2-play marathon: Orosman at Zafira, and Zsazsa Zaturnnah.

Like I once said, "More plays, more fun."

Last Saturday, I watched 2 more plays for the month.

After work, I met up with Lara at SM Mall of Asia for the matinee show of DUP's Orosman at Zafira. She's friends with the showbuyers so she was somewhat required to watch. I, on the other hand, am merely a fan of the show. We decided to meet early so we can have lunch together, plus so we can be one of the first in line, as seats are first come, first served. Anyway, we went to the venue first so we can get our tickets (thanks to Merdin for reserving them for us), then ended up at Slammer Burgers for lunch. I just love quality time over food with my breast friend.

After lunch, we headed back to Centerstage so we can wait for the house to open. Dingdong had arrived by then, and claimed his ticket. Grace arrived soon after, decked out in this pretty vintage dress, and we were so surprised as we weren't used to her wearing a dress. Anyway, when we noticed one of the guards fixing the entrance, we decided to form a queue. Lara and I stayed in line while Dingdong and Grace decided to grab a quick lunch. Man, we stood there for about 45 minutes before they opened the house.

As there were so many people, the show began about half an hour late, but I have to say, it was worth the wait. Even though the set was still almost the same as it was in UP, they added a little more punch with a couple of scaffolds, which served as great device when it came to set changes, and even choreography. Delphine and Judith were still awesome as Zafira and Gulnara, respectively. And of course, Roeder and Nazer were spectacular as well as Abdalap and Boulasem. The rest of the cast were equally fascinating to watch, as usual. They even added a bit of touches here and there, some surprising effects that I didn't expect. Some little mishaps with the technicals, but it can be overlooked. The lighting was still quite a spectacle to watch, from beginning to end.

After the show, it was kinda hard to leave the theater because the exits were pretty crowded. Even when we waited a bit inside, there was still some sort of traffic jam as we exited the theater. And of course, Lara still had to have her bit of fangirling with some of the cast, and we let her indulge in it. A little nudge was all it took for her to get a solo opportunity for a photo op with Jay Gonzaga (who played Orosman), as most of the young audience crowded around him for photos.

Congratulations to the entire cast of Orosman at Zafira! Watching it again was worth it.

Anyway, finally, when the crowd thinned out, we all rode with Grace to CCP, as she and Dingdong also got tickets to that night's show of ZsaZsa Zatunnah. Lara, on the other hand, was still uncertain, as her only limiting factor to watch was that Pinky Amador was playing Queen Femina.

Met up with Rosa and Mickey at Teriyaki Boy in Harbour Square the moment we arrived in the CCP area. My goodness, that Dynamite Maki really was dynamite, ahahaha.

We arrived at the LT lobby just when the third chimes were about to go off. But Rosa and Mickey still had to make a pit stop to the restrooms, so I handed over their tickets to them, left Ed's with Paulo at the table, and headed inside alone.

OK, not to compare it with the other play, but Zaturnnah is one of my most anticipated plays this month for a few reasons. And one of them is that Tad, who is actually the Didi understudy, was given 3 shows this weekend to perform that particular role. Surely I can't miss that, ahahaha. And to think that the first play that I saw him in almost 6 years ago was also a gay role (a gay Benvolio in TP's R'meo Luvs Dew-Lhiett). There are lots of other reasons, and most of them are because of revamps and changes in the show itself. There's almost an entire brand-new ensemble, a brand new set, and who knew what else?

Anyway, thank goodness I went ahead, because from the prologue, there was already something different. Kamusta naman ang backdrop which had enveloped Ada that went sailing over our heads at the end of the prologue. And by the time the opening song began, I was already ready to roll with laughter the moment Tad had stepped onstage as Didi.

