Virgin Labfest 6: SET A - Pariah Paraiso.

Last week, I decided to catch a couple of sets of the Virgin Labfest at the CCP, just in case I'd be too busy this week, or it would be difficult to get tickets. Betty had managed to get complimentary tickets for Opa, Jenny, Blonski and me, so goody, we didn't have to spend any tickets for the 3pm show of Pariah Paraiso (Set A) last Tuesday. Gigo had managed to come as well, along with Harold.

Just a disclaimer, I'm not writing this blog entry as a review. Hindi ako magmamagaling na theater practitioner like others who claim to be one, ahehehe. Let's just say I'm a theater enthusiast.

The first play, Isagani (written by Alex Dorola and directed by Vincent Tanada), was about a gay comedian who visited the grotto of the Baclaran church, opening the play by praying/talking to the image of the Virgin Mary (depicted as a hollow cutout downstage). The guy playing the title role was decked out in all white, as did the bench on stage right. When the 2nd character (the Lalaki) entered the scene decked out in black and had settled on the black bench on stage left, the symmetry was apparent and you'd immediately know someone was playing an alter ego, trying to accept his past. Easy to tell from the lack of eye contact. So it was OK, it was predictable. Though I guess the weird nuances of the alter ego could be more consistent. Interestingly enough, the ones involved in this production are really "virgins" to the Labfest. I have to agree with some friends, though, that this particular play is reminiscent to one play that I've seen during my first year working at the Labfest, ahehehe.

My favorite in the set would have to be Balunbalunan, Bingibingihan, written by Debbie Tan and directed by Issa Lopez. Gilbeys and Brandy are an odd couple running a promiscuous business. Eventually their funds get tighter so they take in a bedspacer, a young man that they dubbed as Whiskey. Missy played Brandy to Bembol Roco's Gilbeys, and I just love their chemistry. Missy's lines evolved from playful one-liner punchlines to words fraught emotion, and her actions mirrored all her acting choices, complimenting Bembol's minimal movements and mild demeanor. Paul Jake Paule, on the other hand, was OK in the beginning as the sort-of newbie, but I guess how his character had developed over time with the couple was pretty abrupt. When Whiskey revealed his true colors as a recruiter for another pimp, he then takes advantage of Brandy's slight vulnerability and Gilbeys' health condition. In the end, though, I have to say that Gigo's prediction of the ending was wrong. Brandy and Gilbeys still stuck together, still believing in optimism, second chances and hope.

I've been intrigued about Bakit Wala Nang Nagtatagpo sa Philcoa Oberpas ever since I found out that Riki was directing Carlo Garcia's play. He mentioned that he wanted an all-AC play this year, and this is what he got. The play was light, and opened with a musical number. It took me a while to realize that Kat was the one right up front wearing a cap, ahahaha. Anyway, the story revolved around the people that you might regularly see at the Philcoa overpass. I have no idea what really goes on at that overpass, as I always rush to cross it in the evening whenever I'm in that area. So anyway, a blind musician, a toy vendor, a hustler and a preacher are the ones who habitually populate the area, along with a policeman who patrols the place. When Mayen's character appeared, stating that she's there to meet up with a guy she met through a certain mode of communication, we immediately think that it's possible that she's meeting up with Ian's character, who also claims that he's meeting up with someone that he met online, because the one that the girl was supposed to meet is supposed to be wearing a blue shirt, the same color Ian was wearing. Predictable much? If you're pretty observant, you'd easily find out pretty early in the play who's meeting up with whom. I noticed that slight detail right away upon one character's entrance, hahaha. And it was also amusing how Riki managed to get people to cross the stage to do on-the-spot cameos the catch the actors off-guard. Sige na, playtime na kung playtime. For me, mukha rin nga silang naglalaro, but little things like those keep actors on their toes and keep their performances fresh. So I'm not really at all biased here, considering they're also my friends. Anyway, despite the predictability that I saw from that tiny detail, what amused me was that things aren't really what they seem. You never know who you're really going to end up with, and you really don't know what kind of people are despite their facade.

