Changing routines, and reconnecting.

When I was blogging my previous entry, I thought that I was done with the busy days. Little did I know that the days were just going to get busier because of the new path that I had just decided to take.

I can't believe I'm going to follow a trend just so I can make a living. But of course, I have to be practical, plus I can't always just wait idly for things to come, right? At syempre, kailangan kong kumain at mabuhay eh, hahaha. And it's not like I'm turning my back completely on the things I love. And as Carms had said, hindi naman talaga mawawala yan kung innate na sa iyo. That's why I chose the part-time route so I can still be open to other opportunities that come my way that's possible to fit into my schedule (like the upcoming production of Legally Blonde the Musical).

I've been doing all things necessary before next week begins, and I remember telling Carms yesterday that in a way, I'm also excited because of this sudden shift to a brand new path in my crazy life.

Speaking of crazy, I'm so grateful for some friends that have been keeping me sane despite these busy days. They've been good company via text messaging while I've been running errands so I would be entertained most of the time. I've been missing real quality time with friends, though. But I'm already contented with any type of communication rather than no communication at all.

A couple of days ago, I spent the evening chatting with a couple of friends from across the globe. I've known Jen since I was in 2nd grade, and ever since she migrated to Canada, we've always made huge efforts to keep in touch. She's studying in London right now, and we chatted for quite a long while during her break, updating each other and talking about quite a big range of topics that would pop in our heads.

On the same night, I also got to chat with Kel, a close friend from YFC-CSB who happened to be my partner as assistant head in our org household. He's studying and working in Reno, where his family had migrated, and we kept in touch constantly through email. He still cracks me up every time, and it's also great to have a friend like him that I can always open up to. And we both realized how much we have matured, simply by judging how our conversations went, plus our lifestyles, no matter how crazy they can be.

Then there's the text exchanges with Carms yesterday when I updated her on how things are with me. Her words of encouragement made me feel more eager than anxious about the days to come. And during the late evening, I was chatting with Tita Amy, and her witty but motherly advices really got to me. To these ladies, thanks for your concern and what you've shared with me.

Despite everything, I know I still have a lot to learn, and I always make an effort to make room to grow. I'm opening a new blank page in my book, but of course I will backtrack in some aspects from time to time.

The busy days.

I've been spending most of last week with Lara and the Make Believe gang. We've been rehearsing with the kids during the morning, then do whatever stuff or errands in the afternoon.

Last Wednesday was mostly like that. After rehearsing with the kids, Lara and I went to Food Box for lunch, then returned to Montessori to just hang out. Plus Lara did tell Nina that she'll help out with the backdrop/black backing onstage. Eventually I was the one who ended up draping the black backing on the boards while Lara chatted with Nina, who was glue-gunning sequins to Abby's costume, hahaha. While we were just sitting around and talking, my phone (which was on silent most of the time) started vibrating. I answered the call from behind one of the boards, and realized that it was someone from the call center I sent my resume to (through Anna). Apparently, that was my phone interview, hahaha. Thank goodness I gave my mobile instead of my landline so I can be contacted anytime.


So the following day, I had to dash to Makati after the kids' rehearsal. I was super grateful that there were no traffic jams the whole way to EDSA. With some time to spare, I managed to grab some lunch at Southgate before heading to Ayala. Right after I had changed to a decent business attire, I took one look in the mirror and was surprised to actually see myself looking... well, older, hahaha. I actually looked my age if I was dressed in corporate attire.

After an afternoon of waiting, interviews and exams, I stepped out and decided to text Mimay just in case she was already in Manila. I suddenly got a phone call from Opa and told me that they were in Greenbelt, so I walked on over there and found Mimay, Mike, Betty, Opa, plus Mimay's 2 cousins (I forgot their names) in My Thai. They were just finishing dinner, so we had a little photo op and chitchat, then we all walked to Dusit Hotel (where Mimay and Mike were staying) to hang out. Mimay and Mike bought ice cream and stuff in SM first, so the rest of us went ahead. We also invited Lucien and Leo to follow. So there was a night of ice cream, card-playing, and talk galore until I said that I needed to go home and sleep.