One thing I noticed, mas fashionista ang mga taong bayan ngayon. But because of that, with about just 2 people looking like the usual taong bayan, they sort of stood out. Anyway, other than that, the cast was still decked out in the usual black and grey looks (in Act 1; they were more colorful in Act 2, but still more fashionista then some, hahaha), in contrast to the mostly-pink set. And because the set was pink, the ensemble wore pink instead of the usual black korombo (thanks to Kuya Red for the term) when they had to go onstage "unnoticed" as lifters and movers.

Eula was awesome as Zsazsa, as always. She was hilarious and stellar at the same time. Her tandem with Tad's Didi was seamless, as if they had done it before. Same goes with Tuxqs as well. Pinky Amador as Queen Femina was refreshing to watch, though I'm somewhat used to seeing Kalila essay the role. In fairness, she did give her own flavor to the antagonist, though I sometimes feel like there's something missing. And if Gabe Mercado is said to be the first openly-straight man to essay this role, Tad's a close second, also being confident with his sexuality, regardless of whatever role he takes on. He was cute and hilarious, and you'll end up missing him when he's offstage. Seeing him in those Didi costumes was quite a sight to see, especially in that yellow gown (complete with handbag!) for the finale and curtain call.

Going back to the set, one ramp on stage left jutted out into the audience area like a thrust, so it's sort of a dead giveaway that some of the action takes place along the aisle. And sure enough, some actors crossed over via this ramp and into the audience through the aisle, and at one point even going through rows of seats, thus sort of bringing back the intimate feel that the play had during its original stagings in the small Batute theater.

Oh wait, they changed something, or cut something short, by the way. The "machine" was gone, and there was a new part in "Prepare to Meet Your Doom." Naging duet? Hahaha. Nice, I like it.

From the first scene right on up to the curtain call, the entire audience was applauding and rolling with laughter. Manhid na siguro ang hindi matutuwa sa musical na ito.

After the show, the lobby was swarming with people, trying to get photo ops with the cast. There was a photo wall where Tuxqs, Eula and Tad gamely posed for photos. Aba, iba na si Tad, pinipilahan na lang ngayon, nag falsies at evening gown lang, hahaha!

Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah! This play never seems to get old for me. I still want to watch again. Who wants to sponsor me? Hahaha!

Post-Vday post.

I had asked a couple of questions in my previous blog entry about Valentine's day, and I got a few amusing responses. And a couple of friends even asked me the same question. So to be fair, I decided to answer my own questions as well, as promised.

I have a couple of favorite Valentine's day memories, none of the romantic kind, really, ahahaha. The first was when I spent the day with a bunch of friends who were involved in my thesis production. We were all single back then (and I think most of us still are right now, ahehe) and we all headed to the mall for lunch then caught a screening of The Phantom of The Opera (though it took quite a long debate before we got to decide on what movie to watch). Half of the group still had class so they had to leave after two-thirds of the play. Eventually, we all headed back to Taft, where 2 other guy friends had to disappear because of a double date. Ended up with just Nikki and me hanging out in Starbucks, just talking until another friend came along and joined us after a while.

Wow, I can't believe I remembered that, hahaha.

Anyway, the second V-day memory was just hanging out at Dencio's with an old flame. We were initially with another friend earlier in the evening, and eventually that friend had to leave for a family affair, but he paid for the rest of our drinks plus an order of crispy pata (woohoo!). We first just sat there awkwardly and quiet, until we eventually started talking, and that was when I finally got closure.

Anyway, so how did I spend my Valentine's day this year? I spent most of it at home, just vegging out in my room. I read a couple of chapters of my current book du jour, watched Mona Lisa Smile, then I headed out and met up with one of my good friends, and spent the afternoon just hanging out and talking. Instead of dreading the occasion and brooding about being single, I do believe that I like it this way, just treating it like an ordinary day, and it was pretty alright.

Speaking of ordinary days, I wonder what's in store for the rest of this week. Can't wait for the weekend to watch Orosman at Zafira and ZsaZsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal.

So how about you guys? Looking back, how was this year's Valentine's day for you?

Merely watching.