I sure hope I could watch this set again, but unfortunately, my schedule won't permit it. Too bad, gusto ko rin mag-cameo dun sa overpass, hahahaha. Congrats to everyone involved!

I have one more pending entry, and another one after that, as I'll be watching another set in the afternoon. Hope I still have time to blog it before the end of this week.

Cryptic randomness.

Walang pakialaman, hahaha.

After some encounters and conversation, I've been writing different notes to myself, depending on what mood and what pops up in my mind after those encounters and talks.

I feel as if I lost an entire network of friends because of one significant loss and link. I don't get it. Most of them were already my friends before everything happened, so why did it come to this? Oh well, that's life, I guess. Bakit kasi ganito kaliit ang mundo? Hahaha, why am I complaining anyway? And to think that before, I was always amused at the fact that the world keeps getting smaller.

One of my most recent Facebook status reads, "Now that I've learned the truth, would I still want to keep going? The persistent hopeful in me says yes. Hell, yeah."

In my opinion, it's better to hear the truth than a little white lie. I'd rather hear the truth no matter how painful or embarrassing or even crazy it is.

With that truth in mind, how do you gain back the trust that you once lost? Is it worth it? Maski yung tiwala lang naman eh.

I need more quality time. Thank goodness for the time at Sarah's yesterday during lunch. Next time, DVD marathon naman sa Badjao.

So... what's up? Just updating.

My goodness, because of the busy days I've been having, I haven't had the time to just sit down in front of my laptop and blog the days away. Yes, I've neglected my lonely blog these past several days, and only found the ample time just now. So I'll be posting multiple blogs throughout the day to make up for it, hahaha.

So what have I been up to lately since the last entry? Mostly busy juggling 2 part-time jobs, one that begins way too early in the morning, and another that ends way too late at night. Hahaha, so I've been fitting in most of the sleeping part of my days during the middle of the day.

After years of removing that weird accent of mine, I've reverted back to it since arriving at CVG, hahaha. I'm not a chatty person, but spending 4 hours in the morning trying to talk to people isn't so bad, especially when I got used to 3 years of dealing with people over 2 telephones (sometimes both at the same time) back when I was in Atlantis. And surprise surprise, Anna (who was the one who forwarded my resume to the company) and I turned out to be on the same team.

So Legally Blonde the Musical opened at the Meralco Theater last week. Considering that this theater was way bigger than the auditorium in RCBC, it required more than Atlantis' usual number of ushers, so I was given the task of front-of-house coordinator along with Janna. While she's out there selling programs in the lobby, I'm busy coordinating with the Blue Rep ushers, and keeping an eye on the house for pasaway theater-goers.

I haven't seen the show in full yet, but I do get to peer in every once in a while. During opening week, I first watched the entire 2nd act, then the entire 1st act on the following day, hahaha. Maybe I'll do it in reverse this upcoming weekend. So far, the run's been pretty good, though there are some technical problems (mostly with the lapel mics) that get in the way. The audiences were quite receptive, especially to certain scenes where some of the characters get to have a few (well, okay, a lot) of crazy moments that you can't help but miss them when they're not onstage.

I love the perks of being in the front-of-house and not just being tied down to the front desk. Hahaha. I get to roam around and mingle with people and friends, plus there's free ice cream at every show! Hahaha! Nestle's Heaven ice cream (in all 4 flavors) is always a few paces away from where I usually sit in the lobby. Yum!

Last Sunday, because we only had on show at 3:30 in the afternoon, I was supposed to go to CCP afterwards to check out the Revisted plays of last year's Virgin Labfest. But as it turned out, all tickets of the 8pm show were already sold out. Darn it. So anyway, I ended up having dinner at Pino's with Joms, Kakki, Gigo and some of the Legally Blonde cast. I haven't eaten there considering how far it was, but the food's pretty good and they served this huge margarita that can be shared with several people. I only took a few sips because I had work early the following morning. But my goodness, Gigo still wanted to drink some more so he, Glenn, Alys, Joms and I ended up somewhere in Boni High Street after dinner. I was practically falling asleep during Gigo's monologue, but I managed to stay awake. When we were ready to go home, holy kamote, Joms' car wouldn't start! Alys tried to check it out, and Joms even tried to push the car backwards and forwards, and a couple of times with a little help from a guy who happened to be there as well. When we were about to give up, Alys tried to start the car again and miracle of miracles, it's alive again! Hahaha!

