Surely you won't miss it this time?

By Gibbs Cadiz - global blogger 

(Original Article can be found HERE)

I've loved Dulaang UP's Orosman at Zafira from the git-go. There are more polished, more sophisticated, more agreeably pleasant shows, but from the time I first caught it in 2008 I've always felt it was something unique--an experience unlike any other in local theater. That's because, while it's often sold as a Broadway-style or -inspired musical, it is worlds away from that familiar template. The show springs from something much closer to and deeper in us. Listening to it, drinking in its strange language and music and rituals and geography, you feel in your gut that this is ours--our beat, our rhythm, our impulse, our indigenous longing finding expression in a work that, by the integrity and intelligence of its contemporizing daring, pays its ancestral material--and the native spirit that gave it blood and sinew--the ultimate honor of a proud, loving re-imagination.

This is Balagtas as you've never seen or heard him played before, and musical theater made fiercely, unassailably Filipino. I've seen it performed badly on not a few nights; but at its best, and at its core, Dexter Santos' Orosman at Zafira is, I feel, a work that will outlive its roughnesses and be remembered as a landmark achievement. Here--because I tend to write with much greater care and weight on such occasions--I must use again what I said of it in my yearend citation in 2008:

“[It's] a blazing musical-theater experience, and, not incidentally, a calling card for how disparate elements--Baltazar’s archaic Tagalog text, Bello’s neo-ethnic world music, Santos’ hybrid choreography--could create something uniquely, arrestingly homegrown, as far away from Broadway as could be.”

Now that SM Mall of Asia, the holy of holies no less of commercialism and consumerism in the country, is hosting a new run of Orosman at Zafira (at MOA CenterStage starting Feb. 4), I am thrilled that many more people would be able to watch this show than was ever possible at the cramped and far-off Guerrero Theater in UP Diliman, where it had its genesis and two previous sold-out runs. I also worry that the bigger venue and audience space might wreak havoc on the show's dynamic, leaving first-time watchers singed by the experience. This is, from everything I've seen, a dauntingly taxing work to mount; may that commitment and artistry come through every time, both for the performers and their audience.

At the presscon held yesterday, the troupe performed four excerpts from the musical. Here are two on video:

1) The first meeting between the young royals Orosman and Zafira, the pair crisscrossing each other in the garden in a haughty, come-hither game--the magnificently built Jay Gonzaga is Orosman, Maita Ponce is Zafira (she alternated with Cris Villonco in the original 2008 production);

2) The haunting, mournful panalangin that comes late in the show, when, after two savage wars and a third one looming near, threatening their final decimation, the warring tribes pray for deliverance, lamenting the strife caused by passion--kasumpa-sumpang pag-ibig!--but, in the end, resigned to pag-ibig, pag-ibig at pag-ibig pa rin.

That voice soaring with powerful ethnic flavor, by the way, summoning images of mystical ancient evenings, is Tao Aves, the daughter of Grace Nono, as the narrator Zelima. Delphine Buencamino alternates as Zafira. Jean Judith Javier also reprises Gulnara. Gabs Santos and Red Concepcion both return as Aldervisin, Acey Aguilar and Kevin Concepcion alternate as Zelim, Neil Tolentino is Mahamud, Roeder Camanag is Orosman's impulsive older brother Abdalap and Nazer Salcedo is the usurper king Boulasem. Carol Bello is responsible for the unforgettable music.

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets.

 

Vibrant theater scene gives rise to second-generation actors

By Pablo A. Tariman, VERA Files
For Yahoo! Southeast Asia

(Original article can be found HERE)

Apart from its three leading symphony orchestras and three ballet companies, Manila is potpourri of stage talents with its vibrant theater companies offering assorted theater fare year in and year out.

Interestingly, some of the country’s finest artists have passed on their acting genes to their children.

The new production of Francisco Baltazar’s “Orosman at Zafira,” which will run at the SM Mall of Asia Centerstage Theater from February 4 to 26, features some actors who have inherited the musical theater genes of their parents.

Tao Aves, who plays Zelima, has the solid singing voice of her mother, Grace Nono—an exponent of new vibrant ethnic music. Like her mother, Aves is a product of the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) and has also taken to composing her own songs.

“It’s possible I have inherited my mother’s love for new music and new ways of interpreting them,” she said.

A complete child of theater is Delphine Buencamino, who plays Zafira in the Balagtas-inspired musical. The daughter of actor Nonie Buencamino and actress Shamaine Centenera, Delphine is also a product of the PHSA.

A humanities major at the Ateneo de Manila University, Delphine said an advantage of coming from a family of actors is that she gets free coaching in acting 24-hours a day.

“I don’t know how my parents’ generation of actors fared, but observing them live and breathe theater, I guess I inherited their passion for the craft,” she said.

