Markki tackles 1st straight play

MANILA, Philippines — Markki Stroem takes on the role as Joe Pitt, a Mormon lawyer, in the Manila production of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches (which is presented by Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group).

In the Tony Kushner play, he will have a pill-popping wife Harper (played by Angeli Bayani) and a devout mom Hannah (Cherie Gil). What excites Markki, too, is the fact that Angels in America is his first straight play. The actor knows musicals like the back of his hand.

“(I have) lots of adjustments. It’s a whole different process,” said Markki on this new theater experience in an interview with The STAR. “It’s fleshing out the entire character because with musicals, you have the character but then you also have to focus on music, and dancing and everything. But this is just purely understanding what this character is.”

Breathing life into Joe Pitt presupposes a different kind of character study.

“I spoke to a couple of Mormons and I really got into the whole church teachings,” shared Markki, who also “met a bunch of actually Christian, Catholic husbands and wives who have cheated on their partners.” His interactions with them gave him the context like “where they came from. If you’re married, that’s a whole different aspect.”

Finding his ground as Joe Pitt also sees Markki to “just read my scripts over and over again” in knowing and fleshing out his character, and watch different documentaries. All this has helped him understand “where Mormons came from, why they became a certain way, what they believe in. I even attended a church. I really wanted to engulf myself.” With that, one can say that Markki is confident to be Atlantis’ Joe Pitt, who, according to him “has never had a homosexual experience before but he goes cruising, so he watches people do whatever they do.”

What does Joe Pitt represent since the Tony Kushner play is replete with symbols?

With fellow actors (from left) Art Acuña, Cherie Gil, Angeli Bayani, Topper Fabregas, Pinky Amador, Nelsito Gomez and Andoy Ranay

“He is a very controversial character because he represents religion,” replied Markki. “He represents all of what is good in the eyes of religion... There is a form of religion in the world, it’s there for faith and uplifting.” Religion, for many, is used as a moral compass.

Joe Pitt’s narrative includes his marital struggles with Harper, sexuality, and family and political affairs with his mom Hannah and mentor  Roy Chon. It extends to that of gay couple Louis Ironson and Prior Walter (who has contracted the AIDS virus).

From the actor’s perspective, Markki finds Joe Pitt “very nuanced” as a character, but “is incapable of expressing himself.” The actor added, “He (Joe Pitt) is being controlled by religion. His mom is actually a beautiful facet of it. She knows what religion is. She knows what the Mormon stands for... He has this moral compass that he wants to follow what is right.”

Given the challenges the characters face, one cannot deny community and identity as themes of Angels in America.

“In this play, we have Prior and Belize who are there for each other. You have the boyfriends, Prior and Louis, (who are) also there for each other,” said Markki. “We have our own communities and we have our own ways of dealing with who we are as people. It’s good that we have people we can talk to, especially in this time when depression is a big thing.”

Although AIDS is an issue being tackled in the play, one can use Angels in America as a lens to see the value of community and understand identity in some social issues.

Also in the cast are Art Acuña as Roy; Pinky Amador (the Angel); Andoy Ranay (Belize); Nelsito Gomez (Louis); and Topper Fabregas (Prior).

“There’s an artistry to theater,” said Markki of his love affair with theater. “...I wanted the dedication, the emotional outpour, the passion and that’s what I found in theater. I tried a lot of different aspects, I tried TV and I tried the movies, sometimes I still do, there’s something about theater that really goes above and beyond and really you find the core to understand who is this human being you are portraying... (in) this particular art form, you actually get to flesh out who this person is and there’s no cuts, there’s no take twos, it’s from beginning to end. That’s something I’ve always found to be something really done by people who have the dedication for the craft.”

(Directed by Bobby Garcia, Angels in America will run from March 22 to April 7 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati. The play has strong language and mature content. Due to its subject matter, it is strongly recommended to those aged 17 and above. For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.)