PETA's New Season of Plays to Focus on Links Between the Stage, Movies and TV

Posted on the 09 July 2012 by Gibbs22manila 

Original Article can be found HERE 

 

For its 45th Theater Season, PETA attempts to interrogate the role of broadcast media in contemporary Philippine society. PETA dedicates an entire year of examining the historical, cultural, and aesthetic relationship between live performance and the broadcast media and how both have affected and shaped modern-day society and popular culture.

Through original plays as well as other related events. PETA invites its audience on a journey that explores the “hybrid” multiplicity of the arts. It brings together talents from the Philippine theater, film and TV industries in two of its new plays: “Bona” and “D Wonder Twins of Boac”.

 

“Bona”, a classic film by National Artist and PETA founding member Lino Brocka, will be adapted for theater and set in contemporary time, and will star film and TV star Eugene Domingo (who also traces her roots to theater) in the role played by Nora Aunor in the film version.

“D Wonder Twins of Boac”, meanwhile, is a Filipino musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”. Rody Vera's adaptation will be a parody of how the Filipino film industry evolved in the '60s and '70s.

Another theater event, “TAKE 1”, inspired by Lino Brocka’s actor-training practice, is a collaboration between theater and television. Brocka always believed that the theater performance experience was a necessary part of any film actor’s training background. With this in mind, PETA designed has “TAKE 1” as a concert of scenes that will draw from the best plays of world classics as well as Filipino original works. For four nights, audiences will be delighted to witness familiar scenes performed by different sets of actors from TV and theater. 

Apart from these two new plays, PETA opens its doors to a new generation of filmmakers with a festival called “Cinemalaya Retrospective”, featuring the best short and full-length films produced by the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in the past five years.

Rounding up the season’s offerings, PETA’s hit musicals will have a special re-run at the PETA Theater Center this year: “William” from July 27-29, “Batang Rizal” from August 3-12 and “Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang” from October 5 to 14 this year. 

PETA also hosts Agnes Locsin’s choreographed work “Puno”, Noel Cabangon’s concert “Tuloy ang Byahe”, Vincent De Jesus’ “Himala (The Concert)” and Storybook Theater for Education Project’s “Buklat”.

Ever since its founding years, PETA has been intrinsically linked to the broadcast media arts. Founder Cecile Guidote Alvarez wrote: “Theater does not solely refer to the legitimate stage, which has been a powerful influence on human civilization for 2500 years. But also includes its amazing 20th century offspring--film, radio, and television.” She envisioned the presentation of “outstanding plays and masterpieces on television and radio. Broadcast media could be a powerful social force that would bring a quality cultural experience to millions of Filipinos.” 

PETA also seizes the opportunity of its 45th Theater Season to draw attention to the community in which it reside--Quezon City. Considered by many as the “City of Stars”, Quezon City is home to major TV networks, movie producing companies and theater groups, cradling some of most influential players in Philippine pop culture. The season hopes to harness this power through its productions and related events, and in so doing create an awareness of the vital role the arts play in the formation of Filipino society and culture.

 

 Catch BONA on its closing weekend!
SEPTEMBER 22, 2012 / Saturday / 3 PM   

at The PETA Theater Center 

(No.5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, QC)

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
or Onay Sales (0918.536.2116)

Edgar Allan Guzman reconciles with family and manager; rehearses with Eugene Domingo for PETA's Bona

By Rose Garcia

Original Article can be found HERE 

Bukod sa pagiging mahusay sa pag-arte si Edgar Allan Guzman, isa pa rin sa masasabing talento ng Kapatid star ay ang pagkanta.

Hindi nga lang niya ito masyadong nagagawa at sa pag-arte talaga siya nalilinya.

Pero noong Huwebes ng gabi sa Music Box ay nagkaroon sila ng tila reunion show ni Iwa Moto.  Reunion, dahil dati silang magkasama sa GMA Artist Center at nagkaroon din ng short-lived romance.

Ayon kay Edgar, “Before kasi, may pinagsamahan naman kami ni Iwa. Pero, one month lang po kami.  After po siguro ng Star Struck days yun.  Pero, tinago lang naman namin. Hindi rin naging okay.”

Dugtong pa niya, “At saka, that time kasi, kaka-break lang din niya. Tapos ako, yung non-showbiz girlfriend ko, parang wala pa kaming closure na break na kami. Pero, naging magkaibigan naman kami.”

Bukod sa pag-arte, naka-focus din daw sila ng manager niyang si Noel Ferrer sa pagkanta niya.

“Doon din po kami naka-focus ni Sir Noel Ferrer, sa pagkanta po bukod sa pag-arte.”