Early call time at Montessori yesterday morning, so Lara and I met up pretty early in Alabang before taking a jeep. Had breakfast first, then helped the kids prep up for the tech run. We adults changed into our costumes as well, then put some last-minute touches on the kids' costumes, like the furry feet for Rafa and Katie. During the tech run, extra challenge once again with dealing with talking kids backstage, and of course, Sophie. I tried the "seatbelt" thing on her which I used on Naomi last year, but it didn't work because she kept squirming. Thank goodness Mike was also there, so we took turns watching out for her.

Showtime after the tech run. I was so glad that Abby had been the most behaved girl (as always), and Bianca always does what she's told. Katie needed a bit of warning, but she does follow when she's told. Sophie was a different story, per usual, because even though Mike had implied the 3-warning rule on her, she kept straying away, but at least we managed to catch her in time before she could be seen by the audience. I had my prop book and pencil stowed away in the lockers, but thank goodness that it was a good distraction for her, so she stayed put.

I was supposed to dash to CCP for the Virgin Labfest audition after the showcase, but I couldn't resist staying a bit longer to make up for the time I didn't get to bond with the Make Believe gang the day before. Shan was also there to watch, so Nina and I convinced her to stay and hang out with us. After a little company call, talk galore over lunch while Sophie entertained Nina, Shan and me. Then a whole bunch of us settled on the floor and the mats and talked about all the crazy stuff that had happened during the show and prior to the show. We cracked up when we saw that "challenge accepted" video of Mike, ahahaha!

After a while, I had to go, so Shan and I left together. I showed her which jeep to ride home, then I hopped on a jeep going in the other direction. When I got to CCP's Silangan Hall, there were so many people, and Lara was also there, ahahaha. She had left Montessori before me with Therese and Pepper, and the couple managed to convince her to audition for Labfest as well.

The whole afternoon til evening was mostly just waiting and talking with other friends who were also there to audition, and it was great to see friends that I haven't seen in a while.

Gino suddenly texted that he'll be in the area at around 7pm, and apparently he's treating some friends out in celebration of his birthday. He also asked about the audition, and he suddenly decided to just go and try out. Geli was with him, and as it turned out, their other friends couldn't make it to dinner, so I decided on a whim to join them.

After Gino's audition, the three of us walked to Dencio's in Harbor Square. I haven't hung out together with these two since they watched Rent, so it was great to bond with them again. Haha, photo ops galore, and indulged in the birthday boy's vanity. Yummy dinner, then walked around and more photo ops, then we decided to just walk to Taft instead of taking the jeep so there would be more quality time for us. We even stopped over at KFC so they can get Krushers (I was still full from the dinner, anyway).

So far, things have been pretty OK. I wonder what these next days, weeks and months will bring. For now, I need to get some rest. I think I'm coming down with something. Thank goodness it happened after Make Believe.

The north trek that turned into a 3-play marathon.

Yesterday morning, I had to come to Make Believe again to rehearse the kids' showcase with Lara, JV and Mike. Lara and I had agreed to meet up again at Jollibee Alabang so we can ride the jeep to Merville together. While I was already on a jeep to Alabang, she sent me a text message telling me to go ahead to Merville because she was running late, as their gardener had arrived at their house so she had to keep an eye on him. Minutes later, I got a text and call from her, changing her mind and we stuck to the original plan of meeting up.

Because of the gardener thing, Lara arrived late, but I didn't really mind because if we left by then, we could make it to Merville right on time. But unfortunately, there were lots of people waiting at the jeepney terminal, and there was a little wait for the next jeep to arrive. When we finally boarded one, little did we know about the craziest traffic jam along the service road. There was a fire somewhere along the SLEX, and it affected practically all the roads, so we figured we were going to be late. Lara texted a heads up to JV by then. More sitting around in the jeep, and then that's when we realized that we weren't going to make it at all to Make Believe. So we decided to keep riding the jeep all the way to Magallanes, because our agenda after Make Believe was to go to Miriam to watch the recitals of Tad, Paolo and Riki's workshop classes. Especially Tad and Paolo's kids' class, because like us, they were doing an adaptation of The Little Prince.