Her parents are headliners in the new Marilou Diaz-Abaya film, “Ikaw Ang Pag-ibig” with actress Ina Feleo, daughter of director-actress Laurice Guillen and the late character actor Johnny Delgado.

Director Alexander Cortez, who is now artistic director of the University of the Philippines-based Dulaang UP, said both the old and new generation of actors share a deep passion for theater.

He observed though some slight differences. “We were all trained in the classics which not all young actors went through,” he noted. “I like to think we had more focus but the young ones have that, too.”

Cortez believes the young generation has some edge, saying “They have better opportunities, which the old generation of actors didn’t have. We used to rehearse without cell phones and ipods and now they are all over the place. They are a bit income-conscious, too, which is good. They might help industrialize the theater.”

If the preview was any indication, Balagtas’ new version of “Orosman at Zafira” with the music of Carol Bello is headed for instant acceptance especially by young people.

“Our generation is so distant from the time of Francisco Balagtas,” admitted director Dexter Santos.  “But through his text, we were able to connect and draw meaning from his poetry in action.”

The moving force behind this production is lawyer-theater buff Darwin Mariano, who hails from Balagtas, Bulacan where the King of Tagalog Poets came from.

“Theater, like all art, inspires people,” intimated Mariano. “It equally inspires them to do all sorts of crazy things.”

He continued: “I am producing this show because ‘Orosman at Zafira’ is groundbreaking for its passion, poetry, music, and dance. I am producing this show because not enough of us realize the genius of Francisco Baltazar and the values of good citizenship, discipline and faith that underlie his works.”

He added another reason for producing this show was “to showcase Filipino theater talent at its finest.”

The theater companies have indeed honed the talents of many artists. For instance, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), which is active to this date, was once a training ground for director Lino Brocka.

Bulwagang Gantimpala, formerly based at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), has produced great actors Irma Adlawan and John Arcilla, while Repertory Philippines has to its credit world-renowned artists Lea Salonga and Monique Wilson, with the latter putting up her new theater group called The New Voice Company. Atlantis Production has rediscovered the theater talent of film actress Dawn Zulueta in the musical “A Little Night Music.”

The past CCP-based Tanghalang Pilipino has seen unforgettable performances of Pen Medina and Nonie Buencamino, among others. Medina, who won Best Supporting Actor in Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s “Muro-Ami,” has passed on his strong acting genes to his son, Ping Medina, who has shone in several indie films and is getting mainstream notices in the teleserye, Mara Clara.

Moreover, Dulaang UP has also seen guest appearances of Medina, Buencamino with wife Shamaine Centenera in the company of actor-directors Tony Mabesa and Alexander Cortez.

Photo features Tao Aves as Zelima in “Orosman at Zafira” (Photo taken by Jojit Lorenzo, courtesy of Dulaang UP)

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets.

'Orosman at Zafira': Lovelier the 3rd time around

By Barry Cyrus R. Viloria, abs-cbnNEWS.com

(Original Article can be found HERE) 

MANILA, Philippines – With themes of love and war, the works of Francisco Baltazar may seem trite or, worse, old-fashioned for them to be discussed and shown for public consumption.

"Florante at Laura," the most notable masterpiece of Baltazar (nom-de-plume: "Balagtas"), carries on a timeless story between 2 lovers in the wage of war between the Moros and the Christians.

This thematic aspect of "Florante at Laura" follows all komedyas Balagtas has written in his lifetime.

One of his less popular works, however, "Orosman at Zafira", takes a different track. Without the theme of the Moro-Christian conflict, this komedya generates the struggles between the characters through their pride and personality rather than religion.

A contemporary adaptation of "Orosman at Zafira" has been staged by Dulaang UP (DUP) in 2008.

The play has embodied 90% of the original Balagtas material but was sculpted in such a way as to attract today's audiences. It was also given a more feminine twist by the dramaturgs.
Since then, its impact to the millennial crowd was so huge it was restaged in August last year.

And just this coming February, "Orosman at Zafira" will again take the limelight as it takes a bigger, more encompassing crowd at the SM Mall of Asia Centerstage Theater. Truly, the play remains to be as magnetizing as what Balagtas has deemed it to be.

Certified classic

"Orosman at Zafira" tells the story of 3 kingdoms: Marueccos, Tedenst, and Duquela, in their quest for power and superiority. In the 3 kingdoms' struggle, 2 star-crossed lovers, Orosman of Marueccos, and Zafira of Tedenst, scuffle their way to sustain their love for each other.

The play's director, Dexter Santos, who also took charge of the past 2 productions, said "Orosman at Zafira" will always come as fresh amid the hybrid Westernized popular culture Filipinos are currently swimming in.
He said that as both an artiste and a Filipino, it is his duty to preserve the country's culture through his art.

"In a theater culture where Filipino classical and new works are seldom mounted, I believe that it is the responsibility of a theater artist to reintroduce classical works that are part of our history, culture and heritage. My vision is to revitalize the komedya in an alternative production so that the audience of today would be able to appreciate it. I have considered the short attention span of the young audience and their exposure to television, technology and Hollywood films," he said.

