2 p.m.) at the AFP Theater in Quezon City.

For information, bookings and ticket reservations, please call 8995745, 8963503, 474-5198, or visit www.gantimpalatheater.multiply.com

Are locally-mounted Broadway musicals a waste?

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Oggs Cruz, one of the more intelligent and consistently insightful Filipino film critics online (his blog, Lessons From the School of Inattention, just won Best Entertainment Blog honors at the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards), has tried his hand at theater reviewing with a piece on Atlantis Productions' Spring Awakening. The review appears in the Oct. 31 print issue of the Philippine Free Press (no online version yet.)

To put it mildly, he was disappointed by the show, finding it “lackluster” and “hugely inadequate.” Oggs writes that he saw the original Broadway production; it didn't seem to have struck him as particularly memorable, except for the “indubitable saving grace” of Duncan Sheik's music. His complaint against the local production, though, goes deeper than weak staging or musicality.

“My utter disappointment for the local staging is grounded not on the numerous bum notes that mutated Sheik's rousing melodies... but on the consequent wastage that these productions carry with them as they are negotiated, imported, mounted and publicized. My proposition seems to be an unfair one, especially for the thousands of theater lovers who crave for having a piece of Broadway or the West End in Metro Manila, but the proposition, under the understanding that we are a nation that is struggling with a cultural identity that is slowly but surely being dissipated by post-colonial imperialism, is sound.”

In other words, Oggs is asking: Given our porous sense of national character, is it worth devoting time, talent and resources to mounting foreign productions with their foreign stories, foreign accents and foreign sensibilities when... “There is so much talent in the Philippines, so much material that have remained unstaged or unwritten because of lack of attention or lack of funding”?

He compares his frustrating Spring Awakening experience with his encounter with several original local productions that, "while flawed, are all products of an independent creative energy," citing Dulaang UP's Atang, Tanghalang Ateneo's many attempts at a vernacular Shakespeare and also its musical Lam-ang, Tanghalang Pilipino's Zsazsa Zaturnnah, etc.

Then he throws down the gauntlet with this provocative observation: “It is saddening, really. Directors become mere supervisors. Actors resort to mimicry. Undoubtedly, there is talent onstage and offstage but when the material fails to reach you because of an impenetrable sheen of cultural disconnect, you can't help but wish that these actors just break out of their obviously fake accents and manufactured gesture--and just interpret the characters the way they had lived their own experiences with sexual repression. Also, you wish that director Chari Arespacochaga had more guts to actually direct instead of getting directions via email, phone calls, or the strict stipulations of whatever licensing agreement that was signed between Atlantis Productions and the owners of Spring Awakening. You seriously wonder if there is artistry or any independent thought in the production. Or begin to doubt whatever notion of creative sincerity in the musical since this opulent drivel can never be representative of Philippine theater.”

Do you agree? Is Oggs on to something here--or is he simply extrapolating from this one particularly inadequate production? To flesh out the issue some more (note--NOT all of them raised by Oggs, but these questions should help further clarify it):

1. Is there no outlet, indeed, for genuine artistry or creative sincerity when we're talking of English-language plays or musicals that are mounted locally without benefit of adaptation or Filipinizing? Does that lead to plain “mimicry”? What is the value of staging--to name just some examples--Into The Woods (New Voice Company), Avenue Q (Atlantis), The Sound of Music (Repertory Philippines), High School Musical (Stages), Songs For a New World (9 Works Theatrical), Tick... Tick... Boom! (Ateneo BlueRep)--largely as they are, with no localizing touches in language, character or setting?

2. Should all foreign material undergo transplantation to the Filipino milieu and culture for them to be able to effectively reach us and move us? For that matter, would doing English-language musicals qualify as a frivolous effort compared to, say, doing original Filipino productions?

3. How impenetrable is this “sheen of cultural disconnect,” and how does this render the decades-long efforts of such theater companies as Repertory Philippines, which has devoted itself to mounting only English-language works, and the large sector of Filipino artists--actors, directors, scenarists, etc.--who have involved themselves mainly in productions of foreign language and origin?

4. Should Filipino artists cultivate a conscious preference for original Filipino theater over Broadway/West End imports? Does that make their work more “important”, more “valuable”? Or should talent, skill, professionalism, attitude--one's devotion to the art--supersede questions of whether a particular brand of theater is “more Filipino” than others?

5. Should every local production be held to the standard of being “representative of Philippine theater”? How should that benchmark be defined, and is it a reasonable aspiration to be expected from all our theater companies?

Your thoughts? I'd really like to hear them. (Hot-button topic, I know--but let's keep things civil and reasonable, shall we? Now fire away.)

Raves for PETA's Juan Tamad, special show on November 21. Go.

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:07:00 +0000

PETA's Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo at ang Limang Milyong Boto has special performances on November 21, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., at the PETA Theater Center. Call 7256244 for details.

Here's what yours truly and a few others have to say about Juan Tamad...--the order of quotes not mine, incidentally, but playwright-composer-librettist Vince De Jesus', whose round-up this is, from his Facebook.