The traffic jams were really, REALLY bad, both northbound and southbound, probably because of the fire that we passed by, or some other reason. But the entire jeepney ride took us a total of 4 hours. We breathed a huge sigh of relief in unison when we finally saw our stop in Magallanes. We stopped by the Southgate mall to buy water, as we were both parched from the heat and from all that talking to keep us from being impatient, then we boarded the MRT to Cubao. Switched to the LRT 2 when we got off at Cubao, and because we haven't had lunch yet, we decided to grab food at Mini Stop when we got off the LRT in Katipunan. Made it to the venue in Miriam around 15 minutes before the show was about to begin.

The kids' recital was pretty cute. The kid who played the Little Prince was actually so adorable, and his witty timing was quite natural. And there was also this one girl among the 3 flowers that also stood out because of the way she carried herself, and she's got the dancer moves and the voice to boot. What surprised Lara and me, though, was the finale. The kids sang the song "Happiness" from You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown as their finale, which is also the finale song that JV chose for our own showcase! Ahahahahaha! Anyway. Congratulations to teachers Tad Tadioan and Paolo O'Hara, and their workshoppers!

After the show, Lara and I decided to head out again to eat, because we haven't had a proper meal all day. We were still deciding on where to eat while we were walking, until we decided to go next door to Ateneo so Lara can give me a tour of her college life back when she was still studying there, hahaha. I've been to Ateneo only twice, and it was only just to watch a couple of Blue Rep shows, so it was amusing to see everything while Lara was reminiscing. And of course, being the camwhore that she is, she couldn't resist taking photos.

When Lara and I arrived at Gonzaga Hall, a poster caught her eye. It was a poster of Tanghalang Ateneo's current production, La Ronde. Lara had noticed it because she had done a production of it under New Voice years ago (called The Blue Room), so she checked out the poster. I noticed that it was playing until that evening, and that's when Lara begged me to watch it with her. I was reluctant about it, of course, because I really wanted to watch Riki's workshop class' recital that evening, and Lara even decided on a whim that we watch our respective chosen plays separately. She even sent a text message to the number displayed on the poster to ask if there were still available tickets. Hahaha, even when we were on the tricycle headed to Cantina (where Lara recommended that we eat), she had this begging look on her face, and I was still hesitant.

When we arrived at Cantina, we noticed that it was close to the newly-opened MushroomBurger that I noticed when we arrived at Katipunan earlier that afternoon. We debated with ourselves as to where to eat, and we ended up eating at MushroomBurger. Hahaha, a cool southern burger place brought to the north.

After eating, we headed back to MC for Riki's adult acting class' recital, La Casa de Bernarda Alba. Opa had texted that she was already there, but when we arrived at the Mini Theater, I found out that she was mingling backstage. So Lara and I just stayed outside and waited for the house to open. All 3 of us sat together on the 4th row when we were allowed inside the theater. Haha, Opa dropped by again backstage and returned with 2 digital cameras, as she was tasked by a couple of the workshoppers to take photos of the show.

For a small group of young ladies, the workshop class did showcase their best. Miss Yvette was right, they were really talented. Heck, and to be under Riki, why shouldn't they be? Hahaha. I have to say, because of the ladies' performance, I got curious about how Riki is as a director, as I had never worked with him save for that small Labfest stint. Congrats to Riki and the adult acting class!

Mingled briefly after the show, as Lara and I finally decided that we still had time to catch TA's La Ronde if we immediately dashed to the venue. We managed to drag Opa along with us, ahahaha. While we were already inside the Ateneo campus, walking to the venue, I heard some singing, and as we walked, the song was so familiar. It was "One" from A Chorus Line. We were walking closer toward the singing, and saw this group rehearsing at this open area. Looking closer, I noticed a familiar face. It was Baus. As it turned out, these were Blue Rep people, because when I waved to Baus, I then saw Pauline and Gigo. Too bad I could only wave, as we were in a rush to get to TA's show.