So I ended up going to work yesterday morning running on 2 hours of sleep and 2 cups of coffee, hahaha. Ayan tuloy, I messed up a little despite my effort to correct. Arrrggg... Dapat bumawi next time. And to think that I'm more at ease with this project that the last one.

Drifting.

I just noticed the relationship status of a "friend-in-law" (as I still considered him a friend of a friend), and he's now listed as single. When I started searching for my friend (his girlfriend) on Facebook, I couldn't seem to find her anymore. I don't know if she deleted or just deactivated her account, so I asked Betty about it.

What Betty told me was that our friend ranted about certain friends "changing" during her last Manila visit.

Well, I honestly don't get some people. We really have to face the reality that things will go on when people leave. And in time, people will change. So you can't really expect certain friends to stay the same just as when you had left them.

Plus I guess it's because of communication, and the effort you make to communicate. I miss all my friends to pieces, and of course, I still make an effort to keep in touch to those who I love the most, and those who also make an effort to do so. Nakakapagod naman ang effort mong makipag-usap no matter where you are in the world, tapos di rin naman sila magre-respond. It's like talking to that wall some time ago. Plus it's like those people who don't reply, but they still have the credits to text or email, and the fingers to do so.

It's sad how friends still drift apart. Well, I guess we have no choice when they choose to do so. Wala lang, nasasayangan lang ako sa relationship that you invested on years before.

And I hope that when I see you (yes, you), I hope we're OK. I just miss you. That's all.

Pre-employment week, hahaha.

This week has been kind of crazy. Well, not really. Maybe it's just because of the busy early mornings that I've had.

At the beginning of the week, we began our PST in our Glorietta 5 site, and at first, we honestly had no idea how long the training would take, because during our orientation, we were told about a 15-day training. To our surprise, our trainer told us that we only had 3 days of training before our final exams. Holy kamote.

So anyway, because we had to cram everything in just 3 days, we were racking our brains every time we did drills. Then came the final exams on Thursday. We were told that whoever tops the written exams gets to choose what team he or she wants to be in. Prof Gil was the one who topped the exam, and Kye had the same score. If they really tied, I'd be the 2nd highest, ahahaha. Babaw lang. Anyway, during the mock calls, it kind of drove us crazy because before my turn came, Kye was crying when she returned to the pantry (where we were all waiting). As it turned out, she had no idea what to answer during an irate call, so she burst into tears. Aw. Good thing some were given second chances to take the call. I, on the other hand, was hiding my head behind the monitor the whole time so the panel, which included our trainer Christian, wouldn't see my face and all my crazy expressions/reactions. Relief relief, we passed the mock calls, but sadly, except for Mommy Neks and Mommy Fe. So our wave, which originally consisted of 16 people, is now down to 11 people.

We were told to report yesterday morning to be briefed about the floor. Nadine was the one who briefed us in the training room, then we were introduced to most of the TLs. After more briefing, we had to go to the 7th floor for live calls. Oh my, it was that fast? When I was at my seat, I was lucky enough to talk to a nice elderly woman when my TL sat next to me to listen to the call. Hahaha, one of his notes (parang acting lang, ahehe) was that I sounded as if I was used to calling people already. Uhm, kasi ba naman, 2 and a half years kong kaharap ang phones ng Atlantis. Di ka pa ba masasanay dun? Hahaha. And to think that I also got to talk to people with different accents back then as well.

By the way, thanks to Anna for forwarding my resume when I found her Facebook status about the part-time offers. =)

Anyway, after that morning, I headed to Glorietta 4 to catch a movie. Kye went with me to help decide before she had to go her own way. I ended up watching Letters To Juliet by my lonesome. It's a nice feel-good romantic comedy. It makes you feel optimistic about that whole love thing, no matter how old you get.

Virgin Labfest 6 and Legally Blonde the Musical will be opening next week. I have to watch some of the Labfest plays during its first week because it's harder to watch on its 2nd week. Plus I have ushering duties for Legally Blonde. My oh my, it's going to be an even busier week.