Nang humingi siya ng tawad sa manager niya noong gabi na tinanggap niya ang kanyang tropeo sa nakaraang Golden Screen Awards for TV, masasabi niya bang okay na sila ngayon?

"Okay na po. Nakapag-meeting na po kami.  Okay na po,” nakangiti niyang sabi.

RECONCILES WITH FAMILY, MANAGER. Hindi naman ikinaila ni Edgar na ang naging ugat nga ng isyu sa pagitan nila ng manager niya noon ay ang pag-priority niya sa love life niya with Johlan Veluz, isang  Sexbomb dancer  kunsaan, umabot pa sila sa puntong nag-live-in na.

At kahit sa pamilya niya ay nagkaroon din ng isyu si Edgar.  Pero tulad ng sa manager niya, naayos na rin daw niya ang problema sa pamilya niya.

“Okay na rin po at doon na po ako ulit umuuwi, actually, matagal na rin po.”

Namiss daw niya ang pamilya niya.

“Parang na-realize ko na namiss ko ang mga ginagawa ko before.  Magpapaluto ako ng pagkain, kakain ako, manunood ng TV kasama sila. 

"Tapos, kapag uuwi ako ro’n, sasalubong sa akin ang mommy ko, pamangkin ko.

“Yun ang mga na-realize na namiss ko ‘to. At ang pamilya, hindi talaga puwedeng wala. 

"Kailangan talaga may gabay nila kasi, kung wala yung gabay nila, hindi magkakaroon ng direksiyon ang buhay mo.”

LOVE LIFE. Sila naman daw ni Johlan ay mas okay rin ngayon.  Nandoon pa rin daw ang relasyon nila pero, mas alam na nila ang priority nila ngayon.

"Mas naka-focus na po ako sa career.”

Hindi na sila live-in?

“Ay, wala na po talaga,” nakangiti niyang sabi.

“Siyempre, pinag-usapan po namin.  Nakita naman namin ang resulta, hindi maganda.  Hindi nakakatulong sa amin, so, nag-decide kami na siguro, ito ang mas better. 

"Mas okay naman po ngayon, parang bumalik din kami sa dati na mas okay.”

Mag-a-apat na taon na rin daw ang relasyon nila. Pero kung tutuusin, dumating na rin sila sa ilang unos ng relasyon. 

May mga taong hindi raw pabor sa kanilang relasyon. Pero bakit sila pa rin?

“Siguro po yung pinagsamahan namin. Kumbaga, noong time na wala akong work, nandoon siya para sa akin.

"Noong mga times naman na wala rin siyang work, may problema siya, nandoon din naman ako para sa kanya.”

Si Johlan ba ang tila hadlang sa pag-grow pa ng career niya?

Sabi naman ni Edgar, “Siguro yun lang yung isyu kasi, yun ang na-point-out ng mga tao, yung live-in kasi. 

"Feeling ko, doon nag-start yun. Kaya nasabi nila na siya yung nakakasira, siya yung nakakagulo sa akin.

"Feeling ko, doon lang.”

LIGO SEQUEL. Sa pelikula, hinihintay na lang daw ni Edgar na matapos ang script ng susunod sa pelikulang Ligo Na U, Lapit Na Me.

"Kaka-launch pa lang po ng libro, It’s Complicated ang title.  Actually, tinatapos na lang po ang script ng pelikula tapos, baka gawin na namin.”

Sila pa rin daw  ni Mercedes Cabral ang bida pero posible raw na may papasok pa na bagong cast.

Ayon pa kay Edgar, “Ang balak po kasi ni Sir Noel, may ano po kasi, may subtitle ang libro na 'Bakit hindi pa sakupin ng mga Alien ang 2012?'  Ngayong 2012 po talaga siya kung sakali gagawin po talaga.”

BONA. Pero kung may masasabi man na bagong gagawin ni Edgar ngayon, ito ay ang stage play sa PETA sa ilalim ni  Direk Soxy Topacio, ang Bona na dating pelikula ni Nora Aunor. Sila ni Eugene Domingo ang mapapanood sa stage play at ka-alternate naman niya si Paulo Avelino.

Pinanood daw niya ang pelikula.

“Opo naman, pinanood ko talaga kasi, kailangan kong pag-aralan ang role ni Mr. Phillip Salvador. Sa movie po, siya si Gardo, pero, sa play po yata, Gino na.

"Okay rin po si Paulo ang ka-alternate ko kasi, kilala ko na po siya sa GMA-7 pa lang.”

Nagkaroon na raw sila ng reading noong Martes at mga huling linggo raw ng June ang simula ng rehearsal nila.

Sila ng award-winning actress na si Eugene Domingo nga ang magkasama sa stage play.  Kumusta naman?