"Thus, it is my mission to come up with a production that would reintroduce Baltazar and his work but give [the audience] a new theatrical experience they would never encounter from other forms of mass media," the director added.
Santos, also a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Arts and Letters, claims that there also exist underlying messages Filipinos will completely feel relatable with.

"With a vision and mission in mind, 'Orosman at Zafira' must be a performance that would pay homage to Baltazar and his work: revitalize and reinvent existing komedya conventions; emphasize on the universal themes of love, power war and feminism; showcase Filipino culture rather than conventional medieval European settings and use modern staging techniques that would make the young Filipino audience be engaged in the show," he said.

For Santos, it wasn't a surprise that "Orosman at Zafira" still continues to wow the modern crowd, much less, to sustain the energy of Balagtas's magnum opus.
"'Orosman at Zafira''s success' comes from every heart that has been pierced, soul that has been moved and an intellect that has been disturbed. This is the success we are looking forward to... that in this 2011 run, more people will be affected by the show," he said.

Polished and powerful

With its restaging next month, "Orosman at Zafira" comes with a more refreshed setup. This is thanks to the arduous rehearsals and trainings the production team has engaged in.

"'Orosman at Zafira' is a work in progress. Every rehearsal is geared to embellish what works and improve what is lacking," Santos said.

For the cast, the pre-productions have been rigorous as well.

Delphine Buencamino, who will play the divine princess Zafira, described their warm-ups, conditionings and vocalizations as "an emotional, physical, and mental roller-coaster."

She was seconded by alternate Maita Ponce, who was also cast in the original 2008 production.

"This is the first time in my whole life where I actually trained like an athlete for a production. I love it. It pushes me to the edge," Ponce said.

Tantalizing trilogy

The third staging of "Orosman at Zafira" will commence on February 4, 2011 and will run until the 26th. With the 3 weeks that the play will stream, the cast and crew promise it will still remain as disturbing as it was in the previous productions.

"We always try to make sure that the scenes are developed, choreography is tweaked, songs are embellished, staging improved and visuals are still exciting. It is imperative for us to keep the show's sensate experience intact," Santos said.
Meanwhile, the cast said they are also as excited to present once more in front of a yet larger audience.

Jay Gonzaga, who plays a chiseled Orosman, said the production will even display "more intense, and tight performances."

Meanwhile, Buencamino and Ponce believe the play will entice Filipinos to go in the theaters and connect to their country's art and culture.

"If you love your culture, if you love your family, if you love -- then this show is for you. 'Orosman at Zafira' is not just a play, it is an experience. For it to be taken to the commercial level must mean it is worthy to be seen by more audiences. The themes, the spectacle, and the story will surely be worth your while," Buencamino said.

"It won't just be a show. It will be an experience of a lifetime. You don't get to experience this on Philippine stage quite often," Ponce added.

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets.

Dancing to the beats of Francisco Balagtas

by Nickie Wang

Manila Standard Today

(Original Article can be found HERE)

 

That might sound contemporary and innovative yet a little unexciting since we all knew Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar as the great poet with a laurel on his head, famous for his work Florante at Laura, which is now a staple in the high school curriculum.

So how are you going to enjoy a story in an archaic language written by a 19th century man? Simple, replace the words with modern and elaborate movements, like turning a long narrative into a beautiful dance number complete with live orchestra for musical accompaniment.

This is what theater director and choreographer Dexter Santos did in Orosman at Zafira, another Balagtas masterpiece that tells the story of three warring tribes in thirst for power. This contemporary adaptation of Balagtas’ text centers on finding love in the middle of hatred and conflict. Yes, Balagtas had done it all before your teleseryes delved on this kind of theme.

Orosman at Zafira is written as a komedya and not to be mistaken as comedy. Komedya is taken from the Spanish comedia, a generic term for drama. It usually had plots about saints or warring kingdoms, and used staging conventions like structured choreographed entrances and exits.

 Komedyas usually show wars between the Moors and the Christians. What makes ‘Orosman at Zafira’ different from other komedyas is that it doesn’t deal with the wars between the Moors and the Christians, but the hostility between three different tribes.

“The issues that Baltazar deals with are recurring: the hunger for power and the passion for love,” said Santos.

The production celebrates the uniqueness of Philippine culture through original neo-ethnic world music by Carol Bello. While the music of a traditional komedya was performed by a brass band, Bello’s music was rendered by a live orchestra using indigenous instruments such as djembe drums, kulintang (gong chime), and kubing (Jew’s harp), as well as electric guitars and keyboards.

Dexter Santos, whose family comes from the same town as Francisco Baltazar, said that there are a number of excellent local productions in the country but the growing commercial productions staged by the small, professional theatrical scene are majority foreign.

