Assumption Antipolo, PETA Present HANDURAWAN

By Vince Layson Vicentuan

Manila, Philippines--Handurawan in Philippine dialect means a memory, a remembrance, or a vision. More than its literal meanings, this word, which happens to be the title of a musical collaboration between Assumption Antipolo and Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), is a memory and remembrance of a well-forged relationship among participants throughout the production process. On the other hand, it is also a vision of a beautiful world in these critical times when environmental degradation has reached an alarming level.

Maia, a young girl, is in search of Handurawan--a mystical place that is the only hope for humans who survived the apocalypse. The world is in complete ruins: trees are gone and animals are nowhere to be found and the survivors are reeling from the destruction of their own kind wrought. Apparently, Maia is destined to be the community's "sugo" or "anointed one," who will lead her people to the fabled place and set them free from the bondage of Apolo and his troublesome army, the Santelmos.

30 minutes before show time, I dissolved into the buzzing audience of excited parents, grandparents, siblings, and a handful of alumnae. The Assumpta Theater has not lost its beauty since November 2008, the last time I saw it as its manager. The lights are brighter than ever and the walls still reverberate with echoes of the many original musicals we at the community once put together. To my left, a father was busy explaining to his young son the story and subsequently the part that the older sister was to play. The family to my right was excitedly flipping through the pages of the playbill. The cold air in the theater sent shivers down my spine as I recalled those nerve-racking opening shows from 2002 to 2008. When the house lights finally dimmed and the curtains opened, it was clear that people were awaiting a dream to unfurl right before their eyes.

Maia has been visited nightly by a persistent dream. In it she sees animals collectively called "Una" (first). Like the rest of her community, she has not seen an animal in her lifetime. Her dreams allow her to interact with them and this has kept the hope in her alive. She then realizes that Handurawan is real and that she must set on a journey to find it. But first she must surmount an obstacle: to convince the "mamamayan" (community) that such mystical place indeed exists.

For Marie Grace Magtaas, school principal, everything started as a dream: "It started as a desire to do something unique and meaningful for Assumption Antipolo's 40th anniversary in 2015. We at the school decided to dream bigger and to highlight our core value--care for God's creation. We have known PETA for quite some time and we started entertaining the idea of inviting them to come for a discussion. They came and we started thinking about the concept and the workshop started. Everything took off from there."

This dream was then shared with the community. The workshop in the summer of 2014 attracted 100 students who were later tapped to star in the show. Ian Segarra, the play director from PETA, gave the students the basic skills they needed to hurdle the physical, mental, and psychological demands of acting on stage. When the lights finally shone on the opening scene, the whole stage vibrated with young performers singing, dancing, twirling and jumping to the audience's delight. Remarkably conspicuous were recyclable materials making up most of the sets, props, and costumes. Throwaway tires became rocks and walls, plastic bottles became shimmering lamps, and rags and paper discards dressed the characters on stage.

As Maia's journey begins, she meets exciting and colorful characters along the way like the spider Habi (Aella Ysabelle Magsombol), the rat Bait (Maria Athena Santos), and the wily kid Bogs (Jaymee Adrianne Bulanadi), among others, who either show her the way or join her on her sojourn to Handurawan. However, they are constantly threatened by the Santelmos and a band of feisty pirates.

Nycah Alexandria Acosta (Maia) may have been in acting workshops and drama clubs before this stint, but playing a part of this magnitude proved to be a huge stretch for her as the role was also vocally demanding. With an articulation uncommon to a nine-year old, she nervously recalls being offered the lead part: "When I was offered the role, I became very excited and nervous at the same time. I knew that I could act, and my family also knew that, but we all knew that I had never done something this big. Plus, Maia has a lot of singing lines and I am not a singer myself."

An alumna of the school, Alexandra May Reyes took time out from her busy schedule at the University of Sto. Tomas to join the cast on the last minute. Armed with a beautiful dramatic soprano voice, she essays the role of Mamay, a woman who shows Maia where to find Nana Adarna, the mythical bird that can help Maia and friends find the paradise. Of her biggest challenge, Alex fondly recalls having to work double time to catch up with everyone. "My greatest obstacle was having to learn my role within a week. When I came in, everyone had already memorized their lines and dances. I felt really pressured, most especially when Ms. Ettie (Ethel Lynn Miranda, original music) told me that my song "Oyayi"--with my daughter Flora--is the heartsong of the musical and that when people get out of the theater, it should be ringing in their heads."

