Music: "Who Are You" by Ryan Ocampo
A month after it happened,
I finally found the time to write about the play. Which is a good thing, I
think, since the euphoria from two successful runs has passed, the frustration
over the minute mistakes (mostly) forgotten. At least now, I can look at the
overall experience in a more objective manner (pfft, as if), and try to distance myself from
the mixed feelings of elation and irritation over everything that had gone
right and wrong.
Pre-press . . . or something
The concept for the play came
about while I was brainstorming for ideas for our annual production. I wanted
to perform “Korinto,” a play by YESHUA that I watched way back in college.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t acquire the rights to produce it, let alone a copy of
the script to go over. Desperate, I pleaded with God to give me something,
anything, I could present to the members of our theater ministry, something
that goes in line with our theme for the year—instruction for godly living.
And because God answers prayers,
he gave me the perfect idea for the play. Because what better way to instruct
Christians on godly living than use the Ten Commandments as a springboard?
Thus, the play “Ang Sampung Utos” was born.
It took me more than three months
to write the whole thing, starting sometime around March and going past my
end-of-May deadline. One day before the scheduled auditions, I was still having
the script approved by our pastor and ministry adviser. One day before the
first rehearsal, I was still revising the script, checking for mistakes I might
have overlooked. I was unprepared, and I knew it. Still, I knew God would be with
us every step of the way, so, armed with the third draft of the script and with
little idea on how to go about the blockings, I set off, met the cast, and started
with the production.
And nothing is impossible with
the Lord, it’s true. Because four months after our first meeting, we were able
to perform in front of a full house, all eager to learn God’s message through
the script he provided us. And when the final curtain call ended, and everyone
clapped their hands, I couldn’t help but think silently, “Thank you so much,
Lord. All glory to you.”
Up close and personal?
My favorite part of the play is
the dialogue between Jason (the pastor) and Catherine (the wife of Daniel,
Jason’s best friend) in the "Huwag kang mangangalunya" (Thou shalt not commit adultery) scene. I think it’s one of the scenes I enjoyed writing the
most. I can’t imagine myself doing what Catherine did there, so
it was really challenging (and fun!) for me to come up with lines that will
make her flirty, seductive, but still believable. And I loved that the actors
who played the parts were spot on—Malvin, who portrayed Jason, was everything
awkward and dignified and uncomfortable with Catherine’s advances, while Jas
(Catherine) did a great job of all but throwing herself at Jason’s feet (she
latched on his shoulders a couple of times though). She portrayed the part so
well that had she been a real person, I’d want to slap her hard . . . twice. On
the same cheek. And when she said, "Bakit, Pastor, don't you find me beautiful?" and then paused for effect, I almost squealed.
/coughs
Anyway, my favorite line was
delivered by Matthew, Daniel and Catherine’s son in the "Huwag kang magnanakaw" (Thou shalt not steal) scene. When Daniel asked him if he
saw the money he left on his study table, Matthew answered that he didn’t. And when
Daniel insisted, as if trying to get him to confess, in comes the punch line:
Matthew: Hay naku, Dad, may tawag diyan eh . . . old age. (Geez, Dad, that’s
called old age.)
And I love, love, love it because
the two actors who played Matthew delivered the line so differently, giving the
character a twist in each run. Agi was more pang-asar
(Annoying? I can’t think of the proper translation right now.), while Nico was
a little more respectful of his dad, and was more like just stating a fact. It’s nice
to see how different actors interpret the same script, which is why I love
working on alternates for roles, if I can afford to.
Speaking of alternates, the Kayla (Jason and Andrea's daughter) actresses did a superb job showing two different personalities for one character. Rosette was a little more mature and sophisticated, maybe?, while Jasmine was childish, to the point where she was literally (no, not figuratively) bouncing up and down the stage during her scenes. But hey, both interpretation of the character worked!
But my best actor award goes to Nelson, who portrayed the character of Daniel. From the responsible, gullible father to a protective husband who will go all guns ablazing against whoever dared to say a bad word about his wife, he was able to bring to life a character that I didn't really pay attention to when I was writing the draft of the script (tee hee). I mean, I know what I want to happen to him in the end, but I was more concerned on how to make Catherine exceedingly annoying but someone the audience could relate to (especially in the later scenes), and how to make a round character out of Andrea (from the typical housewife who envies her neighbor to a person who put her complete trust in the Lord), that I didn't pay too much attention to Daniel. Not that it mattered, because Nelson was able to flesh out what little personality I gave the character, so much that I never want to be at the receiving end of his anger. On stage, or in real life. On the other hand, Michael, who played alternate, gave the character a completely different personality. It was more of internal anger that I saw in him, in contrast to Nelson's external outburst.
And Lhen, the actress for Andrea? Gaah, perfect mother material. Especially the scene where she was talking to Kayla about her reasons for going to church (Alalahanin ang araw ng Sabbath upang ipangiling / Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy). And when she said, "Ano ka bang bata ka. Syempre, ina mo ako. Lagi akong handang makinig sa mga saloobin mo (or something, I forget the exact line haha!)," I shivered pleasantly at the motherly-ness of it all. And like Kayla, I almost said out loud, "Ma, salamat po ha."
Curtain call
Yes, it's a wonderful experience. Yes, the endless rehearsals gave me endless headaches. Yes, given the chance, I would do everything all over again. After all, I always make it a point to tell my team that we do what we do to give glory to the Lord, and not to ourselves. So in the end, it matters little if an actor forgot a line or missed his cue, or if the audience clapped thunder-loud during the curtain call, because no matter how much we appreciate their applause (I’d be lying if I said we don’t) or how disappointed we were that the play wasn’t executed as perfectly as we wanted, if we know, deep in our hearts, that we gave it our all for the one true Director of our lives, well, isn’t that more than enough?
