ShareThisBy Grace Avellana Villamora.
Among the many events inspired by Dr. Jose Rizal 150th Year Anniversary, two productions staged in Chicago brought to the fore the exemplary talent and exceptional community collaboration within the Filipino community. Both productions were presented to honor Dr. Rizal, the Philippine national hero, and to remember his heroic sacrifice of dying so we may live, as he puts it in his “Mi Ultimo Adios”.
Both events enjoined audiences to refresh their collective memory and recall their collective historical knowledge. The themes underscored the role of the theatre in expressing the culture of the nation and the “aspirations of the people.” These relevant productions helped usher in and end a meaningful celebration of October’s Filipino American History month.
Kundiman, Alay Kay Rizal was first staged on June 28 at Pritzer Auditorium with a repeat performance on October 21 at Columbia College. The group, Alab Entablado, was directed by Olga Natividad, a veteran Filipino actress with numerous film, TV and theater roles in the U. S. and Tanghalang Filipino (Philippines). Cast members included: Jay Espano/Rizal, Karrel Bernardo/Bass Baritone, Emily Morales/Soprano, Joachim Luis/Tenor, Judy Seghers/Soprano, Rica Goldyn/Soprano, Karl Rodriquez/Piano, Camelia Rodriquez/Assistant Director, Video Designer, and Anna Ruth Santiago/Translator.
“Looking for sponsors is a major challenge. We had no concerns with the stage set, which is simple, not grandiose. Our costumes were our own. We had to rent Jay’s for authentic Rizal-look. Olga raised the level of artistry. She encouraged us to be true to the emotions of our characters, to feel and act the songs, and communicate that to the audience. Jay’s intense, emotional performance inspired me to give my best and raised the level of my delivery,” explained Rica Goldyn.
Jay narrated, “One key challenge in the production was how to present the theme of nationalism, “anti-imperialism” and the prevalent abuses of America’s presence in the Philippines to American audiences. During the Question and Answer portion, the audience understood the underlying theme and intent of the show. Students wanted to learn about Rizal, the revolutions, and America’s engagement in the Philippines. We will perform in Skokie on November 4.”
On September 23 and 24, the Rizal Sweet Stranger, A Musical was presented by SAMASAMA PROJECT and CIRCA PINTIG, directed by the much-acclaimed Sir Anton Juan Jr., PhD. The musical focused on Josephine Bracken as Rizal’s companion, wife, and an active participant in the revolution. Read review from The Fil-Am MegaScene, October 1-15, 2011 issue.
Anton Juan is a tenured professor at the University of Notre Dame du Lac. He conceived the Chicago production, wrote the dramatic text, lyrics and choreography, with the inclusions of collaborative text from Sir Anril P.Tiatco’s Miss Dulce Extranjera and Isagani Cruz’s Josephine. Read bio here: http://ftt.nd.edu/faculty-and-staff/alphabetical-directory/anton-juan/. The musical was held at St. Scholastica Academy Theater Chicago. It drew multi-talented performers, musicians, and artists who infused the performance with creative energy and selfless dedication.
For instance, Antoinette Gomez/Josephine, a veteran stage performer (in Indiana and L. A.) had punishing two-hour one way drive for rehearsals. Anton Juan drove almost weekly to Chicago from Notre Dame.
In their own words, some cast members shared their personal insights for publication in this edition. All rights reserved:
Antoinette stated, “This production was different for me in terms of group unity. I found it very touching, like a family. It’s a well-rounded, talented actors and singers. For example, Nanay blew me away with her acting and dancing abilities. Chip with his passion and dancing. I was amazed at the way Dr. Cleo Casambre composed the music in a way that it was universal – can be sung by different voice ranges. It is one of the best community theater groups I had worked with. I am honored to play the role of Josephine, to be part of a cultural experience and celebration of Dr. Rizal.”
“The director’s method and harsh language was at first very stressful for me during the first couple of weeks. I never experienced that before as an actor. I learned that’s how Anton directs. Anton was very specific on how he wants and when he wants your character to act or move about. He had a brilliant plan in his head, something that he shared during rehearsals or changed at rehearsals. He was a very visual person, “ explained Antoinette.
Ariel Dayanghirang/Rizal recounted, “Sir Anton was very passionate about this musical. He stressed, discipline and focus are required. I learned a lot from my fellow actors. There were volunteers who had amazing passion, talent and delivered good work. I had quite an experience working with kids. They learned their moves, the Gamugamu and Spanish songs, in such a short time with Sir Anton. I did not expect much from the production crew, they were so few. But they really worked hard. They delivered and met deadlines at the technical rehearsal.”
Elizabeth Tuazon/ Josephine Repetiteur articulated: “I had unique parts as a repetiteur, a singer, a vocal coach, and a member of the production crew. Anton demanded a high level of performance from my role as Josephine, and the demands of the production crew. Costumes came from very broad resources: some elaborate costumes came from the cast or borrowed from various cast members; others were rented from The Drama Group. Anton provided some, like the Higantes from the University.”
“Anton’s directorial style is definitely unique. I never had experienced it before. It blew my mind when we started getting into the blocking of scene. It ended up really with certain lines done in certain ways; certain inflections and certain pauses, certain motions not indicated in the script. He was very free in making changes to the script. The script was very fluid; it kept changing. However, it seemed to fit,” mentioned Elizabeth.
“I learned so very much from Anton but it was such an expense to my personal sanity. I don’t think I could say that I would want to work with Anton again. He was brilliant – demanding to the extreme, in such ways that sometimes I could not realize his brilliance because I was so compromised in trying to do what he wanted to do. As a trained musician, I absolutely loved the interplay of lyrics and music. We are lucky to have a composer playing the piano for us. We were grateful because Dr. Cleo writes these lovely melodies, “ Elizabeth said. “I really grew and I was glad to be part of that experience. Sure, I will work with the same cast again,” added Elizabeth.
Chip Payos/Rizal related, “It’s an honor and big responsibility to play Rizal. My challenge was I had “double duty” roles: as Rizal, dancer, writer, and part of the ensemble. As an artist, I learned from Anton the generosity of spirit. As a director, he was very thorough and had a very visual imagination.”
Chip continued, “We went through some struggles when contracts were not in place in the beginning of the musical. Three actors left. There were no binding agreements. It was demoralizing because those actors already rehearsed with us and actors got better with their roles. Production people did the hiring and should have handled these things from the start. ”
“My personal moment came when I performed in front of my parents and family. They watched the earlier show. Found time to pass on their worries to me. My parents asked if I had enough preparation to do Rizal because Ariel’s voice was big and beautiful. They added, they could not sit or eat because they were so worried for me. At the end of the gala performance, they gave me their loudest applause and cheers. They absolutely loved it!, Chip remarked.
These two events allowed the cream of Filipino talent to rise in triumph. Based on the personal insights of the performers, for every successful performance, there are a lot of obstacles and showstoppers that are overcome with sheer dedication, imagination and determination of the cast members, production crew and director. It is now the duty of the Filipino community to foster talent growth, give them our patronage and encouragement.
About the writer: Grace is a published author, a freelance writer and a consultant for research and knowledge management. She has immersed herself in ad agency work for over 25 years and brings that experience to her articles.