What a fresh, hip, terrific show. Congrats, Vince, Phil and the cast. It's a privilege for us to see excellence like this. -- GIBBS CADIZ from his Facebook shout-out

Witty, hilarious, excellently-acted and utterly singable, Juan Tamad et al is the rare advocacy play that does NOT make the viewer feel like she’s been clubbed with a rolled-up newspaper for two hours. During the intermission we ran out to buy the Cast Recording CD, only to find that there is none. We demand a cast recording! -- JESSICA ZAFRA

Their usual brand of advocacy theater done well. Didactic but funny and hip. Fine ensemble, catchy music. -- EXIE ABOLA

A musical triumph that makes the medicine go smoothly down. Inspired lyrics. Very hip, hummable music. I hope the play will win the elections for us! -- NICK PICHAY

Really loved the play. Hindi siya proselytizing. Maganda ang music... a blast! -- LORE REYES

Acting was superb and the energy electric... the music, choreography, costumes, stage design, lighting and all more than make you forget the preachiness. The lyrics are very now. De Jesus was just so flawless and fantastic, brimming with energy in his acting and singing. Wow talaga. -- MA. CERES DOYO in her Inquirer column

Tanghalang Pilipino restages the children's play Pinocchio, Gusto Mo Ba Maging Tao?

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

This coming Yuletide Season, Tanghalang Pilipino, the resident theater company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, is proud to announce the restaging of "Pinocchio, Gusto Mo Bang Maging Tao?" at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater), from November 28 to December 13, 2009.

Filled with songs, fantasy, humor and colorful costumes, this adaptation by George de Jesus of the well-loved classic tale of Carlo Collodi will surely delight children of all ages.

Originally directed by Herbert Go, "Pinocchio, Gusto Mo Bang Maging Tao?" is about the magical adventures of a wooden puppet whose quest to become a real boy leads him to learn about life, love and honesty.

Tanghalang Pilipino is now accepting reservations for show buyers. The play can serve as a fundraiser for his/her chosen cause, or as an opportunity for the show buyer to sponsor the viewing of the play by a special audience of his/her choice.

Bring your kids to the CCP and let your holidays be filled with spectacle, music and merriment as you enter the magical world of Pinocchio.

For more information on booking and show rates, please call Tanghalang Pilipino 8323661 or contact the following officers: Yvette Macayan, Company Manager, 0920-9621050; Lorelei Celestino, Marketing and Sales Assistant 0928-5518654; Paulo Perez, Public Relations Officer, 0920-9535381.

The history of cinema, according to--the thesaurus?

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:20:00 +0000

“Cinema”--in the sense of the venue for film screenings --is first attested in 1913, five years after “picture palace”. “Movie house” can be spotted the following year, “nickelodeon” in 1921. “Ticket-chopper” first makes an appearance in 1915, “usherette” in 1925, and “drive-in” in 1950--two years later than “ozoner”, an American slang term for the drive-in cinema.

We find that “cinema” was used of a film show in 1909, seven years after the first sighting of “cinematograph”. “Sneak preview” was in use as a noun as early as 1938, and as a verb from 1950. “Film festival” does not put in an appearance until 1951, the year that Alfred Hitchcock's “Rebecca” opened the first Berlin International Film Festival...

The work enables microscopic study of almost all our recorded vocabulary. We see words not in isolation, but through their relationships... It is a hugely effective tool for researching not just the histories of words, but also intellectual and social history.

-- Henry Hitchings in the UK Telegraph, celebrating the publication of the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, a landmark two-volume work 40 years in the making

PLUS: The top 20 of the American Film Institute's Top 100 Movie Quotes--

PETA takes a break from theater, presents C Mo Si Direk

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:10:00 +0000

PETA is taking a break from its usual array of theatrical treats, as it opens “C Mo Si Direk” this November 13-15, 2009 at the PETA Theater Center.

“C Mo Si Direk” (Chikahin mo Si Direk) is a 3-day showcase that spotlights the latest films of three of the most talented filmmakers in the country: Maryo J. Delos Reyes, Joel Lamangan and Soxie Topacio. Each screening is followed by a forum where the audience can have the opportunity to mix and mingle with the directors.

The event features the following films:

DED NA SI LOLO (Soxie Topacio)
November 13, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

Cast includes: Gina Alajar, Elizabeth Oropesa, Manilyn Reynes, Dick Israel, Roderick Paulate, Perla Bautista and BJ Forbes

The story unfolds from the point of view of the observant Bobet, a grandson of the deceased. The drama that ensues from the loss of a loved one is usually the springboard for comic instances and happenings. In the course of the wake, Bobet is introduced to and educated about the various superstitious beliefs that involve death practices in the Philippines. But a wake will not be a wake if there are no surprises.

KAMOTENG KAHOY (Maryo J. Delos Reyes)
November 14, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

Cast includes: Nash Aguas, Robert Villar, Gloria Romero, Ana Capri, Sharlene San Pedro, Yul Servo

This is based on a true story which happened in a small barrio in Bohol in 2005. Twenty one pupils died and almost a hundred were hospitalized after eating cassava cakes sold by an old woman, who might have accidentally used pesticide in her ingredients. The film follows a town’s journey from painful trauma towards healing through the intercutting points of view of two of the child survivors, and the old woman vendor. The old woman, who is ostracized and condemned by the entire town, even by her own family, finally makes sense of the whole tragic thing and takes matters into her own hands.