We made it to the venue, and thankfully there were still available seats. We only missed a couple of scenes, and Lara helped out describing each scene, so we didn't have to buy a souvenir program, hahaha. Well, the production was pretty OK, considering it was a college play, and I loved the production design. The set was very versatile, that with a slight change of the wooden set pieces, it was a completely different setting. There were only a couple of actors that stood out, and my favorite was the girl who played the actress. I have to say, La Ronde is a good acting piece when you want to play with relationships and statuses. Lars, can you send me your soft copy of the play? It would be a good backup as pet project, ahehehe.

Despite the heat, the crazy traffic jam, missing a Make Believe class/rehearsal, and the distance, I had a blast spending the entire day with my breast friend. I can't believe we turned the day into a play marathon with Opa, hahaha. Anyway. We will be back at Make Believe on Tuesday, specially because it's also Abby's birthday that day. Their showcase is less than a week away!

Spa evening.

Dropped by Atlantis yesterday before lunch for a visit. Lawyn wasn't around because she was in Macau (I think) with family, but the rest of the gang was there, including Ate Sally's niece, Gen. Chitchatted for a while before they decided to break for lunch. Ate Sally and Gen brought food for lunch, so Claire and I walked to Binalot to buy food. By the time we returned, Chari had actually sent a bowl of pasta for the office, ahahaha, so there's more food to go around.

More chitchat after lunch, and I got to sneak a peek at the scale model of the Legally Blonde set which was stored behind the big table. I also got to help out by stamping the Xanadu tickets with Gen while Claire and Ate Sal were busy at their respective computers and while Kuya Boni was looking for something to watch on DVD.

I was meeting a bunch of my RPT classmates at CCP that evening, but I decided to come earlier because I needed to talk to Ate Jen at the TP office regarding some questions I had asked Ed on Facebook chat the night before. Talked to Ate Jen about the upcoming season plays and my concerns, and thank goodness I always have an updated resume in the flash drive that I always bring with me, so I gave her a copy that she immediately printed out.

Headed to Starbucks to just sit and hang around until my friends arrived, as I was still an hour early. Only half the class could make it that day, so it wasn't much of a wait. Rommel had planned a sort of videoke party, but considering how few we were, I figured we'd play everything by ear. Rish was the first to arrive, so she grabbed a bite and something to drink while we waited for the rest. Ayana and Rommel arrived at the same time, and Rommel, being the gallant guy that he is, he offered to pay for Yana's order. And then that's when he decided to change our plans. Because there was only 5 of us coming (as we were waiting for Len), he decided to just treat us to Wensha Spa!

Off to Wensha Spa so we just just wait for Len there (because she was already in Buendia waiting for a ride), and when Len finally arrived, we then changed into robes and slippers. Buffet time! Grabbed a little of everything that we could share between all five of us, assuring each other that we could finish everything. Chitchat galore, as Len had lots to tell as usual. When we were almost ready for our full-body massages, we "cleared off" the food from every plate as much as we can. We ladies (Rommel was in the men's area, of course) skipped out on the sauna and steam baths and just decided to dip our feet in the pool while we digested our food. After 15 minutes of just sitting around, talking while watching what was on the big screen TV, we finally decided to get our massages. Rish and Len shared one room while Yana and I were in the room next to them.

That full-body massage was totally refreshing, even though I could hear the ticklish Yana giggling from the other bed half the time, hahaha. Anyway, we were allowed to stay in the spa up to 6 hours, but apparently some of us had to leave for home, so we had to text Rommel (who fell asleep after his massage) our many thanks and that we had to leave.

It was a great evening with these friends, and I sure hope it will finally be an "official cast party" next time! Thanks again to Rommel for the awesome treat!

Make Believe kids and Dogs Day Out.

