Layeta Bucoy & Rogelio Braga: two promising playwrights

There are two promising plays opened at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute, Cultural Center of the Philippines for the fourth installment of a laboratory festival for playwrights popularly known as VIRGIN LABFEST 4.

To mark-off this festival’s success, two different scheduled plays exhibited uniquely two promising productions: Layeta Bucoy’s Las Mentiras de Gloria, directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio and Rogelio Braga’s Ang Bayot, Ang Meranao at ang Habal-Habal sa isang nakababagot na paghihintay sa kanto ng Lanao Del Norte, directed by Nick Olanka.

Bucoy’s theme investigates more on a character-centered type. Las Mentiras de Gloria ( The Lies of Gloria ) touches on a woman's relationship with fraternal twin brother Utoy. Incest was its primary focus and how they have kept lies and deceit living separately through the years as they become more mature and old. The play ended so dramatic and pitiful.

May Bayot’s emotive performance made the play so moving and affecting. She delivered the character almost like a Cancer victim. Bart Guingona, her co-actor, could have been more effective if he commanded the speaking dialogue ( in Tagalog ) well. However, he was having a hard time coping for the right speed, unpredictable rhythm and seamless pronunciation of native words. Surely, acting wise, he was able to justify with his engaging performance.

Tuxqs Rutaquio, with his numerous work experiences in directing, bravely confronts the level of difficulty the play of Bucoy. Thrust staging though is a tricky space where one would not see the difference between staging a proscenium and a thrust. Thrust staging is a three-sided stage where a director would take advantage in using consistently quarter and profile blocking for actors or even the set is placed with a three-quarter axis. Rutaquio's blocking scenes were done mostly in proscenium not to mention its mistaken set axis (toilet sink, faucet, drawn shower curtain, book box and false back wall) from which it evidently positioned frontal. This affects the viewing pleasure of an audience when sitting on both unfavorable sides of the stage. Tricky as it is, Rutaquio successfully contributed intensely as a director to his actors.

Braga’s theme on the other hand deploys the omen of Philippine society today. The play, as intended to be satirical, tackles hilariously unresolved problems every Pinoy is still facing. Racial and gender discrimination, hypocrisy, bigotry, divisiveness of faith and corruption are few of the discussed issues in the play. To add on to its mirthful observations, the play sarcastically used vulgar street language, tawdry words and shabby cultured taste which, by the way, was so effectively done by two outstanding actors in the production – Joey Paras and Arnold Reyes. They were actually the saving grace. Paras played a gay visiting NGO worker while Reyes, effortlessly personified a Muslim-accent Habal-Habal native guy with his real motorcycle, is heard like the normal Muslim vendors who sell pirated DVD's in Quiapo.

Truly, effort is necessary in the theater – whether it has a good or bad effect in the outcome of the product.

Though known more in the film circuit, Nick Olanka, the director of the play, also bravely handled such competent actors. However, the set and the choice of costumes were badly decided upon. These theater elements are really worthy to be thought of by a director. To see only a projection of supposedly mountainous Habal-habal and a motorcycle all through out the play is quite disappointing. This abysmal display of designs created some deductions of making this play an outstanding one.

These two playwrights, Layeta Bucoy and Rogelio Braga, should inspire the others in making more witty, challenging but tastefully-written drama for Philippine theater in the years to come. One of the ways to save it is to explore delicate issues and problems of our society in the most dramatic or comic approach one could ever think of. Bucoy and Braga have absolutely achieved through this year's Virgin Labfest.