Dulaang UP opens The Dressing Room

Seasoned actors of Philippine theater, film and television come together for Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas’ fourth offering this 40th theater season, The Dressing Room: That Which Flows Away Ultimately Becomes Nostalgia and its Filipino translation, Ang Dressing Room: Kung Saan Lubusang Pangungulila ang Dulot ng Agos ng Panahon.

The “play within a play” tells the stories, frustrations, memoirs and aspirations of four actresses preparing backstage (gakuya, in Japanese) and waiting for their cue to emerge onstage. All actresses express their desire to perform the lead role and their obsessive coveting for it ignites a comic yet dramatic narrative about shared memories and their relationship with one another. The Dressing Room is a tender and humorous drama about actors, theater life, aging, surviving and moving on.

The theatrical piece is a 1977 post-war Japanese play by Shimizu Kunio, with translation adapted by Chiori Miyagawa from an original translation by John Gillespie. Its Filipino translation is courtesy of Palanca award-winning playwright Nicolas Pichay under the direction of Alexander Cortez.

In the Filipino version, multi-awarded actor and director Roeder Camanag leads the all-male cast to act as females. Together with Roeder are seasoned artists of Philippine theater, film and television namely Andoy Ranay, Gwyn Guanzon and Ian Ignacio.

The English version, on the other hand, features an all-female cast, namely Frances Makil-Ignacio, Ces Quesada and Missy Maramara. Also featured in the production are up-and-coming theater actors Jon Abella, Maxine Ignacio, Marynor Madamesila and the Dulaang UP ensemble.

 Here are some interesting thoughts written by Roeder on his role as Actress A in this play:

Actor-director Roeder Camanag leads the all-male cast of the Dulaang UP’s ‘play within a play’

“For this particular play, it is doubly memorable because my rituals and routines in the dressing room happen onstage. I play a Japanese actress from the past, a ghost whose soul never left the theater. So imagine the preparations I have to do to transform to my character and everyone sees that onstage.

“As an actor, I am fascinated with the actresses — their core, their being, their psyche, their complications, their angsts, their emotions, their temperaments, their quirks and the many other things that make them different from me. This show allows me to live that fantasy. I love getting into the heart of a performance actress, into the mind of a female actor, into the soul of a diva. I’ve always loved the strong empowered women characters in theater — Lady Macbeth and Olga in The Three Sisters.”

Catch the Ang Dressing Room: Kung Saan Lubusang Pangungulila ang Dulot ng Agos ng Panahon today until April 23 at 10 a.m. and on April 24 at 3 p.m. All evening shows start at 7 p.m.

The Dressing Room: That Which Flows Away Ultimately Becomes Nostalgia is staged every 3 p.m. until April 23 and 10 a.m. on April 24.

All performances will be at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater of the Palma Hall. For details, check out the official Dulaang UP page via Facebook.com/DulaangUnibersidadNgPilipinas.

(For your comments, contact us at tel. no. 571-1569, e-mail [email protected] or text 0917-89911835.)