“Magka-text na nga po kami kagabi.  Sabi niya, 'See you soon.'  Sabi ko, 'Ha ha ha! Ikaw si Bona.'  Excited na akong magtrabaho ulit.”

May pressure ba siyang nararamdaman?

“Actually, dalawa po ang pressure ko.  Una, si Ate Uge ang makakasama ko.  Pangalawa, kumbaga, first theater ko ito sa PETA. 

"Nagti-teatro po ako before, pero, sa mga schools lang.  Special po talaga sa PETA. 

“So, yun ang dalawang pressure sa akin, si Ate Uge at sa PETA.”

Welcome sa kanya ang ideya na mag-teatro muna?

"Opo, okay po sa amin yun.  Tapos, pelikula po ito ni Ate Guy, gagawin naming theater. 

"Kumbaga, isang karangalan sa akin yun na mapansin nila at mapasama sa play na yun, tapos PETA pa.”

 

 Catch BONA on its closing weekend!
SEPTEMBER 22, 2012 / Saturday / 3 PM   

at The PETA Theater Center 

(No.5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, QC)

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
or Onay Sales (0918.536.2116)

Eugene Domingo: Success story of the decade

LIVE FEED By Bibsy M. Carballo
(The Philippine Star) 

Original Article can be found HERE

 

Eugene Domingo’s Kimmy Dora and The Temple of Kyeme opens today to expected box-office history. As possibly the most successful of imports from the legitimate stage to mainstream, Eugene or “Uge” as she is lovingly called, has remained grounded in her craft, a characteristic those trained in theater maintain to their dying day.

From her very first movie in 1991 as a housemaid in Regal’s Emma Salazar Case directed by Joey Reyes, with a talent fee of P150 to P200, Eugene looks back on those active student theater days at UP, when Regal’s Mother Lily continued to give her roles adding up to as many as 16 films to date. On television, she started with the original Valiente on ABS-CBN from 1992 to 1997. She gave substance to her role as Rowena in Ang Tanging Ina series that started in 2003. She has also set a record for appearing in six movies all in one year, produced by different producers.

This year, Eugene returns to theater as PETA adopts a thematic take on cinema for its 45th season (2012 to 2013). PETA has chosen an uncommon way “of understanding and interrogating film through live theater performances,” expounds PETA artistic director Maribel Legarda. The season opens with a stage retelling of Lino Brocka’s classic Bona, directed by Soxie Topacio, and closes with an adaptation of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare as a satire on Filipino movies in the ’60s and ’70s, directed by Legarda.  

In Bona, Eugene plays the role Superstar Nora Aunor gave life to on the big screen, an obsessive fan-turned-lover of a sleazy good-for-nothing actor played by Phillip Salvador, whom she serves with slave-like devotion until he tires of her, compelling her to retaliate in violent vengeance.

PETA’s Bona, written by Layeta Bucoy, is a comedy drama of a call-center spinster (Eugene) who is a die-hard fan of Star of Tomorrow hopeful Edgar Allan Guzman, less frenzied for sure, but we are certain just as evocative and symbolic.

Meanwhile, Eugene’s latest film, Kimmy Dora and The Temple of Kiyeme offers the much-awaited sequel to the Kimmy Dora hit of 2009. Of the original, critic Oggs Cruz had written: “To my mind, there are better recently released local comedies…but Kimmy Dora with all its unabashed nonsense and guilt-free drollery, is simply deliriously hilarious.”

Kimmy Dora and The Temple of Kiyeme presents the same cast, the same twin sisters both played by Eugene, the same writer Chris Martinez and director Bb. Joyce Bernal. In addition, it has the element of horror and ghosts, a trip to Korea to film 40 percent of the picture, not to mention shooting in below 20 degrees Korean winter, after its producer Piolo Pascual received an invitation from the Korean National Tourism to film using the major landmarks of Seoul.
 
During the film’s media conference, direk Joyce and Eugene spoke of the below-zero experience. Direk Joyce confessed they were close to giving it up when the camera refused to work in the freezing cold Korean winter. “I was just waiting for someone to say ‘I can no longer stand it and I’m going home,’ I would say, ‘Me, too,’” she said.

Eugene recalled that it felt like she was doing her last movie, “but many were helping us and the energy was what helped us survive.” Underlining the importance of their lead actress, direk Joyce mused, “Had Eugene shown any signs of weakening, that would be the end of the shoot.”

Small chance of that, we would think. Remember, Eugene is a theater actress. She never complains, is never late and can survive on Skyflakes and the coldest of winters. Amen.


 

 

 Catch BONA on its closing weekend!
SEPTEMBER 22, 2012 / Saturday / 3 PM   

at The PETA Theater Center 

(No.5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, QC)

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
or Onay Sales (0918.536.2116)