HOW DO YOU feel about watching six, yes, six plays in one sitting when instead of, usually, traditionally, one play, or to a certain extent, a twin bill, is enough?
That quick check happened when action movie director Vic Tiro invited us to the “Sa Series” drama challenge at the Blackbox Theater of Philstagers, the theater foundation’s venue of its live performances in Calabash Road im Bali-Balic in Sampaloc, Manila.
“Sa Series” is about a short, short one-act play compendium set in various locations like beauty parlor, car wash, house balcony or azotea, shanty, rooftop and eatery.
Actually, the collection of plays shown recently was, if we are to believe a former staff of Philstagers, updated and revised versions of theater pieces written, more or less, three decades ago by playwright, actor, director, producer, lawyer and entrepreneur Vince Tanada, and were originally staged years ago and restaged every now then.
“Sa Carwash” tells of a prostitute who meets again, incidentally, her car wash boy lover who persistently convinces her to retire from the sex trade in the middle of a stark poverty.
“Sa Beauty Parlor” tackles the gossip center in beauty shops where the real gender of the gay owner is unraveled as a real man in pursuit of a wife sporting a man’s name.
“Sa Azotea” narrates about the biases and prejudices a Muslim father who harbors against gays when his son professes his true gender identity.
Sa Karinderya” pokes fun about the current rotten and corrupt government akin to an eatery with each viand, mostly recycled being sold, that smells of bad odor like the rotten system in today’s governance.
“Sa Bubungan” explores spaces of a rooftop and frolics the lives of two junkie drug users who fantasize from vampires and zombies until they realize what they wish for.
“Sa Barung-Barong” dwells into a male chauvinist husband who batters his wife to the reversal of the situation.
While the six productions are requirements for culminating activities of Philstagers’ work shoppers who were emergent actors and technical greenhorns, there are still creative things to be desired.
Thanks to the judges, namely theater legend Anton Juan, dramaturg Paul Jake Paule and actor JP Lopez who were the professional critics who guided, guarded and graded these stage neophytes from directing to acting to lighting etc.
Curiously, this is the first that a drama fest like this had jurors assessing the worth of each play live and face-to-face unlike judging with only written percentage preferences or mechanical accounting of the board of judges.
Despite amateur productions and their limitations, the plays were mounted seemingly with a semblance of professionalism.
From the pen of Philstagers’ founder Tanada—a Palanca award-winning dramatist for “Ang Bangkay (The Corpse),” these pieces of tableau, while technically almost crafted, with minimal props that gave the scenes convenient and practical movements.
Unconventional, though, giving the audience more than two or three prods in nearly solid three hours wasn’t a walk in the aisle but many stood their ground primarily because of variety and to a certain extent, spontaneity.
The most remarkable play was “Sa Bubungan” which also impressed Juan for its overall production, although, according to polymath, filmmaker, teacher and visual artist Bon Labora, the two main characters could be more exciting and theatrically effective and evocative when employed with comparable and contrasting attributes and views of their personalities.