(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.
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.
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.”
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.’”
“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
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