One of the many reasons why I didn't commit to working for one production this quarter is simply because I don't want to be tied to just one show when there are so many good stuff to watch during arts month.

Last Thursday, I got to watch the 2nd day of Monodrama Manila (as part of the International Monodrama Festival, I think) in CCP's Tanghalang Huseng Batute. Alimuom, the monologue that Tad had performed in UP and in CSB, was part of it. Anyway, I got to watch the matinee show of the day's set. I was sitting next to Tuxqs and Miss Shamaine during the first monologue, Su Lokes, an entry from Mindanao. It took us a while to figure out the story, even as we shuffled through the program for its synopsis, but eventually we figured it out when we had stepped out of the theater during the intermission to defrost ourselves.

It was even more freezing than usual that time in the Batute (I think they just had to air conditioner filters cleaned or something), and even when I sat in between Anna and Russell in the gallery during the second monologue, Biyous (an entry from Visayas), I was still freezing my ass off. Something about the guy's characters threw me off. I got a little confused with his gay character and his patron, and well, I guess I got a little bored after a while, and even Russ stepped out for a quick bite, while Anna covered herself with Russ' jacket and started texting away.

We stepped out of the theater again during the intermission, and headed back inside just when Alimuom was just starting. Per usual, Tad's reformist soldier was engrossing, his stories were so graphic that it was almost revolting. There were some parts of the monologue that I didn't really want to listen to because of the imagery, ahahaha.

After the show, I went with Anna, Russ and Riki to Mang Inasal to eat. It was intriguing to hear some news about Riki, but I decided not to press on. It was so amusing watching these two guys with their antics with Anna, that you can't help but laugh til your sides ache. We were also joined by Martha and one of ZsaZsa Zaturnnah's new Dodongs (oh shoot, I forgot his name). Of course, Riki had introduced Anna and Riki as former ACs, and me as Tad's ex. Haha, kaloka, ganun talaga ang pagpakilala sakin. And speaking of the devil, Tad joined us a bit later. Kamusta naman ang panukso na pinapatabi siya sakin when he arrived.

When it was almost time for the ZsaZsa cast to resume rehearsals at 6pm, I tagged along with Tad, Anna and Russ to Starbucks to just hang out until Tad had to go back to Batute for the evening show. Interesting conversations abound, such as The Actors Guild, how the AC is now and before, and all that stuff.


On Friday, we resumed script analysis class, after quite a long break. Wow, and to think that the last class we had was on the first week of November. Anyway, we quickly wrapped up Pirandello's Six Characters In Search Of An Author, and then we started reading The Man of La Mancha. Funny musical, and we couldn't help laughing as we read the lines. I was also pretty amused at how Sir Dennis would suddenly begin a song with such fervor, complete with musical vamps, hahahaha.

One favorite line I liked in the play was, "We both select from life what pleases us." Interesting.

And when we had to write down all our initial reactions on the play after first reading it, I liked what Reg said. "I miss the man who treats me like Dulcinea."

After class, we headed to the buffeteria to eat, then I tagged along with Kat and Rayna to the Batute, so we could catch the Lithuanian National Theater Company's Birute Mar perform Antigone at the Monodrama Manila. My goodness, she was amazing. Even though we never understood what she was saying, her movements and expressions were so clear. Her eyes were so hauntingly piercing. Brava.


On Saturday, I first met with Rosa for lunch after my shift. We both had the yummy Curry Beef Rice at Pepper Lunch, then had their molten chocolate cake for dessert. Yummm. We went around Glorietta for a while until I had to go to CCP to catch another matinee of that day's set of monodramas.

Haha, Miss Nikki was delightfully amused when I told her I was a paying audience that day. As soon as the house opened, I settled in my favorite seat at the top of the bleachers. Little did I know that I was sitting at a perfect spot for a later performance.

Nar was up first for Anak ng Babaylan. I was so relieved that he was performing, because when I watched it the first time in CSB with a different actor, I didn't quite understand it. Nar was fascinating to watch, with all those ethnic movements as he performed the monologue, ending with his character sacrificing certain beliefs.