He was inspired to produce Orosman and Zafira because of his belief that Philippines is home to the best theater talents in the world—actors, directors, writers, composers, designers, and choreographers.

“I am producing this show because Orosman at Zafira is groundbreaking for many reasons—its passion, poetry, music, and dance. I am producing this show because not enough of us realize the genius of Francisco Baltazar and the values of good citizenship, discipline and faith that underlie his works. I am producing this show because it showcases Filipino theater talent at its finest,” Santos affirmed.

 

From UP to MOA

Santos narrated that the journey of producing Orosman at Zafira started out as a mad adventure. He first saw the production in 2008 with Carlo Miguel Francia, Joelle Ona-Horca, and her husband Miles Horca, with the first two and his sister Danicar Mariano eventually becoming co-producers for the current run of the original Filipino musical.

“Carlo, Joelle, and I knew at that time that we wanted to produce a commercial run of the show. And while we felt that the timing was off, we left the Guerrero Theater convinced that the show deserved, literally and figuratively, a bigger stage,” Santos expressed.

The musical was first staged by Dulaang UP, a university-based theater company that serves as the key venue of University of the Philippines’ theater students’ exposure to the performing arts and related disciplines, in 2008 and then in 2010. While about 90 percent of the material remains Baltazar, it has been made accessible to today’s audiences by making the underlying message and attitudes fit modern sensibilities.

“When we started doing this production, we understand that it’s very important to work on the language…It is very archaic but then again if it’s delivered with so much passion and understanding, no matter how archaic it is, the audience will still get the message the story would like to tell,” said Santos.

The director is well aware that Broadway formula is a hit among the younger audience. What the creative team behind the musical did, from the 300 hundred pages of text, they edited it and decided to work on world music to incorporate with the moving tale of love and war.

“What if the kulintang, lagyan natin ng electric guitar, amplify and it make sound like a rock concert. That’s the atmosphere of the musical so we can cater to young audience,”the director explained.

The creative behind Zafira at Orosman believe in their responsibility as artists to cater to all sorts of audience that is why they decided to reinvent and reintroduce the works of Francisco Baltazar by working with choreography and movement inspired by different rituals and tribes present in our country.

The current run of the musical is a perfect example of artistic and business sides blended together. Orosman at Zafira will be restage, no less than, in one of the biggest commercial hubs in Manila, the SM Mall of Asia.

The cast of is composed of professionals and students and features young theater talents Jay Gonzaga as Orosman, and Maita Ponce and Delphine Buencamino as Zafira. They are joined by Tao Aves, Roeder Camañag, Red Concepcion, Gabs Santos, Kevin Concepcion, Acey Aguilar, Jacinta Remulla, Jean Judith Javier, Nazer Salcedo, Neil Tolentino, Felipe Ronnie Martinez, and the Dulaang UP Ensemble.

“Now that we are given the opportunity to stage it in a bigger venue, a legitimate theater, the production will have a new flow. The experience will be different—people can see a wider view of the choreography,” Santos assured.

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets.

 

From lifestyle.inquirer.net

Balagtas invades the malls

By Amadís Ma. Guerrero
Philippine Daily Inquirer

(Original Article can be found HERE)

“OROSMAN at Zafira,” a komedya in verse, is perhaps Balagtas’ (Francisco Baltazar) greatest work after “Florante at Laura.” The manuscript was believed lost for many decades until it was found by the scholar Buenaventure Medina Jr. in the Balmaceda collection of the National Library in 1974.

“Orosman at Zafira” is a komedya or moro-moro, in which all the characters are Moros, in fact, Muslims not fighting against Christians but warring among themselves in a struggle for power. It is also a love story, as the title indicates, with Zafira falling in love with Orosman unaware that he has killed her father.

A duel at the end brings about peace among the Muslim groups.

The komedya in its original form was first presented by Rolando Tinio in the mid-1970s at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, with an all-star cast headed by Tommy Abuel as Orosman and Celeste Legaspi as Zafira, plus José Mari Abellana and (the late) Ella Luansing, Aurelio Estanislao and Rene Requiestas.

Then, in 1993 came a production by Tanghalang Pilipino, with John Arcilla and Alan Paule alternating as Orosman and Irma Adlawan as Zafira. It was directed by Jonas Sebastian, with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, no less, providing the music.

In 2008, Dulaang UP reinvented and adapted the play in verse, transforming it into a jazzed-up show with neoethnic music (by Carol Bello), choreography by the director (Dexter M. Santos) and martial arts. Critics raved, and the production was restaged last year by the financially-challenged company.

And now, Dulaang UP, in partnership with Bit by Bit Development Company, is bringing back the play, not at the University of the Philippines’ Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater this time, but at the SM Mall of Asia Centerstage Theater starting Feb. 4, 8 p.m.