Lara had requested for me to come in to her Make Believe class so I can rehearse with the kids for their upcoming showcase. She's doing their own adaptation of "The Little Prince" and got me as one of the adult guest performers.

We met up at Jollibee Alabang then we rode a jeep to Merville together. Chatted and ranted during the entire jeepney and trike rides to Montessori, and found JV inside the classroom. They logged in and I did as well, then changed my shirt in anticipation of the dance numbers that Lara had warned me about.

Got introduced to the kids, especially Abby, who I got paired up with in one scene of the showcase. While waiting for the rest of the kids to come in, JV and Abby both showed me the choreography of our dance, then we rehearsed it twice. Hahaha, Abby's so cute, I just had to copy her when she danced. Lara then rehearsed the other dances of the other kids with JV and Mike as they came in before we actually started the class.

All the kids were equally adorable in their own ways, and I had to tell Lara that "all her kids are beautiful," hahaha. But even I have to admit that Sophie has been quite a handful, even more this year compared to last year. I honestly still have no idea how to handle her, but Lara just kept telling us to just let her go around on her own as we went on with the exercises.

Rehearsed the play once with the kids, and to my surprise I was told that I was also going to dance along with everyone during the final dance number. Well, I'm not really all that surprised, but I already knew that I was going to dance. I just had no idea how many song numbers I was going to be in, hahaha! Thank goodness that this year, I actually love the songs that Lara's using, ahehehe.

After running the play once, we let the kids take their snack break. After the break, we let the kids rehearse the finale song, and even let them listen to an original track as well. After letting them rehearse the song again from their finale positions onstage, Lara dismissed the class.

I was planning to head to ATC to have a date with myself before meeting Lara for the Dogs Day Out at the mall, but Lara invited me to go with her to her house before she heads for ATC with Lindt and her siblings, plus so I don't have to hassle myself with the commute to Alabang.

So it was a spur-of-the-moment road trip to San Pedro as a random treat to myself for the day. When we got off the bus in Laguna, we stopped over at the pet store so Lara can look for a water bottle for Lindt (too expensive, so she didn't buy it) plus a couple of treats. I also bought some for Terie as well. Walked to Dexter's pizza to buy some lunch, then took a trike to their house. Got reintroduced to Lara's siblings Johmie (I forgot if we're the same age or if she's younger) and Kuya Jorhez, even though I met them before when I ran into them once in ATC. And of course, I also got to meet Lindt, the "baby" of their family, hahaha. Lara and I devoured the pizza while her siblings prepped up, and then we hopped in the car and drove off to ATC. Unfortunately the traffic was really bad, so we arrived late in ATC.

There was a demonstration in the plaza by some dog trainers, so we immediately checked it out. Apparently Lindt was so overwhelmed by the crowd, so she kept walking around and around when Lara first put her down to walk. I managed to grab her after passing a couple at Coffee Bean, and was surprised to see that Kassy was one of those 2 people. Hahaha, she thought that Lindt was my dog because I was one who picked her up, until I introduced her to Lara. We settled down on the grass with Johmie and a couple of dogs and their owners. There was this Jack Russell who was trying to be friends with Lindt, but I guess Lindt was still kind of scared of the big crowd that she was kind of mataray to the Jack Russell, who was appropriately named Jack, ahahaha. Jack's owner noted Lindt's behavior and gave Lara and Johmie some advice, but Lindt was still kind of stubborn.

We went around to check out all the other stuff going on. There was this photo booth, plus there's this Pets for Peace wall where dogs can put their paw prints on as "signature." By the time we went back to watch the demonstrations, the owner of the Jack Russell was there wearing a different shirt. As it turned out, the man that we were talking to was actually a master dog trainer, hahaha!

I was sort of regretting that I didn't get to bring Terie there to ATC to interact with all the other dogs, but I guess I was glad as well, because Terie can get pretty crazy at times. Oh well. Anyway, after the whole event, we just went around, and tried to get Lindt to walk, but she kept asking Lara and her sister to carry her, hahaha. Lara and I ended up sitting for a while at Coffee Bean while her siblings went to buy groceries until I had to go home.