FUSCHSIA (Joel Lamangan)
November 15, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

Cast includes: Gloria Romero, Robert Arrevalo, Eddie Garcia, Armida Siguion Reyna, Gina Alajar, Iza Calzado, Tony Mabesa

The film tells the story of Mameng (Gloria Romero), a 62-year old woman who for the past 40 years is living-in with Gener (Robert Arrevalo), her husband’s (Mars played by Eddie Garcia) best friend, from the time the latter left her when he joined the US navy. Mars never communicated with Mameng for four decades and Gener took over the role of her husband. Suddenly, Mars arrives from the States and decides to spend the rest of his ailing days with Mameng, much to her surprise and Gener’s chagrin. Mameng opts for an unusual set-up of having the three of them live in one house, which scandalizes the town.

“C Mo Si Direk” provides access for any film lover to experience a movie like a true insider, as all tickets provide admission to both the screening and forum with the filmmakers and other film lovers in attendance.

All screenings at PETA Theater Center, 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, QC. Tickets are P200/film, or avail of a P500 3-day pass!

For inquiries and/or ticket reservations, contact the PETA Marketing and Public Relations Office at 7256244, 0909-8705601 or 0917-8044428, or e-mail petampro@yahoo.com. This event is made possible through the help of APT productions.

Juana Change bares all in Pangatawanan Mo Nah! at Vargas Museum

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Mae Paner, the performer and social critic behind the outrageous character “Juana Change”, is the subject of a major exhibition at the Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines, Diliman.

Thirty-six artists are presenting paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, and sculptures of Paner in the nude in “Pangatawanan Mo Nah!”, an exhibition that magnifies her up-front, stun tactics.

The obese Paner personalizes the political in the resolve to get thin: she says that if she is to continue criticizing greed and excess in the national life--particularly among Filipino leaders--she should start with herself and not spare herself her own critical eye.

“Pangatawanan Mo Nah!” is the first of 2 exhibitions. The forthcoming opening on November 5, 2009, at 5 p.m., marks the beginning of her journey towards better health, reasonable consumption, and tempered appetites. Posing in the nude provides the absolute measure of honest self-appraisal. Paner literally reveals the problem.

The exhibition’s second edition, to be scheduled before the coming elections in 2010, is intended to be a bare-faced display of whatever success she achieves or failure she suffers.

The multi-generational gathering of artists in this exhibition is also an unusual assembly of incompatibly-minded individuals. They are Leo Abaya, Alfredo Juan Aquilizan, Ernesto Aquino, Jr., Carlo Aranton, Elmer Borlongan, Charlie Co, Reynold de la Cruz, Kiri Dalena, Thomas Daquioag, Gilbert Daroy, Roger Dio, Cecilia, Brenda Fajardo, Egai Talusan-Fernandez, Karen Flores, Dennis Gonzales, Kawayan de Guia, Ings Isungga, Nap Jamir II, Winner Jumalon, Mark Justiniani, Irma Lacorte, Nina Libatique, Julie Lluch, At Maculangan, Joy Mallari, Norlie Meimban, Lee Paje, Jim Paredes, Benjie Reyes, Don Salubayba, Ioannis Sicuya, Christine Sioco, Boldy Tapales, Wig Tysmans and Boy Yñiguez.

Despite divergent intellectual passions and positions towards art and politics, they were persuaded to participate in the exhibit based on a shared faith in Paner’s brand of social criticism, her over-the-top humor and the project’s bare-all motivations.

“Pangatawanan Mo Nah!” is a fund-raising event to enable Paner to produce more of the “Juana Change” videos that have rocked YouTube and through it, the political landscape. “Juana” has lampooned Cha-Cha, spoofed presidentiables, and satirized gross displays of power--but also gave Paner the space for self-mockery.

In each video, Paner presents a turned-up version of a hideous persona, who has a goody-goo, morally assaulted double. The impact of “Juana Change” on Philippine politics continues the long historical lineage of political satire in print and broadcast media in this country. But the persona is also an unprecedented invention: “Juana” is coarse, vulgar, politically astute, quite unpleasant and love-able at the same time, and exquisitely intelligent. “Juana” is a complex character possessed of dozens of personalities. The woman behind “Juana,” Mae Paner, is even more riveting, as this forthcoming exhibition will reveal.

The exhibit is curated by Marian Pastor Roces, Paner’s principal collaborator in this project; and presented by the museum development corporation she heads, TAO Inc. For more information on this event, contact Glenda Puyat at 0917-3501720 or Monchito Nocon at 0920 283-4393.

TAO Inc. is at 2/F, Room 206, LaO’ Centre, 1000 Makati Avenue corner Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City, The Philippines Telefax ++632 816 3726. Email taocurators@gmail.com

PLUS: Juana Change wrestles with the prospect of automated elections in “Rowbaht”--

New pieces for my mantelpiece

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:02:00 +0000

... Except that I don't have a mantelpiece, let alone a vacant shelf to display whatever trophies this blog has managed to snag, so the two new pieces of hardware (below) that have come my way via the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards will stay in some cramped cupboard for now. Thanks again, PBA and Globe, for the recognition.