The show will run for four weekends until Feb. 26, and there are 3 p.m. matinees on Fridays and Saturdays. Jay Gonzaga is Orosman, while Maita Ponce and Delphine Buencamino alternate as Zafira. The cast includes Roeder Camañag and operatic tenor Nezer Salcedo backed up by the Dulaang UP ensemble of actors, singers, dancers, martial artists, gymnasts and what-have-you.

The forthcoming production was announced in a recent press conference at the Mall of Asia’s Imax Theater Lobby. The executive producer is Darwin Mariano, a lawyer and musical theater buff who went into transports of excitement when he first saw the play at the UP in 2008.

“I felt it deserved a bigger stage,” he told the press con.

“Now is the time to do it… I am producing this show because not enough of us realize the genius of Francisco Baltazar and the values of good citizenship, discipline and faith that underlie his works.” Mariano is from Balagtas (formerly Bigaa), Bulacan, birthplace of the poet.

This adaptation, however, ends on a note of despair, not in keeping with Balagtas’ vision. The director is saying: When will the wars, when will the struggle for power end? These are recurring issues.

“We do not pretend to be showing a komedya,” Santos said. “We are echoing what we read from Baltazar, and we share this…” And at one point he added: “We don’t believe in happy endings.”

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets

From Panitikan.com.ph

OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA SA SM MALL OF ASIA NGAYONG PEBRERO

(Original Article can be found HERE)

Matutunghayan muli ang kwento ng pagmamahalan, digmaan at karangalan nina Orosman at Zafira sa darating na Pebrero 2011 sa SM Mall of Asia Centerstage Theater. Ang Orosman ay sinulat ni Francisco Baltazar at bibigyang buhay ng Dulaang UP.

***
Some audience members who are interested in catching Orosman at Zafira who might be a little worried that Orosman at Zafira will be “traditional” and “classic” can rest assured that this production, while still honoring its past and origins, will be exciting and fun.

As a reviewer from the Philippine Daily Inquirer said, “This is not your great-great-grandparents’ komedya.” This particular theater form should not to be mistaken as comedy.

The Tagalog term komedya is derived fromcomedia, a Spanish generic term for drama. Komedya usually have plots about saints or warring kingdoms, and uses staging conventions like structured choreographed entrances and exits.

In this DUP production, “[The] dramaturgs [have] edited the original text, changed Baltazar’s original Turkish kingdoms to Filipino tribes, and created a narrator to help audiences along.”

While the music of a traditional komedya are usually performed by a brass band, Bello’s neo-ethnic music is rendered by a live orchestra using indigenous instruments such as djembe drums, kulintang (gong chime) and kubing (Jew’s harp), together with electric guitars and keyboards.

Santos has replaced the traditional marches with movement vocabularies inspired by the country’s regional dances.

“He marks the narrative with three impressive battle scenes that showcased a heady amalgamation of fight stances and dance. The cast charged, pounced and attacked as they twisted, glided and leapt.”

We’re sure that today’s audiences will enjoy this “modern method” of staging a komedya.

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets

mb.com.ph: Balagtas via MTV

Dulaang UP brings a contemporary twist to this Philippine classic...

By RONALD S. LIM
January 8, 2011, 12:01pm

(Original article can be found HERE)

MANILA, Philippines — For a lot of young people, the works of Francisco Balagtas Baltazar, the King of Tagalog Poets, are simply not that accessible. With their archaic language and medieval settings, Baltazar’s works are often read by young Filipinos merely to fulfill an academic requirement.

Dulaang UP, the University of the Philippines’ official performing group for theater, hopes to change all that with the 2011 staging of one of Baltazar’s best-written works, “Orosman at Zafira,” at the SM Mall of Asia Centerstage Theater.

A komedya written by the famous poet back in 1860, “Orosman at Zafira” tells the story of the struggle between three kingdoms: Marueccos, Tedenst, and Duquela. In the midst of the conflict between the three kingdoms, two individuals find love and discover its encompassing power.

While Dulaang UP had previously staged this production to critical and commercial success in 2008 and 2010, this is the first time that the company is mounting it outside of the UP’s famed Leon Ma. Guerrero Theater. This new staging, done in cooperation with Bit by Bit Development Company, is an effort to bring the production and its source material to even more audiences.

“Balagtas is a genius, and it’s sad that we’re not taught enough of it in school because you read the old Tagalog and it’s so hard to understand. The best way to understand Balgatas or Baltazar is to experience it this way,” remarks Atty. Darwin Mariano, the producer behind this staging of “Orosman at Zafira.”

Beyond U.P
Mariano first thought of bringing “Orosman at Zafira” to a bigger stage and audience when he watched the 2008 Dulaang UP production. The experience, according to him, was life changing.

“I’ve been a theater fan for decades and in my whole life, there have only been three productions that made my hair stand on end,” he recalls. “The first one was Rent, when it was staged in Manila in 1999. The second one was Wicked when it was just being staged on Broadway. The third one was Orosman at Zafira.”

