Before the curtains open: Theater actors reveal process before debut

MANILA, Philippines — It’s minutes before the opening show.

While some people enter the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez Black Box Theater, others have already found their seats. 

A mumble of multiple conversations filled the space, but behind the thick, black drapes, a different commotion was happening backstage.

First-time actors muttered lines under their breath, while some hummed the songs they would perform. 

“Tala” actress Francel Go (left) performs for their last critique session in Raja Soliman Institute of Science and Technology High School in Binondo, Manila on Oct. 13, 2024. The school is the official workshop venue partner of SNB 10. (Cherina Gatapia)

Back in the theater, the national anthem has been sung. The festival director, Karl Jingco, has come onstage to give the welcome remarks.

The Shorts and Briefs (SNB) Theater Festival, which started in 2014, has always been home to those of all ages and backgrounds who want to have a shot in theater.

“It’s a festival of first-timers,” Jingco said in an exclusive interview. “The less experience [in theater], the better.”

In its 10th year, the SNB festival showcased six original musicals, all composed of first-time composers, directors, and actors in musical theater.

Jingco also said the festival is not a competition, but a celebration.

“We celebrate the fear, that exciting energy [that] there is a space for first-timers to perform,” he added in his remarks.

“This is SNB 10.”

TJ Ramos, a music and sound consultant, gives feedback to the cast and crew of SNB 10 after the technical rehearsal dress rehearsal. Technical dress rehearsals are often the last run-through before the opening show. (Cherina Gatapia)

As the festival director stepped off the stage, the house lights dimmed until the whole area had been enveloped in total darkness.

The audience has fallen silent, ready to witness the six 15-minute musicals for two hours.

But for those behind the curtains, it has been months in the making before they could take centerstage.

A lighting designer uses a laser pointer for the light technicians to adjust the position of the lights that will be used for the plays on Oct. 22, 2024, in Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez Blackbox Theater, the venue of SNB 10. The theater is the newest blackbox theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), which opened its doors in 2022. (Cherina Gatapia)

Color-coded masking tapes are placed and numbered by stagehands to know where to position the props for each play, and are made smaller before the opening show. Jingco said SNB has never been set heavy, partly because of the budget they would need to build an extensive set. “We don’t want the space to be eaten by the set,” he added.(Cherina Gatapia)

Next year, Jingco and his team will hold an SNB Festival in Cebu. They will also conduct a student edition in 2025, going to different public schools.

The festival director has also invited interested people in the audience to join and watch out for the 11th SNB Festival, with the theme: “Shorts and Briefs by Night.”

Jingco said that SNB had come a long way in the past decade, from starting in school classrooms to using the CCP blackbox theater.

“Even if wala kang pera, will that stop you from creating?” he added.

From left: actor Lev Vergara, director Del Mundo, musical composer and playwright John Custer, and actress Presh Capistrano of “Kasloy” prepare to bow for the opening show’s curtain call. (Cherina Gatapia)

The Shorts and Briefs Festival has been the starting ground for aspiring playwrights, directors, and actors in theater.

This year, the cast and crew braved the storm to strut their stuff and to get their chance in the spotlight.

For them, the show must go on. — Cherina Mae Gatapia (Philstar.com intern)