The trophy for my Ten Best Posts of the Year entry (“Portrait of a dramatic highlight in Nick Joaquin's A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino”). Last year, it was an interesting free-form wire sculpture, this year it's the iconic jeepney. Artist, artist!

This one's for my being chosen as one of the “Elders of the Globe-PBA Digital Tribe for Luzon”. A senior-citizen blogger, in short--though based on “your body of work and impact in your chosen niche in the Web Community.” Ah, sweet.

Fabcast! Gay guys with girlfriends [violent reaction here]

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:01:00 +0000

The snark was there from the start--“Ano ang nag-udyok sa'yo para pasukin ang ganitong... pariwarang buhay?” was my opening question, tongue-in-cheek, of course--but we were also genuinely interested to understand the mindset of our two “confused” friends, Sam and Johnny, and concerned that they did know what they were getting into. The large group of guest Fabcasters--we were about 14 friends on an outing--were profuse in sharing their opinions, prognostications, warnings and pieces of advice about the curious, and potentially topsy-turvy, set-up. Much laughter as usual (watch out for Dimples in part 2!), but leavened with good ideas, too. Feel free to eavesdrop and share your thoughts:

Part 1
Listen (23 mins 35 sec):

Download this fabcast (right click and save - 21.6 MB)

Part 2
Listen (34 mins 49 sec):

Download this fabcast (right click and save - 33.4 MB)

Avoid clichés like the plague? He begs to disagree

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Durable, easily handled, yet retaining somehow the flavor of its coinage, the classic cliché has fought philology to a standstill: it sticks and it stays, and not by accident... “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” “It takes two to tango”--[o]bservations like these have been road-tested, times beyond number, and discovered to be sound. They are laden with experience, and yet somehow jaunty. Some witty individual must have coined them, somewhere, but they glow with the accumulated knowledge of the race. They are clichés, and they belong to you: as a speaker of English, they are your birthright. Use them proudly. And when life hands you a lemon, remember that it’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

-- James Parker, “Let us now praise... the cliché”

How not to spoon-feed a young audience

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:16:00 +0000

At the end of the closing performance of Tanghalang Pilipino's Flores Para Los Muertos (the Filipino version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire) yesterday afternoon, a Q&A was held for students from De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, the show sponsor. Director Floy Quintos moderated, with the cast lined up on the stage.

Minutes into the Q&A and still no questions from the young audience, only excited buzzing and turuan--until a man stood up, introduced himself as a member of the press, and asked the lead performers--Eula Valdes as Blanche DuBois, Neil Ryan Sese as Stanley Kowalski, Meryl Soriano as Stella--what their individual experiences were like in making the play.

Eula said playing Blanche and acting onstage were way, way different from what she's used to doing on film and TV, so she didn't pass up the chance when offered the role, and won't hesitate to do it again if asked. (Hint of a rerun?) Neil and Meryl and the other cast members added that the task was made easier because, during rehearsals, the ensemble worked as a team, there was no division between celebrity and ordinary theater actor, the fidelity was to the material, etc.

Any other questions?, prodded Floy. Going once, twice...

Finally--a student motioning for a microphone. His question: What can we learn from this play?

Big applause and cries of “Yes!” from the kids. Obviously, this was what they were waiting for--a neat, easily digestible summation of what they'd just seen that they could then quote, repeat or echo in their required reaction papers come school day. Why crack their heads trying to decode what all the play was about when here were people who could, just maybe, do it for them?

They didn't reckon with Eula, who took the mic and... turned the tables on them: “Di ba we should we be the one to ask you that question? What have you learned? Since prinesent na namin e,” she said, very sweetly.

Laughter, then more applause--louder this time, the kids enjoying the spectacle of seeing one of their own outwitted and now squirming before the microphone. Egged on to answer the challenge, the boy gathered up enough courage, took to the stage and said, haltingly and breathlessly, “Ang natutunan ko dito ay dapat maging totoo sa sarili, 'wag itago kung ano ka talaga.”

An A for him for guts and effort. Whether that's the real point being imparted by Streetcar/Flores is debatable, but at least he arrived at it by his own wits--an important reminder that was underlined by Eula's gentle but instructive pushback, and one that hopefully struck a chord with more than a few of the students: They shouldn't expect to be spoon-fed; they have to start thinking on their own.

Showbiz news you really, really have to hear

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

1. Miss Saigon, the movie musical. It's now official--“Precious” director Lee Daniels will direct a film based on the hit Broadway musical “Miss Saigon.” Variety reported Wednesday that former United Artists CEO Paula Wagner will produce the film under her new Chestnut Ridge Productions banner. A screenwriter is about to be hired, and financing discussions are under way with an eye toward getting the film into production next year for a 2011 release... The movie will be faithful to Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil's tragic love story of a Vietnamese bar girl and an American soldier before the fall of Saigon in 1975. -- Lee Daniels confirmed to adapt 'Miss Saigon'

So who do you want to see play Kim, Chris, Gigi, Thuy and The Engineer? Cast suggestions, please!

