To each his own advocacy

Because suddenly at mid-year, the theater-music-film-dance sectors are amazingly active, we find ourselves shuttling weekends, crossing our fingers that the day will soon come when performances will be daily. One concert we watched was that of The Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS) at the Music Museum, latest vocal group trained and mentored by our world-famous Filipino composer and musician lovingly called Mr. C.

This is the first time Ryan used his name in his tutorials which included Smokey Mountain, 14-K and San Miguel Master Chorale. When he called for auditions for those aged between 18 and 25, we had to think twice to realize we were not on GMA 7’s Protégé or TV5’s Artista Academy. Obviously Mr. C is learning the language of today to reach the current generation.

Addressing the audience, Mr. C explained that in teaching RCS everything he has learned through the years, he hopes it would result in a group superior to those in his generation. He said he wasn’t after creating a choir, but a group of individual genre specialists who complement each other.

The solo numbers in the concert showed this versatility: Blue Rondo a la Turk — Vince Lim; Alleluia — VJ Caber; Le Lucevan Le Stelle — Erwin Lacsa; Sometime Somewhere — Poppert Bernadas; and from the girls Forget You — Kaich Tiuseco; Orange Colored Sky — Anezka Alvarez; As If We Never Said Goodbye — Celine Fabie; and Kailan by 14-K alumnus Jolina Magdangal as concert guest.    

Andrei Vegas and Jay Enriquez as married man and student, respectively, in Dapo

The group performed Motown, jukebox hits, a Katy medley and the crowd favorite Metropop medley which included Salamat, Salamat Musika, Anak, Ewan, Magsimula Ka, Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika, among others. A winning element was the rigorous dance training from Bim Ebol and Nikko Eustaquio on the tap-dancing sequences in Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger and Ryan’s enduring OPM classic Mamang Kutsero, and the Katy medley where Dexter Santos’ choreography captured the energy and excitement of Pinoy Bodabil. Director Rito Asilo (Vagina Monologues, My Name is Rachel Corrie, Cabaret, Into the Woods) shared, “The group is used to a lot of dancing, but after their first session with Dexter, I was amused to catch them sleeping on the floor before my session with them, because they were so exhausted! Their tireless dedication astounds me.”

Colonial mentality, however, remains a huge problem. “We patronize a lot of foreign performers and shell out big bucks to watch their concerts. Another problem is the fact that local audiences are partial to personality more than genuine talent,” Rito pointed out.

Twin-bill gay plays seek friendly venue

On the same weekend, we found ourselves watching Bed Scenes/Sins, two one-act gay plays Dapo and Carmi Martin, by award-winning playwright J. Dennis Teodosio, under the direction of Bong Cabrera (Urian Best Actor nominee) and Paul Santiago at The Library in Malate, which has been supported by its owner Andrew de Real. Few may also know it, but almost to his last days before he expired, Gantimpala Theater head Tony Espejo was busy mentoring the creative staff of the two plays dealing with two sides of the same coin. 

 Dapo tells of the blossoming of new-found man-to-man love, directed by Cabrera, where Andrei Vegas playing a married man and Jay Enriquez as student are inside a motel room seeking to find the meaning of their tryst, and whether their meeting will end up in true love.

Carmi Martin meaning “karma” in gay lingo is a harrowing story that gained numerous followers at Virgin Labfest-6 and picked up three nominations at the 34th Aliw Awards for Entertainment: Best Play (Non-Musical), Best Director (Paul Santiago) and Best Actor (Paul Jake Paule who plays a curious professor who picked up callboy Kyle Thomas David in the mall).

The plays are produced by JNP Alternative Theater. Performances are slated all Sundays at 7 p.m. until Aug. 12 at the Library. For tickets, call 0939-9087633, 0915-7594216 or 415-6684 or e-mail at ºº[email protected].