Toffee: To be or not to be — Hamlet, that is - FUNFARE by Ricardo F. Lo

No truth to the rumor that Toffee Calma has bidden the movies goodbye after the clampdown last year on skin flicks by the MTRCB. Neither did he, as rumors have it, migrate to the States to work as. . . gasoline boy (like some showbiz migrants do when they’re new in the Land of Milk and Honey)? No, Toffee would never turn his back on something that he has learned to love and cherish – yes, acting.

What he did was hone his craft by shifting to theater, a move that makes cynical eyebrows soar. You know: Can a bold actor, noted (notorious?) for his "anatomical" talent, prove himself worthy of theatrical attention?

"That’s exactly what I want to disprove," Toffee told Funfare in a brief phone chat, "that I am just a bold actor. I can show something more than my body. I know that many people will belittle my effort, kaya lalo akong natsa-challenge."

Not many people are aware that Toffee passed – with flying colors – rigid auditions at the CCP late last year and qualified as scholar for one season during which he did four plays: Dakilang Hokus-Pokus directed by Nonon Padilla, Delmiel at Belsole by George Sales, St. Peter and Jesus Christ (as Peter) also by George Sales and Total Eclipse by Nonon Padilla.

And now, 15 plays later, Toffee is about to embark on his most ambitious theater foray by taking on Hamlet, said to be the most difficult theater role (done onstage by such Shakespearean actors as Richard Burton and later by the likes of Mel Gibson), in the vernacular version of the classic play (translation by the late Rolando Tinio) to be mounted on Nov. 25 and 26 at the AFP Theater by the Student Theater Artist Foundation, with Edith Mandigma directing, to be followed by a provincial tour.

It’s the same play topbilled a few years back by another bold actor, Ernie Garcia, who also tried to erase his bold image by retreating to the theater.

"I hope people will not pre-judge me," said Toffee who starred in more than two dozen bold films in a span of two and a half years, hardly any of them exploiting whatever acting potential he had. "I hope that my detractors will watch the play before they make any conclusion."

As Hamlet, Toffee gets to deliver poetic lines and portray the character’s many facets.

"It’s a difficult role at talagang nakakabaliw gawin. Sa rehearsals pa lang, nakaka-challenge na."

Before Hamlet, Toffee finished shooting an experimental film entitled Motel 3 Kuwarto, initial venture of Breathless Films done in digital (later converted into regular film for commercial exhibition sometime next year). The trilogy is a project of UP film students, with each episode directed by a neophyte director and starring movie newcomers straight out of the UP campus.

"No," insisted Toffee, "I’m not leaving the movies. I decided to go into theater precisely to enhance my acting. I want to put in harness in my future movies what I’m now learning in the theater."

Meanwhile, will Toffee end up a credible and praise-worthy Hamlet or, knock on wood, a disastrous "Ham Omelette"?

That is the question.

Lesson in grammar

Here’s Funfare’s occasional little lesson in grammar, courtesy of reader Joseph O. Vergara of 119 Malumanay Street, Teacher’s Village, Diliman, Quezon City:

Dear Ricky:

Your well-meaning, concerned senior citizen reader was right in pointing out some errors in the rendition of ORO, PLATA, MATA, but he still misses the point somehow, because of what he admits to be his "limited knowledge of Spanish." Allow me to offer some clarifications.

It is correct to say that ORO and PLATA are both nouns. MATA is also a noun, but it does not refer to DEATH (correct siya diyan!) or KILLING. MATAR (stress on the second A) is a verb "to kill." MATA (stress on the first A) is a noun that means bush or shrub. ORO in ORO, PLATA, MATA does not refer to gold itself but to gold coins, the symbol of royalty and fine living. PLATA does not refer to silver itself but to silver coins, the symbol of the lifestyle of commoners. MATA refers to shrubs, the symbol of the working class whose life depended not on symbols of the currency but on what the earth gives, the crop. ORO, PLATA, MATA has been with us for so long, too long in fact to remain unnoticed if indeed it bears an error. The error lies not in the rendition but in the literal interpretation given to it.

It may be of help to look at our architectural practice with regards to the number of steps. The ideal number of steps in a stairway must always be one more than a number divisible by three, because such a number is ORO, which means life in the home will be characterized by prosperity and fine living. If the number of steps corresponded to a number two more than a number divisible by three, such number is PLATA, which means that life will be very ordinary in the home. MATA, which corresponds to a number of steps divisible by three surely does not mean that the occupants of the home will be killed, but that they will experience difficulties in life.

We have well known personalities surnamed MATA. The Spaniards did not err in giving them this surname, and there is nothing to fear in the lineage of these persons.

That’s one more Spanish word for our vocabulary!