REPERTORY PHILIPPINES' INITIAL OFFERING FOR 2016.....

Aggie Wheeler And Simon Bright..... A Mysterious Letter.....
The Seance..... Daria Confronts Martha..... William Gillette, Inspector Goring And Felix Geisel..... It's 2016 and Repertory Philippines has opened its new season with the hilarious play "The Game's Afoot" by Ken Ludwig

The setting is the 1930s and the main character William Gillette is an actor who is best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He invites the cast of his latest play to his house to celebrate Christmas when all hell breaks loose and someone dies. He now has to channel his alter ego as he tries to solve the real life mystery. Ms Joy Virata heads the impressive cast as she plays Martha Gillette. She shares the same role with Jay Valencia Glorioso. Pinky Amador is Daria Chase while Paul Holme is William Gillette. Jeremy Domingo is Gillette's best friend Felix Geisel while Christine Flores is Felix's wife Madge. Natalie Everett portrays Inspector Goring. Hans Eckstein and Mica Pineda are the scheming couple Simon Bright and Aggie Wheeler. Miguel Faustmann directs the production. The play runs from January 15 to February 7, 2016 at Onstage Greenbelt 1.

I actually like the play. If I wasn't busy with taking pictures, I would have sat back on my chair, watched the play and laughed so hard at the scenes as it unfolds. Eventually, I couldn't control my laughter any longer and just let go. It does surprise me though that I understand and like British farce.

WELCOME TO THE SECRET GARDEN.....

The Colors Of The Secret Garden.....

I received a text message from my good friend and fellow photographer John about the schedule of the photo shoot for Repertory Philippines Christmas presentation, "The Secret Garden". It was scheduled on the third weekend of November. But the 14th and 15th came and I didn't hear from John so I asked him about it. Finally, he said that Rep had a scheduled rehearsal on the 16th but the costumes were not yet finished nor was the lighting plan set up. I reasoned I won't be going to shoot since I anticipated the difficulty of using public transport because of the closure of the entire stretch of Roxas Boulevard because of the APEC meeting being held here and the unfinished costumes and lighting. John, Boboy, Boyet, Lian and I provide the photos that Repertory uses in their souvenir programs. So to shoot the actors without their costumes and the lighting pattern rather defeats the purpose of the pictures.

Thank you God! I made the right call! Traffic was terrible and unbearable during that day. I went to Alabang Town Center in the afternoon and a 15 to 30 minute ride became an hour because of the traffic. Some public utility vehicles even cut their trips, stopping their trips at Casimiro while those that travel to Zapote had to contend with the traffic at the RFC area. I guess I have to stay at home for the duration of the APEC Summit since I can't basically get out of Las Pinas. Having your own car may get you out of the city but be prepared to have a full tank of gas. The worse that can happen to a car owner is to be stuck in traffic for hours and with the car running out of gas in the process.

Last Wednesday, the 18th was declared a nonworking holiday. And John informed me of the shoot for Repertory on that night. So even if I vowed not to leave the house during this week, I took a chance and decided to go. I went to Alabang, rode on a bus headed for the north but instead of passing through the normal route of Edsa, it plied the C5 road instead. The whole stretch of Magallanes was closed too. I ended up at Rockwell and then took a cab going to Greenbelt 1. The rehearsal went ahead as scheduled and I was 45 minutes late. No worries though, I was able to get some pictures.

I have no idea what "The Secret Garden" is all about. From the moment I raised my camera to my eye and started to shoot, I noticed the slightly bizarre lighting pattern and the direction of the play. I can't decipher it since I wasn't able to watch the first 45 minutes. The lights were so dark but colorful hues were predominant. These initially caused me problems with my exposures but then I realized the colors were intentional. If I photographed a man in blue light, he was meant to be washed in blue tones. So I had to work with it rather than against it.

"The Secret Garden" will be staged from November 20 to December 20, 2015 at the Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1, Makati City. It is based on the novel of Frances Hodgson Burnett and adapted as a musical production by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon and directed by Anton Juan. For ticket reservations and schedule of performances can be seen here.