Young Star Exclusive:The sun shines on 'Asuncion'

NEW YORK — Dreading her first winter in the Big Apple, Filipina actress Camille Mana was pleasantly surprised by a mild fall that (thus far) has only consisted of one freak blizzard in late October. “Since then, all has been lovely,” she opines — much like her character in the Off-Broadway show Asuncion, Jesse Eisenberg’s knockout piece on ethnocentrism, latent prejudices and what constitutes victimization. “I’m crossing my fingers. I’m not speaking too soon.”

The fall weather swirling around Manhattan had been nippy, to say the least. With but a wobbly two-dollar convenience store umbrella as arsenal against the schizophrenic New York rain, I found myself pursuing a trek to Cherry Lane Theater to experience what New York magazine’s Scott Brown described as Eisenberg’s “daffy, dangly, dopey new dark comedy.”

The jabs that the play attempts at racism and the Cambodian/Filipino minority were not something you would have surmised from the show’s poster, which hoists Mana atop her co-actors (Jesse Eisenberg from The Social Network, Justin Bartha from The Hangover and Remy Auberjonois). Actually, you would have thought otherwise — that Asuncion would be a deus ex machina vis-à-vis the imagery evoked by Mary’s Assumption narrative. She would be, at some point. Though that wasn’t completely the case.

Against the eloquent background of set designer John McDermott’s recreation of a Binghamton bachelor den and the dysfunctional proclivity of liberal Americana evident in both her tenants, Asuncion becomes both catalyst and fallout girl to Edgar’s surface white supremacy.

Edgar, a wildly neurotic and quavery quasi-journalist played by Eisenberg, is quick to assume that Asuncion is a sex slave or a mail-order bride for no other reason other than the fact that she is 1) a Filipino in America (he also shares that he was in Cambodia recently which he equates with the Philippines); 2) married to his estranged brother Stuart (played by Auberjonois); and 3) left in his care for “mysterious reasons” alongside guru-esque man crush and everyday tormentor Vinny (played by a cool and savvy Bartha). In an attempt to unearth a scoop, he goes on a wild mental goose chase to find forensic evidence that she is in fact, a sex slave. She is not.

The play is a knockout piece on ethnocentrism, latent prejudices, and victimization.

What Asuncion is however is an effervescent, buoyant and energetic creature who captivates people with her simplistic view of the world and America as a “pop song nation” — much like Mana, sometimes. She reveals, “I can relate to Asuncion as many ways as those in which I cannot. While there is a side of me that can be very hyper and outgoing, it only surfaces in social situations and I think I better relate to Jesse’s character Edgar who is neurotic and a worrywart.”

Planting The Seed

For Mana, the interest in acting first sparked when she was just 10. “I saw Phantom of the Opera in LA. It was such a sad and beautiful story.” She remembers heading home after the performance, reading the classifieds, and seeing notices by sketchy agents and talent scouts who were possibly out to make a quick buck. “I remember asking Mom and Dad if it was something I could look into. Of course, it was a flat-out ‘no.’” It wasn’t until she developed an addiction to My So-Called Life and Dead Poets Society that she saw possible career in theater brimming on the horizon.

She shares, “I watched them over and over; the teen angst present in those stories really struck me on a visceral level. Whatever I felt from the stories portrayed on screen, I wanted to be able to participate in manifesting that same connection for other people.”

For the play, Asuncion serves as the native thread that ties together the contrasting personalities of Eisenberg and Bartha’s characters. As she moves into their disheveled home (and friendship), the dishes, both literal and proverbial, pile up less and less, the conversations aren’t as unnerving, and there is a focal point to channel the manic energy present between the two male leads, despite the ideological snaking that happens when Asuncion’s back is turned on them. In real life however, the hand that claws onstage is actually the hand that feeds.

Social Network

Mana, who then was doing bit roles in films like Smart People and College, was tapped by Eisenberg to play the titular role. “He saw a compilation of work I had done, and decided that I was the girl,” she shares. No formal audition process, no theatrics, just a flight to LA from the actor-now-playwright’s end to wine and dine, and shake on what would be the fulfillment of Mana’s lifelong dream. “It was all very surreal.”

There was no formal audition process for Mana, no theatrics, just a flight to LA from the actor-now-playwright’s end to wine and dine.

Mana recounts the story of Eisenberg going on an interview with Jimmy Fallon for Asuncion and when the comic asked him, “Who is that girl? She is getting a lot of hype,” the Academy award-nominated actor responded, “She is phenomenal!” A feature in Nylon magazine and an interview on public radio network NPR have also eventuated for the actress — admittedly two of her “silly career milestone goals.”

On what’s next for her? “A nice week of sitting in my couch and watching all my favorite TV shows and the new films I have missed while I have been living under a rock that is The Cherry Lane Theater.” Because of the overwhelming response to the show, Asuncion was extended from its initial Nov. 27 closing to Dec. 18. She breathes, “Ah, relaxation, here I come…”

The play unfolded to wild abandon and rapturous audiences. I walked away from the theater and into a rainy night in Manhattan but not before chatting with Mana and getting a snap with her and her co-star Justin Bartha. Jesse was quick to escape the pleasantries, but also, the weather had been pretty iffy and it was getting late. The rain poured continuously as I continued on with the Filipina. Manhattan fell dark but somehow the sun was shining, at least for Asuncion and the talented Camille Mana.

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Asuncion is playing at the Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce Street, West Village, New York City thru December 18 only. (212) 352-3101. If you happen to be in New York or flying to New York at this time, do check it out.