Letter from Banaue in the Big Apple

Banaue Miclat, actress and dancer, has now been a year in New York studying for her MFA and appearing in various productions that have to do with dance and other performing arts. Last we saw her, she was essaying the role of Huling in the 10-hour Lav Diaz film Ebolusyon ng Pamilyang Pilipino. Though we were unable to finish watching the film, Banaue’s role made a lasting enough impression on us.  

She also portrayed the female lead Diding in Mario O’hara’s Palasyo ni Valentin as her UP BA Theater Arts graduation thesis; and appeared in Adrian Cristobal’s The Trial/Ang Paglilitis as Gregoria de Jesus; Shakespeare’s Othello, as Desdemona; Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding, as Leonardo’s wife; Jomar Fleras’ Kanser, as Sisa; Floy Quintos’ And St Louis Loves Dem Filipinos as Momayon. She played one of the three leads in Ms. Julia, and did Peta’s Komedi Club and the Japanese international production Indian Summer, shown in Japanese cities.

In film, apart from the Lav Diaz movie, Banaue was in Tikoy Aguiluz’s Tatarin, Joel Lamangan’s Mila, in Judy Ann-Wowie’s film, Luvtxt. She also did some commercials, including one of McDonald’s.

Here are excerpts from her letter, after we remarked that her name reminded us of how we needed to go to a street in Quezon City for some repairs on the beat up car:

"That’s Banawe naman, pero, thank you pa rin! I missed the association. Here, some people would comment on the uniqueness of my name, and when they ask about it, I explain that I’m named after the Eighth Official Wonder of the World. Hmm… I should throw a remark about the street one time, it’ll be a great way to break the ice in formal situations.

"My first stage performance was as a nine-year-old ballet dancer with Leonor Orosa-Goquingco’s Ben-Lor Ballet in their 1989 production of Collezione. At age 12, I auditioned for PETA’s Ramayana (that became a production of Ang Paglalakbay ni Radiya Mangandiri) workshop. With PETA, I was introduced to the exploration of play and the discipline of an all around theater (we had dancers from Mindanao teach us malong and nga-nga dances and rituals, we learned songs, and being the energetic and overly enthusiastic kid that I was I memorized everybody’s lines and the way they spoke it) and simply got hooked. We also got a weekly allowance. It was not much, but it opened up the idea for me that one can earn in this field. I danced with the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group for almost two years when I was in high school, but remained hungry for theater. Took up BA Theater Arts in UP Diliman from 1996-2000. I was luckily acting in most of the Dulaang UP productions during that time, and finished my degree in four years.

The thing with theater arts majors in UP is that people get all these connections to work for TV and film that they tend to get LOA and AWOL all the time. I finished my degree on time because I did not join any outside productions. It worried me, as I was about to graduate because I did not know anybody in the industry. But I have apparently made a positive impression on the people that I worked with in the UP productions that worked in the professional world. I started getting calls for TV tapings and film shoots in 2000. Also, the PETA people I worked with when I was 12 remembered me, even though they knew me by my nickname – Wei-wei – back then. I did not join any orgs or clubs and remained a freelance actress.

"Hangouts in UP? Well, definitely Chocolate Kiss, the upstairs one. I was there almost every day with different sets of friends from 1999-2002. I hung out every now and then with the UP Theater Council and, oh, I became a FREP (Friends of UP Repertory).

"This is funny because, somehow, because I started performing as a dancer, the universe always brings me back to dance, in a way that is very connected to where I am in my personal growth and process.

"Butoh does not have one definition, but the one I like the most is basically to ‘kill’ the body; or, to exhaust it to the point where it is so tired that emotions will come out through movement. Some people say butoh is all too serious and all, and well, yeah, it is, pero it’s a great release of heavy emotions and helps dig up shit that has to be faced and healed. It’s very spiritual, and helps one to stay grounded.

"I got introduced to Vangeline Theater’s butoh through a workshop that Vangeline did for my class in Brooklyn College last Fall 2004. After the workshop, Vangeline invited me to join her May 2005 production of C.A.R.O.U.S.E.L, and sometime in February, made me a member of her company. She also heard me sing in school and wanted to highlight that aspect of me. So, she got me to sing for our show at Galapagos on the 14th.

"I’ll be here for a year on July 29th. On a superficial level I miss my car and the convenience of not having to microscopically calculate my budget all the time (I’m under "parental scholarship" and still feel guilty about it). On a physical level, I miss our home in Antipolo. On a spiritual level, I miss the security of belonging, of not getting lost even if can’t (freakin’) find my destination. The thing is, I’ve been talking to my program head, who came to NY from South Africa about two decades ago, and she told me, that after the soul exploration and transformation that opened up in her while she was taking up her MFA at NYU, she went back home to South Africa and felt that she did not belong there anymore. Still, she never felt that she belongs here either. I have not asked Lav about his process of re-immersion into our home country. He is doing great work.

"Sari (Dalena) woke me up early today with a text message about Cory asking GMA to resign. I don’t know what to make of it either, and I’m not there to see to say anything. But I believe you – I’m better off here. On a selfish term, I just worry about my parents’ comfort. They already have so much on their shoulders and do not deserve to be hassled any further, either economically or otherwise. I just hate it when Filipinos here talk about how our government sucks when in reality, they’re the worst talangkas as they can’t even detach objectively from that which they ran away from.

"Kung may kopya ka ng libro ng ate (Maningning) ko, ’yung Voice from the Underworld, pakibasa ang tulang ‘Sensation.’ Walang paltos, naiiyak ako tuwing babasahin ko ’yon. Wala lang. Maraming salamat uli!"