2. Lola mo goes Glee-ful. EW has learned that Madonna has given “Glee” the rights to her catalog and that an all-Madonna-music episode is in the works for early next year. The hit series has been building an audience and filling the iTunes charts with its cover songs, and Madonna’s involvement is a testament to how big the show is getting. -- 'Glee' Exclusive: Madonna is on board! Is Adam Lambert next?

After Single Ladies, let the soccer boys do Vogue!

3. Tom Cruise--android? “It was definitely a process. We talked a lot, but he was in L.A. and I was in New York... We talked about how Martian-like Patrick Bateman was, how he was looking at the world like somebody from another planet, watching what people did and trying to work out the right way to behave. And then one day he called me and he had been watching Tom Cruise on David Letterman, and he just had this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes, and he was really taken with this energy.” -- director Mary Harron, on how she and Christian Bale developed the serial-killer character in American Psycho

4. Bill Murray skewers McG. “Terminator Salvation’s” McG (aka Joseph McGinty Nichol)... who directed “Murray in “Charlie’s Angels”, recently claimed that Murray headbutted him on the Angels”’ set during a creative dispute. “That’s bulls***! That’s complete crap!” says Murray, flushing slightly yet maintaining composure. “I don’t know why he made that story up. He has a very active imagination.” He pauses. The subject seems closed, but then a minor eruption. “No! He deserves to die,” he says, coldly staring, without breaking deadpan. “He should be pierced with a lance, not headbutted.” -- Bill Murray: Do not disrespect the oddball

McG's next project, according to online scuttlebutt? The movie version of Spring Awakening. The horror.

Sagip Sining at CCP today: Give all you can, see all you can

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:31:00 +0000

"Typhoon Sagip Sining strengthens at more than 50 shows and 500 artists and is headed for the CCP. Expected landfall is today, Sunday, 9 a.m. Extreme creative in all venues until 12 midnight. Gale-force giving and heavy outpouring of donations expected. Please inform friends and loved ones."

* * *

Artists, relief workers, families and friends come together in a whole day of music, dance, theater, talkstory, standup comedy, film screenings and art activities to mobilize donations for the rehabilitation of schools, school children and teachers affected by the typhoons.

"Sagip Sining" happens today, Sunday, Oct. 25, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. in various venues at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Artists, volunteers and ideas for fundraising are welcome.

GIVE ALL YOU CAN, SEE ALL YOU CAN. For more details, call 8322314.

Going to market--at Damascus' famous Souk al-Hamidiyeh

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:31:00 +0000

The first tourist-y order of business on our first day in Syria--a visit to Damascus' storied Souk al-Hamidiyeh, about which I'll let Damascus Online do the talking:

[It] is the most famous souk (bazaar or market) of old Damascus. It is located against the southern walls of the city's citadel, close to the Grand Umayyad Mosque. The souk was built during the Ottoman (Turkish) era. The first part (the eastern part) was built in 1780 and the second one (western) was built in 1883. Later the souk was covered and renovated several times. The souk is 600 meters long, 15 meters wide, and about two-storey high. Its shops offer the famous Damascene textiles and antiques.

Traversing the souk's nearly kilometer-long central thoroughfare, said our young and good-looking guide Ali, would take us to the oldest part of Damascus. I flicked open my Flip HD Video right before we entered the market and began recording all the way through, until what I thought was the arch of the mosque came into view. The arch, it turned out, was something older--the ruins of a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter.

But before that--a whole exotic universe of sights, sounds, smells, colors, the unfamiliar din and life of an ancient city and its inhabitants all but exploding before the swirling, roaming, gulping gaze of my camera lens, which basically mimicked the way my eyes were trying to drink everything in all at once.

The main artery of the souk offers an incredible array of traditional goods and services, but many more are available in the narrow alleys and side roads of the market. This is Damascus' own Divisoria and Greenhills, the hub of its centuries-old mercantile spirit, the crucible--along with the mosque, and how apt that they stand side by side--of its communitarian bonds.

Some notes on the 9-minute vid:

1. Yes, that's me asking Ron, our colleague from Manila Bulletin--who happens to be straight--the name of our cutie guide Ali. Ron laughs and tells me, just call him “Friend!” Ali would accompany us only for the market tour and mosque visit; a Tourism graduate, he was a valuable source of dates and facts about the historic and cultural riches all around us.

2. The pretty girl with the Botticelli curls--that's Maya, our official guide and a Journalism student of Damascus University. She can be heard near the beginning of the vid telling me, “Gilbert, close to me, okay?” A most patient, cheerful guide, especially since we had a tendency to wander around in pursuit of as many pictures as we could take.

3. Most intriguing thing I saw: DVD porn, clandestinely offered, though you can see only a blurry glimpse of it in the video [at 8:25] because I was in a hurry trying to keep up with the rest. Still--even here?

PLUS: More pictures--

The next time you audition...

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:19:00 +0000

For actors at auditions, musicians at competitions or anyone else whose work is sequentially judged against that of others, a nagging question often arises: Would I rather be the first person to be evaluated, or the last?

New research suggests both have their advantages, and either is far preferable than being stuck in the middle. That's the conclusion of a study of the effects of position order on preference, just published in the journal Psychological Science.

