2TinCans Theater Lab Summer ‘23 Class Culminates in ‘Rebels and Revelry’

CEBU, Philippines — After six weeks of training, the Summer 2023 workshop acting students of 2TinCans Philippines, Inc’s Theater

Lab showcased the acting skills that they picked up through “Rebels and Revelry”

at the Siddhartha Theater in Guang Ming College, Cebu City last August.

It’s not a traditional play, but a culminating event where actors of all ages act out in various skits. One skit focuses on a struggling actress ready to give up on her dreams when her manager gave her an audition that she promised would change her career. Another is a jukebox musical inspired by Matilda and Annie about children standing up against a strict matriarch in their orphanage.

There is a horror-suspense story where three teens debate if they are going to meet their fate after a grim reaper joins them on the train. Another skit for kids condemns cyberbullying in a humorous way. There is also one for adults about the day in the life of corporate workers trying their best to do their jobs properly in a company run by a rich girl boss.

“We are an advocacy theater. When you think of a rebel, you usually think of someone who is against the norm. But what’s really bad about it?” producer and  artistic director Sarah Mae Enclona explained of play’s concept to The FREEMAN.

“We are trying to celebrate the person who is empowered to stand up for one’s self, to celebrate one’s uniqueness and not to see it as a flaw. I think you can see from the choices of our material that the message is there. It’s not like a one-sided message of what is acceptable for kids, or teens or how they should look like, how they should talk, or how they should behave. We encourage our kids to discover more about themselves through the arts.”

While presented as an anthology, some of the skits are loosely connected to one another. The makers tried to create a connection, but it was up to viewers to see each skit as its own thing.

In between the skits were monologues delivered by the workshop’s female actors sharing their experiences.

“They went through ‘empowerment classes’ for their monologues. They wrote it during class and they just come up with their choice of material that they want to present,” she added.

“Rebels and Revelry” is part of the many activities that took place during Cebu City Arts Month under the Office of Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, and the company was lucky that they already had planned something for August.

“When the government asked us if we have a project for August, it so happens that our culminating production also falls under Arts Month. This is what we presented as our participation in Cebu City Arts Month and it’s something we cannot miss,” Enclona said.

“We have been trying to build a community where theater is supported. When the government decided to make August Arts Month, we should support it. It’s a fulfillment of one of our hopes that we can actually see from our government and our city supporting the arts more than ever.”

The length of a regular workshop in a 2TinCans Theater Labs is three months taking place every quarter where students meet up twice a week, with the summer version being shorter. The last three weeks of classes are the busiest with rehearsals as they would conclude their workshops with a culminating production.

Students are grouped according to their ages, with kids, teenagers, and adults each having their own team of mentors guiding them on their acting journey.

“It’s important that we open to all ages because you don’t stop dreaming and you cannot be too young or too old to be on stage. There are not really many opportunities here in Cebu for workshops. If we limit to a particular age, we are losing on that opportunity to actually provide training for them,” Enclona explained as 50 percent of their students are adults.

“They paid for their own workshops and they are at that age when they can make that decision to pursue acting. They have their own money rather than ask from their parents”, she added. “We are lucky to have kids and teens who have parents who are very supportive. When you are young, you only depend on your parents.”

Through their Theater Labs classes, 2TinCans wants to provide an outlet for those who still want to fulfill their dreams of acting regardless of age and build a community of aspiring actors in Cebu.

“The workshops are a good place for people to learn about theater, for those who want to experience it, for those who want to chase their almost-forgotten dreams, for kids whose parents want who have to have a bit of discipline, for kids who want to play and have fun after school,” Enclona remarked.

“The idea was to introduce theater as part of life skills. There is discipline there but at the end, you can see them having fun, you can see that friendships have been built, and there’s that connection between the teaching artists and the students.” — (FREEMAN)