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.

REP AT THE ALTAR.....

The Club Members' Selected Shots.....






NAYON Group Photo With Repertory's Rem Zamora.....






The Souvenir Program.....






Presenting the Altar Boyz.....



























The Men and Women Of Repertory Philippines.....







For this summer's Repertory Philippines' show, they shall be performing a musical called "Altar Boyz". I was not familiar with this musical at all. But after watching the dress rehearsal as some club members took pictures for their souvenir program, I have grown to love the musical. The musical is all about a Christian boy band composed of five boys namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham trying to save the world, one screaming fan at a time. As a Christian boy band their mission is to reduce the number of troubled souls to zero. Problems arise when the group goes to New York and the boys succumb to their respective frailties. Will that dampen their faith in God?

I love the musical! With songs such as "Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone", how can it go wrong? It also is fast paced and hilarious considering its theme. Those in the cast for this Philippine production of this award winning play are PJ Valerio, Red Concepcion, Reuben Uy, Chevy Mercado and Reb Atadero playing Matthew, Mark, Luke, Abraham and Juan respectively. The musical was written by Kevin Del Aguila and its composers were Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker. The local production was directed by Chari Arespacochaga.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.....

The Manila Symphony Orchestra.....





Tevye (Miguel Faustmann) And The Male Ensemble.....





Golde (Pinky Marquez) And The Female Ensemble.....





Cris Villonco Leads The Teens.....





Tzeitel and Golde.....





Hodel.....





Tevye, The Poor Dairyman.....





Avrahm And Two VIllagers.....





Tevye's Family With Guests.....





Lazar Wolf.....





Lovebirds Tzietel And Motel.....





The Villagers Merrymaking.....





The Matchmaker.....





The Ghost Of Christmas Past?!?.....





Fyedka, Chava And The Villagers.....





An Awesome Wedding.....





The Fiddler on the Stage.....




I first heard and watched this play when I was in highschool. During one of our alloted AVR time in school, my class watched the original film version of it. What I can recall about this film was the beautiful and catchy music, from the song of the main lead character singing, "If I was a rich man, doobeedebeedeebeedee....." to the group singing of "Sunrise, sunset!", what is there not to like? However, I could not recall the film's story line. All I can remember is that it features a fiddler, it involves tradition and is set in a Jewish community in Russia. I also recall that the movie is a great film, or else my AVR teacher, who is a nun, won't be letting her wards to watch it.

As the photo club I belong to reached an agreement with Repertory Philippines as main picture providers of photographs to be used in press releases, advertising and even for their souvenir programs, we were asked to take photos of their dress rehearsals. And this gave me a chance to refresh my memory and watch the story of Tevye unfold once again.

I really am so impressed with the quality of stage actors and actresses that our country has. For an English as a foreign language speaking nation, we can compete and show others that we can produce English speaking theater productions as a native English speaking country can. And we are versatile enough that we can do varied roles.

Fiddler on the Roof is the last theater production of Repertory Philippines for the year 2007. It formally starts on the 9th of November and runs until December 16. Venue is Greenbelt 1 Onstage. Directed by Baby Barredo and Robbie Guevarra.

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE.....

"Where art thou?"





Two Characters From The Play.....





Hans Eckstein And Jenny Jamora.....





The Female Ensemble.....


















The Boyband.....






Main Actors Nicolo Manahan And Chris Villonco.....





As much as I love theater plays, it seems that I have a limit in what play appeals to me and what doesn't. I once watched a theater play in London, Tennessee Williams' "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" which featured Brendan Fraser (such a hunk of a man! (swoon!)) as Brick Pollit, an aging ex-football hero who neglects his wife (Frances Mcdermond) and further infuriates her when he ignores his brother's attempts to gain control of the family fortune. I haven't seen it before nor do I have the knowledge about the plot. But I was able to get the gist and plot of the play just like I was watching a movie. Cool! So when I was asked to take photographs of the dress rehearsal of the Repertory Philippines' production of Love's Labor's Lost, I agreed to do so.

I guess I am not a big Bard fan, of his literary works that is! I had so much trouble catching up with the lines and that I couldn't even get the main plot line. Perhaps it would have been better if I was completely focused on the play and not on taking pictures. It might have increased my comprehension to understand it. To think that The Bard happens to be the greatest writer that I even wanted to go to his hometown at Stratford Upon Avon in England to pay homage to him. If the time comes that my headaches clear, that I don't have internet connection, that I don't have a shoot, that I am just inside the house and that I actually have a Shakespeare book with me, then I probably have no choice but read the book and see for myself if I can really dig Shakespeare's words or not! Any suggestions on what story should I read first?

