‘ATENG’ is more than just a rib-tickling play

I have fond memories of working at the Metropolitan Theater, where I learned the ropes of the trade from the formidable Tita Conching Sunico, the doyenne of Manila’s high society. I was a production assistant, an assistant stage manager and a publicist. However, I also wanted to act on stage.

I thought my biggest break as an intrepid fledgling actor would come through a play titled “Rehas sa Tubig,” starring Angie Ferro and Spanky Manikan, among other theater luminaries. I landed a role as one of the narrators with kilometric lines. I didn’t know that my face and body would be covered on stage with a green cloth because I was a lumot (moss), which I only took off every curtain call.

Theater will always hold a special place in my heart because the Met has opened many doors of opportunity, which have led me to where I am today. This is why, after reading the script, I wanted to produce “ATENG” with my good friend RS Francisco. I fell in love with the award-winning play, written by brilliant playwright Vincent de Jesus. “ATENG” is a recipient of the 2005 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, winning in the Dulang May Isang Yugto-Filipino Category. The Palanca Awards are the most prestigious literary competition in the country, established in 1950.

Vincent wrote the play in 2005 for The Writer’s Bloc, Inc. It later became an entry at the first Virgin Labfest and was staged at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute, also known as the CCP Experimental Theater. “The play had a weekend run to SRO audiences,” Vincent shared on his Writer’s Notes. “ATENG” will now make its comeback on stage at the Rampa Drag Club this month.

“ATENG” is about Juicy, a young gay impersonator, who spends his electric bill money on his boyfriend, Onyx. His older sibling, Kiwi, a parlorista, demands that Onyx return the money before their electricity is cut off. Kiwi realizes during their confrontation that common beauty parlor tools, such as a hairdryer, can become mighty weapons to fight egocentric men.

“ATENG” is more than just a rib-tickling one-act play. It encourages the audience to look deeper into the existing gender issues in our society.

Two decades have passed since the play was written. The world of “ATENG” is still relevant even after the passage of time.

“As we stage it today, we’re left asking: Have things really changed? The humor still lands. The violence still happens. The marginalization still cuts. And maybe that’s the hardest punch of all,” according to the Director’s Notes of Rem Zamora, whose first collaboration with Vincent was in the Palanca award-winning play “Changing Partners.”

I always say that gay love is equal to all forms of human love. But what if that same love is taken advantage of by toxic, domineering men who brandish machismo? It is my fervent hope that “ATENG” can initiate meaningful and critical discourse after the audience watches it. I really want a better world for the LGBTQIA+ community. We won’t get tired of our persistent call for equality and acceptance. The battle against prejudice and abuse will only stop when our collective voices are finally heard.

The “ATENG” cast members are Kokoy de Santos, Dyas Adarlo, Jason Barcial, Io Balanon, Vincent de Jesus and Thou Reyes. It will be staged at the Rampa Drag Club in Tomas Morato Extension, Quezon City, from Nov. 14 until Dec. 7 (every Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Shows start at 7 p.m.

The following are the specific schedules and the performers: SHOW 1, Nov. 14, Friday, 7 p.m. (Thou, Jason, Kokoy); SHOW 2, Nov. 16, Sunday, 7 p.m. (Thou, Io, Dyas); SHOW 3, Nov. 21, Friday, 7 p.m. (Vince, Jason, Kokoy); SHOW 4, Nov. 22, Saturday, 7 p.m. (Vince, Jason, Dyas); SHOW 5, Nov. 23, Sunday, 7 p.m. (Vince, Io, Kokoy); SHOW 6, Nov. 28, Friday, 7 p.m. (Thou, Io, Dyas); SHOW 7 matinee, Nov. 30, Sunday, 3 p.m. (Thou, Jason, Kokoy); SHOW 8, Nov. 30, Sunday, 7 p.m. (Thou, Jason, Kokoy); SHOW 9, Dec. 5, Friday, 7 p.m. (Thou, Jason, Dyas); SHOW 10, Dec. 6, Saturday, 7 p.m. (Thou, Io, Dyas); SHOW 11, matinee, Dec. 7, Sunday, 3 p.m. (Thou, Io, Dyas); and SHOW 12, Dec. 7, Sunday, 7 p.m. (Thou, Io, Kokoy).

Tickets are available at www.ticket2me.net and at the gate of Rampa Drag Club. The ticket price is at P1,000.

“ATENG” is presented by Infinite Monkeys, Boy So of La Carmela de Boracay and Rampa, with McDonald’s as the primary sponsor.