Stop. Think. Don't think.

"Well, sometimes things just don't make sense."

Ahahaha, I just typed that spontaneously, as the TV is just playing in the background. No one's really watching, but because it was randomly tuned into the Disney Channel, Jonas is playing and Joe had just said that particular line. And I just liked it on the spot, hahaha.

So anyway, I really should stop rationalizing things. I don't know what to make of certain stuff. I just might make myself go crazier and crazier.

I'm supposed to be sleeping right now, but I need to unload my mind on this blog, so I just had to tell myself to stop all these crazy thoughts. Well, I doesn't really help saying cryptic stuff on this public blog because sometimes I really need some friends to talk to about these thoughts. But at least I unloaded some of what I've been thinking lately into my private blog, so I'll keep it there for now.


I have mixed feelings about sales in malls. I hate going to sales because there are so many people, and I loathe the sale crowd. There are always too many people in your way, especially when you just happen to pass by the place and buying anything isn't really part of your agenda. But I also like it because who wouldn't pass up a chance to buy certain stuff at (almost) half price? My mom and I ended up buying a couple of pretty bags this afternoon.

But this is my most favorite purchase of the day, and being the geek that I am, I found it at Book Sale.

I know I already had Jenny's copy of this book photocopied early this year, but it's also cool that I get to have my own copy. And the best part of it?

Yes! It's only TEN PESOS! Hahahahaha! Siguro dahil "poor theatre" ang nakalagay sa title, kaya they marked it that low, ahahaha. This book really made my day.

Days keep getting different.

Yesterday was our last day of CCT (communication and culture training) in Insular. Onward to PST (program specific training) in Glorietta 5 on Monday. Haha, I almost wanted to wring Kodi's neck when she gave out our individual letters to see who passed the training. That very first line almost made us stop reading. As it turned out, we all passed the CCT, hahaha. Thanks, Kodi!

Met up with Gino again for lunch after our last CCT day. More talk and updates here and there, then he headed back to work. I, on the other hand, walked to Greenbelt because I had to go to Globe regarding my postpaid plan. Then I dropped by Atlantis to say hello to Lawyn and Ate Sally (Claire and Kuya Boni were out on an errand the whole time). We caught an episode of CSI then I went with Lawyn to Legally Blonde rehearsals because she needed to take some rehearsal photos.

The cast were on their feet, doing the river dance choreo near the end of Act 2. It was so funny watching Calvin struggle with the dance with those big feet of his, plus there was Jett and Nyoy watching him from the side. I sat with them for a while as they kept talking about how Calvin moved, while Lawyn snapped photos of the cast. Marj (as one of the ASMs) was standing behind the cast, also copying the choreo. Hahaha, I told her that if I were to audition for TP Actors Company this year, I could use the river dance as my movement piece, hahaha. Too bad I'm not trying out this year (saaad, I know).

Anyway, when Jett stood in attempt to join the dance, I sat next to Nyoy and checked out some of this new card tricks. Dude, you've got to get a license for what you're doing so you can teach me, instead of buying those that I keep seeing in the mall. I haven't hung out with this guy in ages, and it was great to just sit and laugh and talk with him again. Funny quips galore and some interesting insights, then we went back to just sitting back and watching the rest of the cast sweat it out until Lawyn and I had to go.

As my title had said, the days that keep coming have been pretty different from what I'm used to. I've been welcoming every change, and I have been grateful for every little thing that comes my way. I guess now that I've acknowledged all the weird, crazy stuff, it feels great to move on to the great things that's still in store for me. I love how my optimism is coming back.

Changes.

Over lunch today, Gino had asked me what I had gained ever since the last relationship that I had lost. Because we've both lost and gained old and new things after our last respective heartaches (may ganon? Hahaha.) Of course, the first answer we had come up with for me was the chance to venture out into this new opportunity that I used to kept saying no to.

So it's been a week already, and things have been quite different. My body clock hasn't been altered that much, thank goodness, though it still takes a bit of time to get used to. Well, actually, there's a lot to get used to. From the schedule, to the travel (though I just love how I never encounter traffic jams anymore on the way to work), right down to the different people you meet and how you communicate with them.