-- “First and Last Competitors Have the Edge”

All's not lost, however, if you find yourself stuck in the middle. “Unlike the wine samples in this study, dancers auditioning for a chorus line differ in their abilities and training. So it's entirely possible a virtuoso in the middle of the pack could stand out,” says the piece.

In other words, wherever you are in the line, kick ass.

Blood is beautiful

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:52:00 +0000

From the Times Online's “The top 10 sexiest vampires”:

Number 6: Monica Bellucci, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, 1992. Even in a stellar cast that includes Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves and Anthony Hopkins, a then unknown Bellucci (above, right) still managed to shine as one of Dracula’s beautiful vampire brides in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 classic. Unlike Dracula himself, Bellucci’s character is not even remotely likeable, but she does positively exude sex, embodying cinema’s fascination with vampires’ raw, relentless sexuality.

Catherine Deneuve, Kate Beckinsale, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Kiefer Sutherland--the rest of the list here.

Lea, Monique, Menchu, Risa: the young cast of Rep's 1980 The Sound of Music--on video

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Finally, it's on YouTube--this invaluable clip of the young cast of Repertory Philippines' 1980 production of The Sound of Music making a promotional guest appearance on the noontime TV program Student Canteen. Just look at that line-up: Menchu Lauchengco, Raymond Lauchengco, Risa Hontiveros, Javier Arriaga, Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson, Gianina Revilla and Angela Adams.

I say “Finally” because I first saw this clip back in 2006--when I interviewed Monique Wilson and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, two of the three alternating Marias (the other was Liesl Batucan) in that year's retread of The Sound of Music by Rep. Monique brought with her a VHS tape of this and other TV clips (including a similar guesting in another TV show--was it Discorama?--where their Do-Re-Mi singing went awry, eliciting much laughter from the two actresses).

Even then I was dying to borrow the tape, have it transferred to DVD and upload it to YouTube; I thought everyone should have a chance to see so rare and important an artifact. But it was their property, and I was too shy to belabor my point. We have to thank arriaga66, then (I assume he's the Javier Arriaga of the cast), for posting his copy online.

From my blog entry dated October 16, 2006:

The Batasan Hills are alive with the sound of Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel's music.

Lame pun. Can't help it, though. You see, that's Risa Hontiveros right there in the picture, third from left, decades before she became the fiery Akbayan party-list representative in Congress. Just 14 years old in 1980, she played one of Captain Von Trapp's seven children in Repertory Philippines' stellar production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's “The Sound of Music,” directed by the late Bibot Amador.

Consider the other cast members: (from left) Menchu Lauchengco (now Yulo, then 17 and playing Liesl), Raymond Lauchengco (14, honing his chops for “Bagets” and “Farewell” a few years down the road), Javier Arriaga (12), Monique Wilson (10), Lea Salonga (9), and Angela Adams (5).

Baby Barredo was Maria, Chito Ponce Enrile was Captain Von Trapp, Celia Diaz Laurel was the Baroness Schraeder, Freddy Santos was Max Detweiler, Irma Potenciano was the Mother Abbess and Audie Gemora was Rolf (the love-struck young Nazi who duets with Liesl on “I Am Sixteen”).

Amazing, isn't it?

From “Monique, Menchu and the sound of Maria”:

“We had 15-18 performances at the Meralco Theater,” Lauchengco-Yulo recalls. “We had no lapel mikes on, the mikes were hanging from the ceiling, and we were singing with a full orchestra! So we had to belt our heads off, and Tita Bibot (Amador, the late founding artistic director of Rep) would scream at us, ‘I cannot hear you!’”

The kids also made the rounds of TV stations to promote the show. They performed on the noontime program “Student Canteen” (which says a lot about the sea change that has engulfed pop culture; imagine an English theater group appearing on “Eat Bulaga!” or “Wowowee” today) and on the late-afternoon show “Discorama,” among others.

“I remember that, in our 1980 show, we kids had to sing a difficult version of ‘The Sound of Music’—the a cappella version with the three-part harmony,” recalls Wilson.

“All it took was for Tita Bibot to scream, ‘I’m gonna fire all of you tonight!’ and we learned it. We were in Roper’s Studio for our pictorial and we were all crying because she said we were all going to be fired! Menchu, who was our ate then, brought us to the corner and told us, ‘We have to practice, we have to practice!’ That night, during rehearsals, we were so nervous, but we got it! It was only later on I realized, nag-pictorial na tayo e, di na niya tayo pwede i-fire!”

Tita Baby had bronchitis during the opening of ‘The Sound of Music,’ but she finished the show! That was how it was,” says Lauchengco-Yulo.