Distractions are good for me.

During the past month, I've been grateful for the small distractions that come my way. I welcome all the "distractions" that keep me busy at all times. I still avoid any activity or any topic that make me dwell on things that I'd rather not think about. That's why I still steer clear of certain, well, things.

I was grateful to be busy with our RPT workshop, because thinking about the workshop and the recital kept me from thinking and worrying about other things. I was actually surprised at myself to be so completely occupied, beginning from when I wake up in the morning to do my daily chores, and even when I arrive early in CCP, along with a whole bunch of fellow early birds of our class. Then when I get home and sleep, that's when I realize that I've been occupied the entire day, and was actually thankful about it.

The day our RPT workshop ended, I started thinking about what I could occupy myself with before I head over to my other obligations. I kept busy talking to certain friends, among other things. And I was glad for another day at the Vox Populi shoot yesterday (Thursday).

Our call time was later than last week's, so I underestimated the travel time to get to Marikina. The location was trickier to find, being this crazy Southern belle (ahahaha) that I am. The waiting area was this small barangay hall under an overpass, and to my surprise, Tuxqs was also there. Apparently, Sir Dennis also had a very appropriate role for him in his film, ahehehe. We hung out outside the barangay hall, because it was already super hot inside, and was grateful that it was (well, slightly) cooler outside. The usual long wait, which I didn't really mind at all because we were chitchatting among ourselves anyway. There was even a videoke machine setup nearby because of a certain event in the area, and it was so funny how Sir Julio, Sir Dido and even Bernard and Dave each had a turn at it.

We shot a whole sequence under the overpass where we had to ride and hop off a van and head off somewhere. It took a while to shoot because the vans had to be pulling up one after another. Sometimes there would be a random pedicab driving up between them, which caused a little delay, until we noticed that it was the same pedicab attempting to drive between the vans a couple of times, ahahaha.

After eating lunch, some of us were still hungry probably because of the heat, so we went to the nearby sari-sari store to buy some more snacks and drinks. We shot a bunch of other sequences after that in the connecting streets, and of course, we "councilors" were kind of restless waiting in the heat that we even bought ice candy from a vendor while we did one sequence, casually concealing it behind or under our vests while we did the scene, hahaha. After shooting a final sequence under the overpass, we packed up and headed for the next venue, which was some restaurant a few streets away.

Betty and I rode with Dave to the venue, so I got to leave my bag in his car. We were so glad that the venue was cooler, plus there were several chairs to sit on, hahaha. And there was food as props! Including lechon, hahaha! So the entire time we were shooting at the venue, we were eyeing the food, hoping that we get to eat it before we had to leave for the final location that night. We were hoping that that would be our dinner. When we were almost done shooting the final sequence, I caught some of the lead actors grabbing a few bites of the lumpia and the chicken, so Rayna and I made a beeline for them as well. When we were done, Sir Dennis grabbed the ear off the lechon, and it was time to attack. Within minutes, the crew had surrounded the entire thing and devoured it, hahaha!

Off to the plaza for the final sequences of the night. We hung around a bit at the Red Cross, where our waiting area was, and we had our dinner there. After a long while of hanging around (Rayna and I even got to check out the church across the street), it was finally time to head over to the plaza to shoot. Holy kamote, a huge bunch of talents were needed to simulate the crowd (an illusion of 500 people, according to Sir Dennis), so they got the locals to be the crowd. It took a while for Sir Dennis and Carla (the AD) to get the people to do what they wanted, but in time, we finally had good shots. The bunch of us playing the councilors got to finish a little past midnight, so we headed back to Red Cross to surrender our costumes.

Rayna, Betty, Max and I hitched with Dave out of Marikina, and I was so relieved that he was heading straight home to Cavite instead of staying at his apartment in QC, so I got to get a ride all the way back to the south. He just dropped me off at Zapote where I could easily grab a jeep home.