I already got to watch Skyzx in Queen Kong also in CSB, and her performance was still equally hilarious despite her character's unfortunate situation. It was just annoying how the students around me kept giving crazy comments all throughout the show (starting with "Nababaliw ba siya?" at the beginning of Nar's monologue).

The students just had to gasp when they realized who was performing in the next monologue. Ahahaha. None other than Shamaine Centenera Buencamino. She had performed El Galeon de Simeon when we went to visit the Galeon Andalucia last year, and she was awesome. With this quieter, more closed venue, I was able to concentrate on the performance more. And I realized, the kids around me had also shut up, caught up in the performance. My goodness, I was trying to hold back tears near the end of the monologue, and when I briefly glanced around me, I could also see half the crowd wiping away tears ever so discreetly, so I stopped holding mine back. Huwaw, now that was stellar.


Teena had texted me while I was still in the theater, asking if I was coming over to RCBC that day for Rent. I asked her if they were shorthanded that day, because I decided to just go if they were. And yes, they were. So instead of attending the monodrama forum after the matinee show, I headed for RCBC.

OK, I have to admit, this year's Rent is better than last year's. After I had ushered during the evening show, I simply told Geli, "It works." Exactly. Ganun naman kasi dapat. Learn and unlearn, diba?


Anyway, enough updates for now. Oh, Valentine's day already? Just for a little interaction, here are some little questions for those who read this blog. What's your favorite Valentine's Day memory? And how are you going to spend this year's Valentine's Day?

Time for sleep. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Snippets.

Just a couple of snippets plus extras these past few days.

Eric (to Marion and Trixie): Bakit wala kayong mga bag? Si Hogi lang ang meron.

Haha, I simply said that I'm quite a packrat.

I realized that I never leave home without having a medium- to big-sized bag with me. I hardly ever go out with a small purse or bag. I always tend to bring more things with me, even though I still consider all those stuff as daily essentials.

I know I already did about one or two "What's in your bag" posts before, but here's an updated version of that. For those who are curious as to what are all the junk that weighs my bag down, here's a photo.


Clockwise from top: My wallet, plus a coin purse, employee ID, bottle of perfume, lotion, hand sanitizer, makeup case (contents may change depending on my mood and where I go), my book du jour (right now it's Christina Hopkinson's "Cyber Cinderella"), pouch containing my iPod shuffle and flash drives, pouch containing my toothbrush and toothpaste, pouch containing emergency medicine (for headache, cold and cough), umbrella, house keys, pen and mechanical pencil, round brush, flat brush (which has a mirror in the back for quick glances).

Not included in the photo are my Starbucks tumbler (I drink like a fish), and the Lock-N-Lock container when I bring lunch from home every now and then.

Yep, ever since I got hooked on reading again, there's always a book in my bag. The last one before this current one was actually a hardbound, so you can imagine how heavy my bag was before.

Anyway, what about you? What's in your bag?

Wow, as I type this, I just noticed that I don't carry a notepad in my bag anymore. I guess it's because I'm sort of becoming kind of dependent on my phone, because not only does it have the notepad feature, but it also has a Quickoffice application where I can just type away MS Word and Excel spreadsheets (I used this often for ushers' attendance in Wedding Singer).

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Last Saturday, I was sitting next to George after he had settled upon arriving at LSGH. Smiling, he turned to me and asked, "Kelan ka aarte ulit?"

I just shrugged and said that I didn't know. I mean, I had a blast working with George when we did that thesis play, and I really wanted to work with him again. So he told me to join the thesis production that he's directing next term. I was about to get all excited, until I remembered that I already had a project lined up for August. Darn. I still do want to work with him, though. Plus I miss acting. Oh well.

Had a long weekend, but no complaints.

Nothing much has been happening lately, then I suddenly found myself having a super busy weekend. It was fun though, even if it meant missing out on a few hours of sleep.