During the first couple of days, it took a while for me to adjust to everything, up to the point that I would usually hesitate to speak because of weird reasons, like questioning my knowledge of the English language, among other things. Well, my other reason is kind of superficial, and I'd rather not post it here. If you know me well enough, you'd know what it is. If you don't, you could just ask me.

Anyway, during these past few days, our happy group has warmed up to each other, and I just like how diverse we all are. There are some clique-ish ways, but of course, that really can't be avoided. As for the labels, it was just for pure fun. I myself have been labeled as something that I already expected, and it all began with our trainer, ahahaha.

I have to admit, it's such a refreshing change, and of course, I welcomed it. And I guess I also have to acknowledge all the other changes that's been going on in my life.

Speaking of acknowledge, thanks for that simple reply. It's not much, but at least you're not annoyed or whatever negative thing. I hate to pout, but I miss you.

Shifting paths. Well, for now.

The start of a new routine began today. I can't believe I'm actually about to do this. Though there are a couple of things in the way that I just discovered this morning, I have to wait and see how will turn out (or hopefully, what won't turn up).

What's frustrating, really, is that now that I've decided to shift to a different path temporarily, the avenues that I've been waiting so long for to open up suddenly appeared, so I couldn't go for them. Well, for now. I guess I have to just live vicariously through others for now.

I want to go back to being content, like I was earlier this year. There were things that got pretty complicated, up to the point of being cut off completely. There were even some sort of threats if I pursue a line of work that I want to, but due to certain circumstances, I can't for now so as to avoid certain situations. How unprofessional. But one thing I have to say, I just hope certain people will try to at least appreciate certain things and efforts rather than be annoyed by it right away.

So as much as I want to head one way, I have to head over to a different way. I suddenly got this sudden inspiration during the ride home yesterday. I guess that thought is a sign that I'm ready (well, sort of) to literally leave everything behind. That talk with Joe over coffee a few months ago also made me think, but during that time, I was still too stubborn to open my mind to it.

For these next few months, I will just live vicariously through others. To quote once again from Avenue Q, "everything in life is only for now."

Makati with Nikki.

I went to Makati early yesterday morning for a scheduled RJP (Realistic Job Preview), and I thought I was going to be late because I sort of slept in. Thank goodness I made it to Glorietta 5 in record time, thanks to the good old Makati shuttles outside our village. I re-met the 2 girls I met last week after our validations, Kyrene and Neko, and we waited with a bunch more people with the girl who was supposed to meet with us.

We were led into this conference room for an overview of things to come, and the whole time, I have to admit that I was only half-listening because I still haven't had breakfast after waking up in such a rush, plus it took me a while figuring out the girl's accent. It sort of was a mix of southern American and something else, ahahaha.

Anyway, the whole thing didn't take that long, not even a full hour, so we managed to leave early. I managed to walk to Greenbelt 1 and had a little breakfast in Jollibee before I decided to drop by Atlantis. It was only half past 9 in the morning, and I was already there. And as expected, naunahan ko talaga si Claire sa office. Hung out in Atlantis during most of the morning, until I suddenly got a text from Nikki that she was in the area.

Met up with Nix at around 11 in Powerbooks Greenbelt, and we walked around to look for a place where we could have a bite to eat. I had a heavy breakfast in Jollibee, and she also ate earlier before her interview, so we ended up at Fuzion Smoothie Cafe for something light. Updates here and there, stories galore, then we walked around the mall. She even let me indulge in one of my guilty pleasures, which is Timezone gaming, ahaha. I just played one round of Technika before I made a fool of myself, ahehe. We ended up going back to Powerbooks and buried our faces in respective books. Haha, if you didn't know us, it would be easy to figure out what kind of personalities we have based on what we were reading. We took time reading at least a couple of books each, sometimes stopping to tell each other something random, or texting certain people.

When we were done (or tired of) reading, we headed upstairs to Red Mango for frozen yogurt. We shared one big serving, but I ended up eating most of it because apparently Nix wasn't much of an ice cream fan. I didn't mind really. I love frozen yogurt.