But even as he longed to take the play to a bigger venue back in 2008, Mariano says that it just wasn’t meant to be.

“In 2008, the economy wasn’t as good as it is now. It’s very expensive to mount a live event, especially a performance as big as ‘Orosman,’” he says. “But at the back of my mind I knew that at some point in the next two years I would produce it.”

The go signal finally came for Mariano in 2010, when Dulaang UP restaged “Orosman at Zafira.” He was so intent to take the production to the next level that he even resorted to extreme measures.

“I had some savings and what I actually did was mortgage my house in order to produce this play,” he reveals.

However, transferring his belief in the production to other possible investors would prove to be yet another challenge to overcome.

“It’s easy for the commercial theater companies because every time a new Broadway musical is being staged here, mas madali for them to sell it to show buyers and sponsors,” he says. “I felt like we had to work double time and even harder to be able to demonstrate na Filipino material can be just as powerful than many of the theater material that you can see currently in the world.”

Eternal themes
Dexter Santos, director and choreographer for all three productions of “Orosman and Zafira”, says that the play’s main strength lies in the eternal themes that Baltazar handles so deftly in his work, as well as the spin that the poet put on the conventions of a komedya.

“Komedyas usually show wars between the Moors and the Christians. What makes ‘Orosman at Zafira’ different from other komedyas is that it doesn’t deal with the wars between the Moors and the Christians, but the enmity between three different tribes. The issues that  Baltazar deals with are recurring: Thirst for power and the passion for love,” he explains.

Santos also says that the production company also decided that the play’s scoring would have a decidedly contemporary feel, so as to not lose the attention of younger audience members who may find Balagtas a little too deep for their liking.

“We also have a responsibility as artists to cater to our audience. We decided to reinvent and reintroduce the works of Francisco Baltazar by working with choreography and movement inspired by different rituals and tribes present in our country,” he says. “Hit na hit sa young audience ‘yung formula ng Broadway. Ginawa namin, we edited it and used world music on our score. What if ‘yung mga kulintang, lagyan natin ng electric guitar, i-amplify natin, gawin natin parang isang rock concert.”

This new staging, with its bigger venue and possibly bigger audience, opens up even more opportunities for innovation, according to Santos.

“We always believe that Orosman at Zafira is a work in progress. Now that we’ve been given a legitimate theater, mas mabibigyan namin ng ibang klaseng flow ‘yung buong production,” he says. “Iba ‘yung experience, mas wide ‘yung makikita nila, mas makikita ‘yung choreography and we want it to remain sensate.”

Both Mariano and Santos are confident that this staging of “Orosman at Zafira”, with its contemporary scoring and choreography, will make the works of the “King of Tagalog Poets” even more relevant to the youth today.

“This production gives us every right to be proud to be Filipinos, becausenot only are we theater fans, we write, we produce, we design, we compose, the best material in the world. It just has to be staged properly,” Mariano declares.

“For an MTV generation who wants MTV editing, this is the show for them because we are pushing for something that is a sensate experience.

All of your senses will actually be awakened,” Santos ends. “We have a responsibility to Baltazar to reintroduce him and the theatrical form of komedya. The audience will know about Philippine culture in a way that is not academic or didactic.”

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets

 

ClickTheCity.com: The Road To Orosman At Zafira 2011

(Original Article can be found HERE )

Imagine living in a time when poetry was simply an everyday language. Beauty was magnified ten folds, pandemonium was disguised in lyrical verses, and love was simply glorious. But what happens when chaos is translated into poetry?

Dulaang UP, in partnership with Bit by Bit Development Company, is bringing back its blockbuster production of Francisco Baltazar’s OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA.

Considered as one of the best-written works of Francisco Baltazar, the “King of Tagalog Poets,” OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA tells the story of three warring tribes in thirst for power. Amid hatred and war where two individuals find love, this contemporary adaptation of Baltazar's text highlights the strength of the Filipina and celebrates the uniqueness of Philippine culture through original music and dance. But the universality of this play lies in the encompassing love that all of the characters of this play are in constant search for: “Pag-ibig, pag-ibig, at pag-ibig pa rin.”

OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA is a modernization of Balagtas’ famous komedya, a remake of a tradition that made it more accessible to this generation.

Directed and choreographed by Dexter M. Santos, with original music by Carol Bello, OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA garnered nominations for both Best Musical Production and Best Stage Director at the 21st Aliw Awards.

Taking on the challenging role as over-all executive producer of this new 2011 production is Darwin Mariano, a young lawyer also from the University of the Philippines. At one of the production meetings, he shared a very intimate note about why he took the challenge of mounting this production outside of the UP Diliman campus by bringing it to the SM Mall of Asia Centerstage Theater.

Dressed in casual jeans, t-shirt and armed with his laptop, this is his story on the road to Orosman at Zafira 2011.