Bart Guingona directed this one. Epy Quizon, Nic Manahan, Hans Eckstein, Gabs Santos, Micah Munoz, Jenny Jamora, Cris Villonco, Crisel Consunji, Caisa Borromeo make up the lead and they are ably supported by Ana Bitong, Oliver Usison, Jejie Esguerra, Kenneth Keng, Pom Docena, Dingdong Rosales and Bonngoy Manahan. Although the play was written and thus patterned during Shakespeare's time, Guingona actually adapted it to fit the present setting which by Bart's choice is the 80's. A part of the play where the female cast sing a song that describes them as a group, they actually where humming and singing rubbish lyrics of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Surely the song didn't exist during Shakespear's time. But Bart believed that the play's theme is timeless. Whether the setting is during the time when kings and princeses reign or when people's power is the in thing, the plot will work.

Bless his heart. I hope that people will flock and go to the theater to watch this performance. Hey! They should be! This is a comedy! This is Shakespeare!

A "SONG AND DANCE" EXPERIENCE.....

Powerdance And Their Power Moves.....






















Carla Guevarra as She Does Her Thing.....
















I love watching theater productions. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to watch the local theater here in the Philippines because of my backbreaking work schedule before. Besides, most of the time, theater productions were held at the Meralco Theater, which is very far from the place I live, here in Las Pinas. So when I went overseas and worked in an NHS hospital in London, I grabbed every opportunity to watch the musicals at the West End. The first play that I watched was "Fame", which was a continuation of the television series about the lives of budding performers. The next was "The King and I" then "Les Miserables", "Phantom of the Opera", "Rent" and the last musical was "Chicago". In between, I also watched non musical productions like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" which starred Brendan Fraser (yummy abs this guy has!) and "The Hobbit" (my first encounter with Gollum, "My Preciousss!"). I
missed watching "Miss Saigon" when I went to Leeds one time. They left for Scotland for the next performance venue during the day I arrived. And I also missed its Philippine run because I have left for UK at that time.

Repertory Philippines is a major theater company in the country. Lea Salonga and Monique Wilson are Repertory graduates. The company, under the guidance of the late Zenaida Amador was responsible for showing "Miss Saigon" with Cameron McIntosh's approval, at CCP with the usage of the original props of the show (remember the helicopter?) It also showed "Rent", though I have totally forgotten who played who. All I can remember was that critics were praising Michael Williams (me not sure if he played the role of "Angel"). I totally like him when he's performing, even if I have not watched him do so! Friends and relatives of mine who were able to watch plays that he is cast in swear that he is a major talent to watch. And I believed these people who say so. But I do remember the time when he auditioned for a role in "Miss Saigon". If Lea blew away McIntosh's mind among the female performers, Michael was the one who stood out among the males. Until now, I still have to watch a musical where in he is among the cast members.

Hence, imagine my elation when I got an invitation from my club mate John, telling me about a shoot that he had arranged for our photo club involving Repertory. We were invited to shoot the cast of "Song and Dance" during an actual performance at On Stage in Greenbelt One, Makati. It was an out of the blue invitation, primarily because Repertory has an account in the bank where John is the branch manager. Thus he actually knows the production people of the company.

The song part is actually a 45 minute monologue in songs performed by Carla Guevarra. This woman is amazing! She carried the first half of the musical by herself, telling us, the audience, about her life and loves in New York City. And the range of the songs were awesome. She can hit the very high and very low notes with such ease. Though sometimes, her voice seems to quiver a bit, but it is barely noticeable to the untrained ear (I used to sing solo and in a choir, so until now, I can detect the slightest deflection in a note being sung, whether it is off key or not). Such mishaps happen but one can't help but ignore the flaws altogether. She has a commanding stage presence! Did I say that she is so pretty too?

The dance part was taken care of by the Powerdance troupe under Douglas Nierras! One of my frustrations in life was to learn how to dance, jazz dancing to be exact. And Douglas Nierras is the Master of Jazz Dancing. I remember when he used to perform with his wards as a dancer and watch them in TV shows like Penthouse Live or even during the time when the Ms Universe beauty pageant was held here, he moves like a gazelle, an animal associated with grace and strength, particularly when he executes a jump or just does a pirouette. He choreographs the dance routines and his wards perform it to perfection. He is someone who really has the passion for dance. If I write for a living, he will certainly be one of the many people I admire who I'd like to sit down and do an interview with. For behind the tough exterior that he exudes, is a real person with a lot of things to say about his passion, his art, himself, and his country.