We then headed to SM to look around, and we even fancied this same pretty jacket. Also showed each other particular makeup brands (though I'm not really an expert at it), and we were both surprised to find that there was a Twilight cosmetics brand, ahahaha. Ano ba yan. After a bit more window shopping, we finally decided to call it a day and boarded our respective shuttles.

I saw a lot of plaid shirts and hair rollers in one day.

I wasn't really planning to watch Atomic Prom (Zombie Prom), 9 Works Theatrical's Adults Class Showcase last Sunday, but eventually a bit of prodding from Peachy and Tin got me to go. They told me to usher as well, so that was alright. At least I get to watch the showcase free of charge.

I arrived at The Loft during early afternoon, and watched the cast do some stage adjustment and cue-to-cue. Did a lot of sitting around and watching, and of course, whispering and chuckling. My goodness, I haven't seen so many hair rollers onstage before, ahahaha. They managed to run through the first act without music, then the second act with the band. When they were done, I got to mingle with some people I knew while they had to do mic check.

Dax was also there, and he volunteered to help out with Jay's zombie makeup, which required a bit of prosthetics and lots of green Snazaroo. Before the show, he experimented with the makeup on just half of Jay's face to see what it would look like. Joy was also there to help with makeup, and brought her hubby and family along as front-of-house. So I guess I have no trouble at the FOH so I'll just be the doorman.

I got some dinner from the 7-Eleven downstairs (my usual Hotta Rice in Chili Con Carne), and stayed backstage with Shelyn, Teena and Joy while I ate. I love Joy's makeup, by the way. Once I get past this "poverty level" (hahaha), I'm gonna purchase some stuff from her.

When it was time for open house, Tin and I just basically stood by the door, opening it whenever someone would enter. No more tickets to look at and tear, because Honey (Joy's hubby) was the one doing it at the FOH table. When they heard the kids' show (Onyl's 2-kid workshop showcase) from inside, the audience were surprised that the show started early, so I had to keep telling them that the kids' show was just a sort of opening act.

Tin and I managed to sneak through the other door to watch the first few scenes. I first sneaked in because I wanted to check how crowded the venue was already. Goodness, there were people standing in the aisles. Anyway, for a while, I managed to just stand there and watch, but I suddenly got restless and went backstage and let Tin watch the rest.

The moment I arrived backstage, I saw Dax, Joy, Tina and Mela all working on Jay's zombie makeup, applying the green Snazaroo on his face, neck and hands. I immediately offered to help, so I grabbed an extra sponge and helped put green stuff on his hands. Holy kamote, "Elphabizing" Jay resulted in our hands also being "Elphabized." Tina, Joy and I tried everything to remove the green stuff from our hands. We first ran to the sink and washed our hands, but of course, that didn't work. Joy got a pot of cold cream, and it hardly worked. Tina then rubbed on some alcohol, and I guess that worked a bit. To quote Joy, "It's more rubbing than alcohol," ahehe. She also took out some baby wipes from her bag, so we used that along with the alcohol. Well, we managed to remove most of the green stuff, but it was just hilarious when Joy picked up a bottle of liquid eyeliner and put it at the tip of her elphabized finger. Look, it's an Elphaba finger puppet! Hahahaha!

We spent most of the rest of the show backstage, and Tin joined us after a while, just standing around and talking (sometimes ranting), and even hunting for Joy's burger. We also helped some of the workshoppers with their costume changes, especially Teena and Peach. Well, I wasn't really planning on watching the show that day, so at least I was productive while I was there. Effort yung prom dress ni Peachy ha. There were so many layers of petticoats underneath, ahahaha.

After the show, Tin and I had to leave right away because I had an early start the next morning. But of course, I had to congratulate and bid some people goodbye. Congrats, you guys!

Some comment out of several. What's the use of taking a musical theater workshop, if yung boses mo lang ang focus mo? And for others, keep in mind that there are some ensemble work involved in every show. Kaya kung ensemble kayo, pakiramdaman niyo yung iba and don't upstage anyone or everyone.

I'm attempting multiple entries a day like Lara. On to the next entry.