Looking back. Proof, Doubt and Our Town.

Martha, this is all your fault, hahaha!

Martha had sent me a text message a few days ago, asking if I still had my copy of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Unfortunately most of my scripts were packed in a huge cardboard box in our annex, and I have no idea which scripts were still there. I remember lending a huge bag of those to Nicco at least a couple of years ago and he hasn't returned any of them yet. Anyway, I promised Martha I'd hunt for it, even though my copy was the edited version, because it was the script we had used for our acting workshop.

Then I found out from her Multiply that she's looking for a whole bunch of plays, two of them was already produced by Atlantis (Proof by David Auburn and Doubt by John Patrick Shanley), and both of which I had worked at backstage. Told her that I could lend it to her, and off I went hunting for all three plays. Proof was already in my room, so that was easy enough.

When I searched for the 2 remaining plays, I found them together. Haha, no surprise there. I was juggling work for Doubt while I was taking the acting workshop and rehearsing for the recital of Our Town. I also found a brown envelope tucked inside my Doubt script. Hahaha, inside the envelope were the 2 artworks Bea had done as opening and closing night gifts for the entire cast and crew. I had to laugh at the closing night artwork. Aside from the usual cartoon drawings of all of us (as she had done in the opening night artwork), she had put quotes from the play that applied to each of us. Mine said, "Do I perform?" Hahaha! I remember bringing along my Our Town script to every rehearsal, and during breaks, I would ask Bea to help me with my lines.

Other favorite quotes:
"Art. Waste of time." (Sister Aloysius, for Bea)
"I've been longing for my peace of mind." (Sister James, for Chie)
"I thought you were satisfied with me." (Sister James, for Kuya Egay)
"Where's your compassion (and notebook)?" (Father Flynn, for Nic)
"He's after the boys." (Sister Aloysius, for Manman)
"He had alcohol on his breath." (Sister Aloysius, for Johnsy)
"Boys are of a different breed." (Sister Alousius, for Bobby)

Hahaha, and the list goes on. We had a preliminary list for that that we Bea, Chie, Mia and I keep talking about over the headset, but the ones listed above were only some that made it to the cartoon.

I read the script again this afternoon, and kept wondering. Was Father Flynn really guilty of the crime that Sister Aloysius had accused him of? Nic's performance every night kept confusing me. I heard that he and Chari were the only ones in the production who knew whether Father Flynn was guilty or not. I couldn't tell because during some shows, Nic played it as if Flynn was innocent. Then during some, he played it guilty. I remember catching one of the last weekend shows that he played it off guilty, that he looked so desperate to convince Sister Aloysius and to get Sister James on his side. Arg. Paging Chari and Nic, can either of you let me know? Hahahaha!

I also read the Proof script (for the nth time) as well. When I first started re-reading it sometime last year, I kept hearing the voices of Lea, Tita Menchu, Mike and Joel as they performed it. So I decided to read it differently each time, giving each character a different voice. It was actually fun, because each line could have different interpretations and subtext.

I didn't read through Our Town, as I started getting sleepy by the time I was finished with Proof. But I remembered watching a production early this year by students of the PHSA, and they gave a different twist to it and calling it Our Flavored Town. They were amazing. Reading the script or watching any version of it, I always have tears in my eyes during that moment when Emily went back in time, trying to take everything in, and eventually losing grasp because everything passed so quickly. Looking back at our own performance in the Batute, sitting by my lonesome as Mimay delivered one particular line, my eyes had filled with tears because it applied to all of us.

Speaking of which, Mimay's off to the US again, indefinitely. I'll miss you, Mims. Mwah!

Aw, senti mode.