On Saturday, I got to witness the Grand Alumni Homecoming of LSGH, called Ciento Verde, and organized by their school's batch 1986. Miss Magda had asked me if I can be a spinner, so off I went.

My call time was at 11 that morning, so I had to come to the office an hour early for early dialing, just so I can reach Greenhills by 11am. Oh how ironic, the only time I had to come in early, I fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop. Thank goodness it was still early, so by the time I arrived at the floor, I still had half an hour before I had to clock in. Even though I could start by then, I just killed the time so I can start off relaxed.

Arrived at LSGH at exactly 11am, and mostly spent most of the time sitting around with the younger prod and tech generation, listening to what was supposed to be done. Haha, Miss Magda just had to make a point that because I'm there, she's not the only one who's part of the older crowd, hence calling me "Ate Hogi" for the younger kids. After a paper tech with George, we had to meet with the Batch '86 guys about the entire program. Haha, most of us just sat there quietly, smiling and chuckling as the men kept giving all these additional ideas and whatnot.

When I got some of my material, Sir Jay told me to test everything and familiarize myself with the equipment. I had never been a spinner ever before, as I've only been used to cueing a spinner. It took me quite a while to figure out, but thank goodness Sir Jay kept prodding me to practice using the equipment (even the smelly headphones so I can listen to things on my own), so I managed to do things relatively smoothly, as long as I kept a running list of things to do (CDs, tracks, cues, etc.).

When the event began, George was next to me, so it was easy to get cues from him. There were a few glitches, technical mishaps and such, so I always had to keep lots of filler music (80's music) ready. One thing I have to say about the event, never had I seen so many drunk men of all shapes, sizes, color and age in one place, hahaha.

Called it a night at around midnight, because I had to wake up early the next day for Pasinaya.


For the first time since I first attended, I didn't wake up in time for the Pasinaya opening yesterday morning. Argh. I always like watching the Philippine Marines' drum ang bugle corps while they perform their routine in front of the LT entrance. The entire CCP was already booming with all the festivities when I had arrived about half an hour after the opening.

Because I had already pre-registered online, I didn't have to go through all the long lines to register and just came up to one of the registry booths to get my pass. I was told of the priority baller ID passes that cost P100 each (unlike the regular wrist strap that has a minimum payment of P20), so I decided to get that so I don't have to go through long lines after long lines for all the events that I already had in mind.

I first checked out the Batutes' poetry reading at the CCP library, but had to leave after Siege's first 2 poems so I could make it to the Batute theater in time for AC's Anatomiya ng Korupsyon excerpt. Sat next to Riki and Tuxqs, so I didn't have to sit amidst the student crowd.

Nikki was texting me while I was watching Anatomiya, and I only got to reply briefly once. I met up with her in the lobby after the show. Because the next show that I was going to watch wouldn't start until another hour and a half, we decided to grab lunch at Teriyaki Boy at Harbour Square.

When we returned to CCP, Erik and Marj were finally there. We fell in line at the Main Theater for the Zsazsa Zaturnnah preview, but because Erik and Marj had the regular paper wrist bands while Nikki and I could enter first, we saved them seats in the center orchestra. Ahahaha, we ended up sitting next to the huge group of TKM girls who were talking loudly about Tuxqs. Who was that girl who called Tuxqs her "baby"? AHAHAHAHA. Anyway, those Dodongs received the most squeals from the audience, obviously. They both appeared in "Walang Ibang Pangarap Kundi Siya," so the entire audience of the Main Theater were going crazy, wahahaha. And because Eula wasn't there as Zsazsa, it was Tuxqs and Nar who sang her parts for "Victoria, Winner, Tagumpay."

We realized we still had time to watch Sipat Lawin Ensemble's Imperio Animalia, so we headed to the Conference room, but not before having to go through a huge, tight crowd in the Main Theater Lobby. Ugh. I love the Pasinaya Festival but one of the things I hate about it is the crowd. It's one of the 2 days of the year that the place gets too crowded.