“Theater, like all art, inspires people. It equally inspires them to do all sorts of crazy things.” 

“This particularly mad adventure began in 2008 when I first saw Dulaang UP’s OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA. I saw it with Carlo Miguel Francia, Joelle Ona-Horca, and her husband Miles Horca—with the first two and my sister Danicar Mariano eventually becoming co-producers for this run. Carlo, Joelle, and I knew at that time that we wanted to produce a commercial run of the show. And while we felt that the timing was off, we left the Guerrero theater convinced that the show deserved, literally and figuratively, a bigger stage. ”

“So when Dulaang UP re-staged it in 2010—shortly after a successful national election and a wave of optimism sweeping the country—we knew the timing was right. We quickly began negotiations for Dulaang UP to re-stage the musical somewhere in the southern Metro Manila. We found an excellent venue, the SM Mall of Asia Centerstage Theater, and now we’re here. ”

“My family comes from the same town as Francisco Baltazar, known more widely by his pen name Francisco Balagtas. From its old name Bigaa, it has since then been renamed Balagtas, Bulacan in his honor. But that is not why I am producing this show.”

“The Philippines is home to the best theater talent in the world—actors, directors, writers, composers, designers, and choreographers. Yet, most of the commercial productions staged by the small, professional theatrical scene in the country are foreign. But that is not why I am producing this show.”

“I’ve been a theater fan for decades. The first play I watched when I was a young college student at UP Diliman was a play by Dulaang UP and remember being very impressed at the quality of the production. But that is not why I am producing this show.”

“I am producing this show because OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA is groundbreaking for its passion, poetry, music, and dance. I am producing this show because not enough of us realize the genius of Francisco Baltazar and the values of good citizenship, discipline and faith that underlie his works. I am producing this show because it showcases Filipino theater talent at its finest.”

“And also because I’m crazy.”

“Remember, ‘buwan man o taon ang bilangin, pag-ibig, pag-ibig, at pag-ibig pa rin.’”

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets

abs-cbnnews: Balagtas' 'Orosman at Zafira' to be staged at MoA

by Boy Villasanta, abs-cbnNEWS.com

(Original Article can be found HERE)

MANILA, Philippines - As TV, film and theatre actor Alexander Cortez has said, trends in stage performances have geared toward the mainstream market at the start of the Year of the Rabbit.

“I hope that in the next few years, theatre artists would enjoy enough material things stage acting could offer. I wish actors and actresses in theatre could now buy their own houses and lots, cars and other valuable possessions in the same manner what stars in the movies and television enjoy,” said Cortez at the press launch of the newest version of the early 19th century masterpiece of prolific Filipino poet Francisco Baltazar, “Orosman at Zafira.”

For one, after showing “Orosman at Zafira,” a komedya about the warring kingdoms of Marueccos, Tedents and Duquel, at the Dulaang UP last year, the musicale edition will be staged at the bigger and wider audience of Center Stage Theatre in Mall of Asia with a cast of more popular artists, if not scions of famous entertainers.

Cortez, Dulaang UP’s Artistic Director, has been working on the popularization of theatre for many years now. He was euphoric about the transition and transfer of venue for the reinterpreted Balagtas opus directed and choreographed by Dexter Santos and music composed by Carol Bello.

“I also play important roles on TV and movies so I can say that theatre people also deserve to be comfortable in life,” he said.

Hunk actor Jay Gonzaga, ABS-CBN’s pride and erstwhile mainstay of soaps “Tayong Dalawa,” “Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo” and “I Love Betty La Fea” among others, tackles Orosman and his macho image adds masculinity to the character.

Roeder Camañag, a fixture of the local music industry who has recorded at least 3 Original Pilipino Music albums with the Vicor Music Corporation and had given us the hit song “Sana Naman,” also leads the cast as Abdalap.

“It’s really an interesting and challenging role in my stint in theatre for the last three decades,” Camañag exclaimed.

Surprisingly, many culture, lifestyle and entertainment writers were amazed at how Roeder has maintained his youthfulness when he has spent many summers in the biz.

“Hindi siya tumatanda,” prizewinning artists Pablo Tariman and Dennis Adobas said in unison.

“Hindi lang ako nag-iisip ng kung anu-ano. I don’t wallow in loneliness,” revealed Roeder.

Tao Aves, daughter of indigenous musician Grace Nono, plays Zelima in the rock musicale.

“I think I inherited the discipline of my mom,” admitted Aves who also sings, looks and talks like Nono.

Famed couple Shamaine Centenera and Nonie Buencamino’s daughter, Delphine Buencamino, takes on Zafira.

“It’s like a big break for me. I also am with people who are like sisters and brothers to me. My parents and Tao’s mom were classmates at the Philippine School for the Arts and that made our bonding deeper and more meaningful,” noted Dephine.

On the other hand, Red Concepcion, elder brother of matinee idol Sam Concepcion, plays Aldervesin.