Glad to have days like these, especially when you're surrounded with friends. In the morning, it's time to return to Make Believe.

Curtains: R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots).

So yesterday was our Rehearsal and Performance Techniques workshop recital. We had a 10am call time, but a bunch of us agreed to meet up earlier to have breakfast together. Of course, we can never get enough bonding time, even though the day before was pretty much a first time ever that we all got to eat together (except for MA, who thought that the break was pretty short so he went out on his own to smoke).

Hannah and I ended up riding the same orange jeep to CCP together, and by the time we arrived backstage, we ran into Boogie, Dan and Ayana who were already heading out to Jollibee. They waited for us to drag our stuff inside the dressing room (where we found Mark trying to catch more sleep) before we all headed out to Jollibee together. Because we knew that we were still going to end up at the same fast food joint for lunch, we didn't order the regular meals and ordered the breakfast meals instead, hahaha.
Immediately went back to the dressing room, and we were told to prep up already because we were doing a final run at 11am, in complete costume and makeup. I was told that JK will be providing a wig for me as Consul Busman, so I put my hair up in a bun. But when we saw that it was a blonde wig that still looked feminine, Miss Tess vetoed the wig and put my hair up in a French braid instead. JK then helped with my makeup, because I was playing a male character. Hindi ako marunong mag-contour ng mukha to sharpen certain features, ahahaha, so super thanks to the self-proclaimed National Artist for makeup.

JK had also brought the light dress that I had to wear during one of my scenes as Radius, and yes, it was literally a wire dress with lights all over it. They made me try it on and rehearse the scene before the run, so I would know how to move around the stage with it. It wasn't really heavy, really. It was just really bulky.

So this is what it looks like from the side.

And this is what it looks like when I'm wearing it as Radius.

And to think I have to change into this in the span of a few minutes, then I only wear it onstage for about 3 minutes.
(Photos courtesy of Gelo.)

Anyway, our run got delayed because MA was super duper late for the nth time. By the time he arrived, JK quickly announced that we will run in 5 minutes. We quickly rushed into our costumes and got ready for the run.

Holy kamote, we all felt the same thing. We all had pretty low energy during the final DTR. I think it was because we didn't rehearse as much the day before, as we only did a cue-to-cue. And my goodness, because it was the first time we actually did the scene with me in the light dress, the top part pushed down my headpiece a little too much, so by the time I had entered the scene, I could barely see anything because the headpiece almost covered my eyes entirely. But hey, at least I managed to make my quick change easier.

Notes during company call, then it was time for lunch. Once again, we got food from Jollibee, but we decided to just get it to go and eat it at the LT backstage entrance so we can easily be found.

Back to the dressing room to prep up for the show. It was almost time for the show. We were all excited and nervous at the same time, and vowed to put all our energy into this one show. JK managed to fix my headpiece so I wouldn't go blind by the time Radius once again enters with the light dress, hahaha. Plus I was told to have a tighter braid which could be tucked under my jackets, and thank goodness MA's friend Jam (who was also there backstage) volunteered to braid my hair because I didn't know how to French braid my own hair.

We all said a prayer together before the show began. And afterwards, I just had to laugh at myself. I was wearing 3 layers of clothes (bottom: cycling shorts, gray pants, black pants; top: tank top, tailored shirt, coat), and I always feel the need to pee when the first scene was about to begin, hahaha!

Because we were pretty visible from the audience if we hang around the wings, we moved our standby chairs farther away. Thank goodness my coat (well, JK's really) was black and I could still move around in silence, but still we were slightly visible.

Showtime! Thank goodness there was much more energy during the show. I think it was because we knew we already had an audience. After the first act, we were on a roll. But alas, I buckled over one of my lines, kung kelan Radius the robot pa ako, ahahaha! But I still barreled through. And I finally managed to change from Busman to Radius swiftly during the quick change, thanks to Gelo's help with the light dress. Ayan, kabog ang audience with my costume, ahehehe. But I had to agree with Drei that they should've used different lighting. Oh well.