More memories--from my Q&A with Monique: We were a cast of only 15 people then... I remember we had so many super-fast costume changes. One time, because we were rushing backstage, Lea and I ended up wearing one shoe each of each other’s pair. Nagkabaligtad! Sikip na sikip ako with the shoe because Lea was of a smaller size. (Laughter)

I also remember Angela Adams, she was only five at that time. One day Tita Bibot [Amador] said, “Angela, why don’t you know your lines? I’m getting tired of waiting for you to learn your lines!” And Angela said, “Tita Bibot, I don’t know how to read yet eh!” Tawa kami ng tawa! Then Tita Bibot called us and said, “Lea and Monique, go there in the corner and teach Angela her lines!” And we’d teach her, because ipa-fire din daw siya. (Laughter)

You should see the video of our TV appearances. My mom taped all these shows. Kami ni Lea, red na red ang lips namin, kasi mga nanay namin backstage made sure we had lipstick on, but Menchu had no makeup! On TV! Talagang wala kaming alam that time!” (Laughter)

And Menchu, verbatim: Those were the days! During our time isang set lang kami, we had no understudy or alternates. So kahit na burning with fever--I mean, Tita Baby [Barredo], how many times did she perform with bronchitis? In “The King and I,” she collapsed on stage right after curtain call. Junix [Inocian] did “Sweeney Todd” in crutches. He fell down the stairs during rehearsal and opened the show in a cast. Walang alternate e! (Laughter)

Si Lea [Salonga] din, kinagat na ‘yan ng aso during the dress rehearsal for “Annie,” pero kanta pa rin while crying, she didn’t stop!

Blog a play, win a Sony Ericsson phone: The winners!

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

With Dennis Marasigan's kind offer of a book (Filipino Pride) as an additional prize--thank you, Dennis!--I can now reward seven bloggers for their exceptional entries to our contest. Out of 31 write-ups submitted on one or more of the 6 plays covered by the contest, these are the seven I like best.

That majority of the winning entries are written in Filipino is entirely coincidental--though, thinking about it, I'm not so sure anymore. As I had explained in the rules, I was mainly looking for two things: quality of insight and clarity of expression--how compelling one's views are and how well they're expressed. Without any discernible pattern to it, I realized as I began sifting through the entries that the ideas and insights that struck me the most were--with becoming transparency, force and grace--expressed in Filipino, whether or not I agreed with the points discussed. Is it just this batch of bloggers, or is that proof, indeed, that concepts and ideas achieve a greater level of illumination when couched in the language native to us and bred in our bones?

You decide.

First prize
Jester Jaksonero: (Prize: Sony Ericsson C903 Cyber-shot phone)

From “Si Maduna Braba, at ang Graba ng Kabalintunaan ”: Ang pinaka-madamdaming senaryong napanood ko doon ay nang dalhin na ang bangkay ng kanyang pangalawang anak, iniharap sa kanya, at tinanong ng mga sundalo kung kilala niya. Namumula ang mukha, nagpipigil, nangagatog, lumapit si ‘Maduna Braba’, at saka umiling, sabay sabing, “Hindi ko po kilala.” Pinatunayan niyang siya nga ang matapang at malakas na si ‘Maduna Braba’ na kayang itanggi ang sariling anak at ipatapon sa ilog ang bangkay, pero sa hitsura ng mukha at galaw ng katawan, alam mong si ‘Maduna Brabang’ matapang, nang mga oras na iyon, ay nagtatapang-tapangan na lamang upang mailigtas ang pedikab, ang anak na babae, at ang sariling buhay... Doon mismo sa puntong iyon ng kuwento, minahal ko hindi lang si Shamaine, hindi lang ang CCP, hindi lang ang sining, hindi lang ang Batute… kundi pati si “Maduna Braba” at ang bakas ng mga karanasan at kwentong akay-akay niya sa likod ng kanyang pedikab.

Second prize
Journey of Eros: (Prize: Astoria Plaza gift certificate)

From “PAGKAMULAT SA PANAHON NG TAGSIBOL: Isang Rebyu ng 'Spring Awakening'”: Sa Spring Awakening, musika ang nagiging kaganapan ng saloobin at hinanakit ng mga kabataan. Sa pamamagitan ng awitin at tugtugin, naipapahayag nila ang kanilang mga sarili. Dito'y waring pinag-iisa ang kanilang mga hinaing. Dito'y nagkakaunawaan sila. Nakakapagmura sila nang walang pangamba dahil dito ay mistulang “Room of Requirement” sa Harry Potter--isang kuwarto na walang sinuman ang maaaring makapasok kundi sila-sila lamang. Off-limit ang mga matatanda. Sa musikal na ito, nagmukhang caricature at tableaux ang mga matatanda kapag tumutugtog na ang banda at inilalabas na ng mga kabataan ang kanilang mikropono.

Third prize
Kiko Matsing/Taga-Ilog Special: (Prize: Mountain backpack from Thai Airways)

From “Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?”: Siguro, may kakaibang magic ang sex n’ung unang panahon. Noong hindi pa laganap ang mga “manual” kamukha ng porn o Youtube videos, noong taboo pa ang makipaghalikan o maging ang makipag-holding hands. Siguro ay totoo ang spark na sinasabi ng iba. Siguro ay may kakaibang kilig kapag ang sex ay hindi mental o moral kundi isang emotional na bagay. Ito at ilan pa ang kamunduhang ipinamulat sa akin ng “Spring Awakening”.