“I am lucky I belong to a family of disciplined artists and that helps me a lot in portraying any role professionally,” shared Red, who has also been a regular actor of the Repertory Philippines.

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets

OROSMAN at ZAFIRA on Feb 26, 2011

"Buwan man ang bilangin, pag-ibig, pag-ibig at pag-ibig pa rin"

View Show Details

View TRAILER

Catch OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA on its LAST Saturday run

February 26 / 3PM / SAT @ MOA CenterStage

Ticket Price: Php350

Free Seating (First-come, first-seated basis)

Contact Onay @ 0918.536.2116 to reserve tickets

PEP: Rent will be restaged at the RCBC Plaza starting February 12, 2011

(Original Article can be found here: http://www.pep.ph/guide-theater/7417/rent-will-be-restaged-at-the-rcbc-plaza-starting-february-12-2011)

PRESS STATEMENT:

"Due to insistent public demand, 9 Works Theatrical brings back its hit musical, Rent, this coming February 12, 2011 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City.

"Rent is the imaginative retelling of the classic Puccini opera, La Boheme, set in New York City's gritty East Village. This unforgettable and timeless story of a group of starving artists who--despite poverty and illness, learn to fall in love and find their voices--brings a universal message of hope for everyone.

"Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize, Rent with Book, Music and Lyrics by the late Jonathan Larson, has made a lasting mark on Broadway with its iconic score which includes the crowd-favorite, "Seasons of Love."

"Some of the country's talented theater artists who will reprise their roles for the restaging of Rent (previously staged by 9 Works Theatrical in February 2010 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, and December 2010 at the Power Plant Cinema 2) include singer/TV host Gian Magdangal as Roger Davis, the songwriter. Gian recently starred in 9 Works Theatrical's hit musical The Wedding Singer and regularly appears in GMA-7's Sunday variety show Party Pilipinas.

"Sheree Bautista, TV personality / singer and Magdangal's real-life girlfriend will reprise her role as Mimi Marquez, the AIDS-afflicted dancer from the Cat Scratch Club.

"Alternating with Sheree and joining the cast for the first time is singer / TV personality and showbiz royalty Ciara Sotto. Ciara recently appeared in the local theater production of Magsimula Ka! and is thrilled to be playing a role that will both challenge her and put her pole dancing skills to great use.  

"Also returning are Fredison Lo as Mark Cohen, the nerdy filmmaker; OJ Mariano as Tom Collins, the computer genius; Job Bautista as Angel Dummott Schunard, Collins' drag queen street musician lover; Jenny Villegas as Joanne Jefferson, Maureen's public interest lawyer lover, and Lorenz Martinez as Benjamin Coffin III, a former member of the group who, after marrying a wealthy woman, has since become their landlord.

"Theater veteran and Miss Saigon alumna Carla Guevara-Laforteza rejoins the cast as Maureen Johnson, the larger-than-life performance artist who sings "Over the Moon." Alternating with her is newcomer Mian Dimacali from the December run who blew audiences away with her rendition of Maureen, making her one of the actresses to watch out for in 2011.

"The rest of the ensemble is composed of Peachy Atilano, Harold Cruz, Johann dela Fuente, Gary Junsay, Anna Santamaria, and Mark Tayag.

"The artistic team of Rent is led by Director Robbie Guevara, with Jojo Malferrari as musical director - band; Onyl Torres as musical director - vocals; Mio Infante as scenographer; Martin Esteva as Lighting Designer; Chuck Ledesma as sound designer; Bek Soriano as costume stylist; and Francis Matheu for additional choreography.

"The Rent production team is composed of: Santi Santamaria, executive producer; Anna Santamaria, company manager; Toff de Venecia, Marketing & PR Director; Jojo Amboy, stage manager; Toots Tolentino, PR Consultant; Jonjon Martin, PR Manager; Carlos Canlas, Shelyn Tayanes, Marketing Manager.

Catch RENT on its last Saturday run!

MARCH 5, 2011 / 330PM / RCBC

Contact Us:
Onay Sales (0918.536.2116)

Borgy Marzan (0922.888.5344)
Robert Marzan (0922.888.5348)
 

Email: watchplays@yahoo.com

 

To view available seats, click here:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Au4HQl0TAAC_dGttZThYWUs5ajRlcFBBdTN6Zi1VYXc&hl=en#gid=0

RENT Musical: Two Months To Go!

Catch RENT on its last Saturday run!

MARCH 5, 2011 / 330PM / RCBC

Contact Us:
Onay Sales (0918.536.2116)

Borgy Marzan (0922.888.5344)
Robert Marzan (0922.888.5348)
 

Email: watchplays@yahoo.com

 

To view available seats, click here:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Au4HQl0TAAC_dGttZThYWUs5ajRlcFBBdTN6Zi1VYXc&hl=en#gid=0