Thanks to all who watched! It was great seeing those familiar faces during curtain call!

Congrats to my fellow RPT workshoppers, to Miss Tess and JK, and to the stage management (who were under Sir Edmu's workshop) as well!

After the show, we cleared everything out in our dressing rooms, surrendering our hand props and stuff to the stage management, then headed out separate ways for a while before we all had to watch the Acting in Musical Theater workshop (where Rommel's daughter Anna was in). I joined Drei and Cha at Icebergs to talk and hang out. It was my first time ever to hang out with Cha in person, and I like her already.

When it was almost 7pm, I headed to the Batute and found Yana in the lobby, waiting for tickets. Rommel, Mark, Len and Dan were already inside. We finally got tickets from Ate Bheng and then found seats before Quiapo the Musical began. And I have to say, Anna was the best one there. Congrats to you as well!

After the show, we headed to Barbariba, along with Miss Tess, Nazer, Roeder, Onyl, Arnie, and a bunch of the musical theater workshoppers. Well, it wasn't really the real cast party anyway, so it was no biggie that there were others with us, or that we weren't complete (as Dan, Hannah, and Rish weren't there).

I have to laugh at all the comments I got from people who saw me perform. Most had said na ang gwapo ko pala pag lalaki ako, ahahaha! Miss Tess told me that Lao said na kikita talaga ako if I play male roles, wahahaha! Miss Tess also said that I look better with really really short hair, as she had seen me with my hair up in a bun (which, by the way, is an accomplishment, as it was my first time ever to manage to put my hair up in a bun by myself). Roeder said the opposite, that he liked how I look with the length of my hair now. Hmmm... makes me think about what to do with my hair next, hehehe.

Like I always used to say, the RPT class is very different from the other workshop classes that I've taken, because it's a new class every year. You learn something new, especially because you tackle a different play every year, and it's always a different approach.

So now this book has closed. This month, I'll be returning to Make Believe for Lara's class, and of course, the creative master class.

Pre-recital post.

On the first day of Rehearsal and Performance Techniques workshop, we were given two monologues (one for females and another for males) to read, unitize and memorize. We were told that those two monologues are from R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Capek, which will be our recital piece at the end of the workshop. We delivered our monologues, infusing action verbs of our choice. When we were given the entire script, we then performed site-specific scenes around CCP.

When we first read the script together, we all had the same impression, especially about the ending. But eventually, as we kept reading it again and again, we realized that the play had so many levels. Holy kamote.

At first, I was amused at the role(s) given to me, as I was grateful not to get the female lead. But when it started sinking in, my goodness, how will I be able to pull it off? Every rehearsal day was a challenge, especially because I was still trying to find truth in the character(s).

As the show day gets closer, to our relief, our notes got fewer and fewer. Yet the learning and unlearning never ends, and I'm glad it never does. Every time we rehearse, every time we go back to our scripts, we always find something new. Kumbaga, laging may dalang baon sa bawat rehearsal. Tama nga naman. Dapat naman talaga eh. That's why you rehearse. Hindi pwede ang pwede na. Kaya nagtataka ako kung bakit ang dami pa ring mga aktor ang masyadong kampante sa mediocre performance na nakikita ng tao. Nakaka-insulto. "Acting lang naman eh," ang sasabihin pa iba. Sorry po para sa mga nag-iisip ng ganun, dahil para sa mga ibang tao, ang pag-arte at teatro ay ang bumubuhay sa kanila.

Anyway. So after 20 workshop days, after-class pig-outs, sing-alongs, walkathons and crazy quips, it's time to finally show what we've been cooking inside the MKP practically every evening.

(So now it's time for my last minute plug, hahaha.)

Please watch Karel Capek's R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), the Rehearsal and Performance Techniques workshop recital under Tanghalang Pilipino, tomorrow (May 2), at 3pm at the CCP Little Theater stage. Directed by Tess Jamias and JK Anicoche. Tickets are only P100. Hope to see you there!