Fourth prize
Delphine Buencamino: (Prize: P3,000 gift certificates from Botong's Up resto-bar/art gallery)

From “Tanghalang Pilipino's Madonna Brava ng Mindanao: Of Macrocosms, Overloads, and Powerful Performances ”: The good thing about this production is that it doesn't pretend to be something it's not, at the risk of disrespecting classic texts of theories, it is nonetheless honest. It is clear that the play is less of Brecht's Mother Courage and more of an adaptation written to serve the political views of the Mindanao based director (Nestor Horfilla) and adapter/translator (Don Pagusara). Needless to say, it was biased towards representing the Mindanao side as the victims. Which is why the play shouldn't be seen with Brecht's Mother Courage in mind.

Fifth prize
Sugod Babit! Sugod!: (Prize: Brand-new hardbound edition of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol)

From “Madonna Brava--Kung Hindi Ngayon, Kailan?”: Ang pagdaloy ng kwento ay hindi narrative kundi episodic. Nagsisimula ang mga aksyon pero dumarating ito sa punto na tila nagtatapos. Ang susunod na bahagi ay halos wala ng hatak mula sa naunang mga tagpo. Ginawa nila ito sa pamamagitan ng mga pagpatay ng ilaw at pagpapakita ng mga audio-visual na materyal sa gilid ng entablado. Sa pag-arte ng mga artista ay kakikitaan din sila ng atakeng Brechtian ay may eksena pa ngang nakipag-usap si Madonna (Shamaine) sa mga tumutugtog ng musika. Walang ginamit na mga placards, o banner sa dula pero lubhang kahanga-hanga ang musika nito. Sa pangunguna Popong Landero bilang Musical Director at Mebuyan, ang grupong nakabase sa Davao City na tumugtog sa dula, naging mas matalim ang mga komentaryo sa loob ng dula.

Sixth prize
Bea: (Prize: Brand-new hardbound edition of Nina Garcia's The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own)

From “Spring Awakening Manila ”: Oh Moritz! As a character Moritz is so honest and earnest and just cannot cope with the enormity of his burgeoning sexuality... I think there is a thin line between true anguish and overacting, and thankfully Nicco Manalo stayed on the truly anguished side. I thought that he was a leetle too gay at first (getting the distinct impression with his long, tilted glances that he had a crush on Melchior) but he quickly overcame that and captured Moritz--the tension, the agony, the complete bewilderment and frustration, but also the excitement and curiosity... I also felt that he brought something new to the character. He seemed to emphasize how off-center Moritz is--so much that everything about his singing and dancing and even how he was moving around he stage after “Don't Do Sadness” felt so natural.

Seventh prize
Chalkdust: (Prize: Filipino Pride book)

From “Tara, Tuloy Ka!”: Ang Ismail at Isabel ay tulad ng pelikulang “Himala” ni Ishmael Bernal na umiikot sa isang pangunahing kuwento (ang pagkakita raw ni Elsa sa Mahal na Birhen at panggagamot niya) ngunit tumatalakay ng iba pang paksang may sariling kuwento (kahirapan, prostistusyon, paggamit ng ipinagbabawal na gamot, paniniwala sa mga pamahiin, at iba pa). Ang pangunahing kuwento ng dula ay ang pagkakaibigan ng Muslim na si Ismail at ng Kristiyanong si Isabel at kung paano ito sinulit ng mga pagsubok na dumating sa kanilang buhay. Ngunit sa pagdaloy ng dula, nagluwal ito ng iba pang isyu at mas maliliit na kuwentong binigyan nito ng sariling tuon.

Congratulations to the winners! And thank you for joining the contest.

How to get your prizes
Please drop by the Inquirer office (Yague corner Mascardo Sts., Pasong Tamo, Makati City) so I can personally give you your prize. But before you do that, e-mail me at gibbs_c@yahoo.com and let's agree on the time and date. See you.

Lastly, same spiel: I invite you to read through all the blog entries submitted--mostly here--winner and non-winner alike--to better appreciate the range of opinions expressed and argued, and to take heart in the thought that we do have an engaged, alert, intelligent audience out there.

Tanghalang Ateneo's Metamorphoses
Beng

Dulaang UP's Amphitryon
Kiko Matsing
Idadudes
Chris Cimatu
Leika
Jhiedon

Trumpets' NOAH (No Ordinary Aquatic Habitat)
Fred

Tanghalang Pilipino's Madonna Brava ng Mindanao
Kiko Matsing
Jhiedon

PETA's Ismael at Isabel
Kiko Matsing
Judee

Atlantis Productions' Spring Awakening
Jamie Da Vinci
Fred
Hogi
Toni Hoshi
Wob
Acrylique
Danielle
Lanchase
Vincen
M.A./Michael
Justin
Zarine
SirEdge
Abaniko
Mr. Perk

Thanks, everyone, for your entries. On to the next contest!

Halina sa perya!

gibbs_c@yahoo.com (gibbs cadiz) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Road-testing a Canon 7d model, “We wanted to document something truly Filipino and came up with the idea of shooting a 'Perya'”, writes Jason Magbanua. “There really is no direct equivalent in English. It's not as grand as a carnival, not as permanent and posh as an amusement park, there are no pumpkins nor cows in competition like a country fair. It is what it is--a Perya.”

No color grading or additional lights used, but, oh, the images--the wondrous, haunting humanity of this short.

Perya (Town Fair) - a Canon 7D Short from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.