Anyway, when we reached the Conference Room, I wasn't surprised to see the long line. So I got Nikki, Erik and Marj to line up together while I ask the usher about the seating capacity (usually it's just 100, and I was right). I counted the people on my way back to the three, and I estimated that we could make it. And I was right again, ahahaha. Coolness. And I was fairly amused how Erik and Marj were enjoying themselves, being exposed to all this, ahehehe.

We had time to kill again before TP AC's Bakit Wala Nang Nagtatagpo sa Philcoa Oberpas, so we went outside to check the stalls. Erik bought a burger from the Army Navy stall while Marj got a drink from another, then we looked around a bit. At one point, we were talking about Red Anderson, one of the Dodongs in Zaturnnah, and while we were still walking, we passed a stall that was manned by Shing and some of her friends, selling magnets. Red was also there, and when I stopped looking at the magnets, Shing had quipped, "Dodong for sale." Ahahahaha.

When we were sitting on the carpet in the LT lobby...

Me: Sayang, late na ang naisip kong comeback as to magkano si Dodong.
Erik: Pwedeng pay-what-you-can.
AHAHAHAHAHA.

When we had to fall in line for Oberpas, the line was already super long, but once again, I was grateful for the priority passes. Erik and Marj had to go to the very back of the regular line that had already snaked around.

It was a shorter version of the play, and it was still pretty funny despite the fact that they had removed certain parts of it. And they had changed the ending as well, with Tad accidentally falling off the overpass, with a hilarious bird's eye view fall that was reminiscent of Bobby Strong's in Urinetown.

We were set to watch Spotlight's Magsimula Ka excerpt in the same venue after Oberpas, but we were still required to leave the venue so the next group can set up. Spotted Erik and Marj already in line, so I guess they didn't make it inside for Oberpas. But at least they got to have a good spot in line for the next show. By this time, they were already giving out old, unused tickets to old shows to easily count the number of people allotted for every show. Anyway, for Magsimula Ka, they performed a few songs in the show, and of course, including the title song.

After that, Erik had decided that he and Marj already line up for Spit's show in the Conference Room, while Nikki and I had to stop by the ladies' room. Whoa, a longer line for SPIT, so Nikki and I headed for the priority pass line. Some of the AC plus Tara walked by us, trying to get seats for the show as well, but I don't think they made it. Tara, on the other hand, sneaked into our line together with me and Nikki, and even though the usher asked for her ticket, she still let her in, hahahaha. And my goodness, as our luck would have it, we ended up sitting next to Tuxqs' boisterous school-based fan club for the second time in a row, ahahaha. The improv group was playing a game in the acting area while we were being seating, and not only that, they were talking in gibberish. I was still trying to figure out how their game worked when they called for a volunteer, and once Nar had taken his place with the group, I finally figured out their rules, which was similar to Zip Zap Zoom, ahahaha.

Anyway, without fail, even the short performance of SPIT kept cracking me up right on until the very end. And of course, my favorite segment of all time is still the most hilarious. The Oracle always comes up with the craziest answers, as long as you ask them an open-ended question.

Favorites were...

Question: Paano makapunta sa langit?
Oracle: Mamatay ka muna!

Question: Bakit ang ganda ko?
Oracle: Ilusyonada ka kasi!
(This answer was pure win, as the question came from the aforementioned boisterous group.)

After the show, Nikki and I were getting pretty hungry by then, so by the time we had met up again with Erik and Marj, we decided to go to Army Navy to eat. I haven't had their burgers in a while. But what was disappointing was that they were out of Freedom Fries, which is one of my favorites. Even though we had to settle with regular fries, and even practically had to cover them entirely in salt and add the Army Navy sauce, I still missed the Freedom Fries. Oh well.

We missed the closing gala at the Main Theater because we were still eating and talking the time away in Army Navy, but it was alright. I still had an awesome time the entire day.