June 2020 | Vol. 1 Issue 1
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
– The Last Cultural Event Before Manila Shut Down
– Open House, Open Possibilities
– A New Lens As REP Pivots to The New Reality
– Confessions of a Repper: JM Rodriguez Confesses
– 2000 & 1 Odyssey with Bibot Amador
– What’s the Buzz Tell Me What’s A Happening
– Theater or Dare
– REP’s Office Closure
The Last Cultural Event Before Manila Shut Down
by Vivi Vergara | Member, New York Writers Coalition | Marketing Strategist, Repertory Philippines Foundation, Inc.
My car pulled in to the drop off at Greenbelt One. I looked out my window at the curved steps by the entrance. There they were, countless sentient beings standing on those steps. They were chatting, laughing, all practically shoulder to shoulder under that feverish summer moon. Then there were arrivals like myself alighting from our cars, making our way forcefully through the crowds like battering rams. Nobody seemed to mind.
Open House, Open Possibilities
by Santy Calalay
March 12, 2020. Toff de Venecia, Congressman and VP of PhilStage (the umbrella organization for all performing arts companies), had just finished rehearsals for REP’s Carousel. He was all set to watch a preview of REP’s Anna in the Tropics. That evening, President Duterte had just announced the nation would be undergoing lockdown due to an emerging COVID-19 pandemic. This was to go into effect that weekend. Uncertainty about the future was in the air. Toff bumped into Audie Gemora, President of PhilStage, who was also at the preview. They both knew they had to answer the question – what will happen to the industry’s freelancers?
A New Lens As REP Pivots to The New Reality
by Liesl Batucan | Artistic Director of Repertory Philippines
I have always been fascinated with the phenomenon of light and the concept of mirrors. I always saw theater as light. Always saw theater as a mirror. A reflection. In reflections, light bounces back and returns to the same medium. Much like the truth. And theater is truth. I love to ponder these things.
Confessions of a Repper: JM Rodriguez Confesses
REP: Did you ever have a crush on any of your co-stars? Do you feel comfy telling us who?
JM: “Nooooo, not really. I never had a crush on any of my co-stars. No, coz I was really friends with all of them. Ahh but I think I had… 😜”
2000 & 1 Oddysey with Bibot Amador
Year 2000.
It was a new year, a century leap year, dawn of a new decade.
This section is recommended for theater buffs only!
We will ask you a question and if you know your THEATER and answer correctly, you’ll be fine. If you don’t, you have to take the DARE!