Not your usual theatrics

How’s this for a show? It was the height of the Arroyo administration, Manila was a mess, and society and the elite responded with patronage, political upheaval, and an irrevocable choice between evil and its lesser form. For some reason, theater as an art form reflected these same sociopolitical underpinnings as it became too modest, shackled even, relates JK Anicoche, artistic director of edge-work, site-specific independent theater group, Sipat Lawin Ensemble (SLE).

Bare necessities

“We felt at that time, the theater was just too safe — protecting its own conventions and patrons. It was too scared to confront (its) political, cultural and economic realities,” he adds, citing how his group, through their performances, stripped the theater down to its barest essentials — actor, action, and audience.

SLE mounted unconventional shows in off-kilter venues, most recently via its four-peat production of Battalia Royale, a loose adaptation of the cult Japanese film Battle Royale, which kept audiences shuffling from Museo Pambata all the way to the abandoned Victoria school in Cubao in a “live action game.” It was then that Manila began to take notice of this burgeoning gem that is the indie theater scene.

“It started with a group of alumni from the Philippine High School for the Arts,” JK recalls of how SLE came to be. Growing discontent with the current mode of production of most commercial theaters served as the group’s impetus to put up material that would “engage more audiences and bring theater closer to the people.” He adds that because indie had that capacity to explore and create new modes of production outside what is commonplace to big-budget outfits, it is able to present material or tackle subject matter that is more visceral, and in a way, more relevant to Manila’s contemporary theatergoer. “Here, we don’t sell stars, we exchange ideas.”  

That musical

Following the success of Battalia Royale, a TV production group announced that it was joining the indie theater race and cooking up what would be a show that would exact from the rich musical heritage of beloved OPM band, Sugarfree. Sa Wakas, a pop-rock musical by Culture Shock Productions, saw band geeks and theater kids singing along to Mariposa and Hari ng Sablay in a story about a struggling photographer torn between his two great loves.

“Our main goal is to create young, fresh and groundbreaking material that is at par with international standards in any form or medium,” shares Charissa Pammit, producer for Culture Shock, adding that it was for a romantic notion such as going against the establishment that the group decided to venture into theater production. “It was mostly done on a whim,” she says.

It was this same enthusiasm that brought Sugarfree front man Ebe Dancel to the project, even creating an original song, Bawat Daan, specifically for the show. “That’s the beauty of independent productions,” adds Charissa, “You don’t need an astronomical amount of resources to put something together. You just need to be gutsy and extremely resourceful.” 

Being alive

In early 2011, veteran theater actors Topper Fabregas, Cris Villonco and Jenny Jamora put together a brief on a project that would redirect people’s attention to the “straight play” — a dying art form in a country that’s become growingly obsessed with musicals. “We wanted (theater actress) Ana Abad Santos to direct our first (endeavor), and it so happened she wanted to do the same thing, using more adaptation,” shares Jenny, one of five proprietors behind the recently launched Red Turnip Theater — a company that aims to stage the kind of material that affects and embraces the audiences, actors and artists of now.

“Our discussions with Ana gave birth to ‘Unlimited Text’” — a theater series by the Theater Actors Guild that pooled 37 actors from various theater companies, directing and acting in a total of 10 scenes. From then on, the endeavor would solidify into an artistic vision for Red Turnip that would push for more character-driven stories with an experiential angle, and engaging material with the potential for adaptation.

“We want as many people as possible to experience how electrifying it is to be part of a theatrical experience. And we could help it along by having you sit three feet away from the actors, or allowing you to have a drink in your hand as you watch,” adds Jenny on the non-traditional modes by which non-theatergoers or even loyal subscribers can re-experience the art form in a different way. “We need the kind of material that engages us with who we are in our society and as human beings in the world,” Jenny adds. “That’s not always pretty but it makes us feel alive.”

Corner of the sky

While Red Turnip’s big-picture aim is that an experience of their shows will inspire patrons to check out other shows by other theater companies as well, Jay Glorioso of MusicArtes, a group that promotes greater appreciation for music and its related arts with a special focus on contemporary classical and world music, says there is a need to reach out to “students, young people in general by making these (non-mainstream) types of music accessible, entertaining, and uplifting.” Charissa adds, “We (also) need to dispel the notion that theater is only for cultured or ‘artsy’ people,” to which she reemphasizes the need for contemporary and original Filipino material that can connect with general audiences — kind of like what Culture Shock did with Sa Wakas.

“This is definitely a burgeoning time for the indie theater scene,” she says. “Young people are now realizing that you don’t have to rely on the existing system in order to pursue your dream projects. You can make your own way, carve out your own niche, defy gravity, find your own corner of the sky — that kind of thing.”

While mainstream theater serves its purpose, whether it be for traditional forms of entertainment or recreating the experience of Broadway and West End on our local shores, indie puts the spotlight back on the theater actor and champions accessibility — whether via choice of material or more affordable ticket prices. Jay adds, “Indie theater dares to try new methods, forms and materials whereas mainstream will think twice before doing certain projects,” though she admits that mainstream is still important in consolidating the industry. “They help the general viability of the theater,” she says, adding, “The CCP and other mainstream groups help subsidize their resident theater and ballet companies by way of free venues for rehearsals and performances.”

Jenny concludes that there ought to be “more avenues to explore the finer nuances of our being human, and of our communities or societies, and more opportunities to show stronger (and perhaps riskier) opinions on that.” She says that the only crime, whether it be mainstream or indie, is to put mediocrity onstage. On whether the mainstream is a bad thing, JK puts it simply: “I prefer transgressions that question.”

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Sipat Lawin Ensemble’s LOVE: This Is Not Yet a Musical, a large-scale cross-cultural collaborative work that brings together the written, captured, and performed works of more than 100 individuals, will run from Aug. 23 to Sept. 1. Venue TBA. For more details, visit Sipat Lawin Ensemble’s Facebook page.

Red Turnip’s Closer runs this Oct. 4 to 27 at Whitespace, 2314 Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City and stars Marc Abaya, Angel Aquino, Bart Guingona and Cris Villonco. It’ll be directed by Ana Abad Santos. For show buying inquiries, call 0908-882-9750.

MusicArtes will be staging Jean Genet’s The Maids, directed by Anton Juan, at the Mirror Studio Theater from Aug. 8 to 18. For tickets, call 895-8098.

Culture Shock will be restaging Sa Wakas in early 2014. Stay tuned for details.