Maia and her band of friends finally make it to the place where a solitary giant tree stands. It is the home of Nana Adarna, a giant bird who could help Maia and her friends find their way to Handurawan. They are met by Mamay and her daughter Flora (Kassandra Isabel Tambongco). When Nana Adarna is finally roused from her long slumber, she takes the group onto her wings and off they fly to Handurawan.

Segarra took under his wing the whole production team, drawing into the project a diverse group from the faculty and auxiliary staff of the community. A small team from PETA was also in his tow to form part of the production team. "Technically, most of us in PETA are trained to work with different schools. This is not the first time that we have collaborated with a school as our company has a network of school clubs all over Metro Manila that participate in our festival of theater plays at the end of the school year." Drawing inspiration from a similar experience with Miriam College, Segarra willingly accepted Ms. Magtaas' invitation to venture into a bigger dream. "The difference with the Assumption project is that this is more collaborative. We had a group of teachers from Assumption that served as our counterpart who helped us with the story."

The collaboration was evident both onstage and off. Komusikasyon, the school music club stood as choral backup for the untrained young singers. The AA Ballet and Dance Varsity formed the ensemble that provided movers for dance numbers, while the theater club Pamulatan, were seen here and there as an acting support. Two male teachers, Nelson Bugnosen (Apolo) and Mark Angelo Ordonio (Abang Pawikan) played supporting roles that brought the house down, while music teacher Ethel Lynn Miranda created the beautiful music that was key to telling the story and its message effectively. A slew of auxiliary staff members tended to the sets, stage management, lights and sound. It was the same collaborative spirit that I had experienced when I was still here.

When Maia and friends find themselves right at the magical door of Handurawan, Maia has to triumph over one last obstacle--a series of riddles--to get past the door and step into paradise. And when they finally step into Handurawan, the place is not what they exactly envisioned it to be. Handurawan is a riddle in itself and they have to look into themselves to figure out where to find it.

Segarra had to rely on student inputs to get them into organic acting. "The message of the play reflects even the process of the play. It's not just about the final product. At rehearsals, I didn't tell the actors how to act but let them try a scene from their own perspectives. They would always ask me how to do a scene and I'd tell them 'I don't know.' They would come up with ideas and I'd tell them 'Let's try it.' I think that way, it's more organic."

"You know how we are at Assumption," Ms. Magtaas states matter-of-factly. "We want to give them a balanced view of the world. PETA knows that as a school, we always look after the welfare of our students. We cannot give them a number of rehearsals more than what they can take. They also need to relax. That way, we are able to balance things. It's everyone looking after each other. We know that with our partnership with PETA, we can give the best to our students. It's a good partnership and we hope we can do more."

On the collaboration, Reyes shares the same thought: "I think the collaboration between PETA and Assumption Antipolo is pretty awesome. The director and stage managers of PETA influenced and taught the cast so much. They developed a strong bond too. I'm really happy that theater was introduced to the young girls I worked with. I firmly believe that for people to appreciate the arts more, the best way is to involve them in the production."

Maia and friends come home to their community with the truth. This truth is then revealed to everyone who will have to embrace it if indeed they truly want to live in paradise, a place they longingly call Handurawan.

When asked what she wants for people to do after watching Handurawan, Acosta readily quips, "I want them to be inspired to share their talents. Everyone has a hidden talent inside them. They may not know their talents yet and they have to figure it out. And when they do, they have to share them." She also adds that "Students must know how to water a plant," an innocent remark that elicited a hearty laugh from Ms. Magtaas herself.

"I want people to support and appreciate Philippine theater more as only few are able to do that here," Reyes adds. A theater veteran at such a young age, she knows that the Philippines has so much to offer to the theater industry. "I want them to be reminded that we have something special here, they just don't see it."

"I think it's the concept of community and being responsible," Segarra adds, "which hopefully we were able to convey to the people. That's also how we value our work in PETA. We are not the only ones who know everything. No, we also listen to other people. It's a symbiotic relationship which people always forget."

Ms. Magtaas with a proud smile puts it very deeply: "With the community, now more than ever, I want to push forward the value of not just stewardship for God's creation but also kinship where we are all equal. As a steward, you are in charge to take care of others. But as a kin, you are on equal footing with the others. Everything becomes a shared responsibility. If people are able to take home this message after the play, then I think we have already done our small contribution."

As the interview drew to a curtain call, the images of the young performers, most especially the Pirates, swirling like a colorful whirlpool all over the stage kept playing in my head. When I finally asked everyone at the interview table if a rerun would be possible, the bombastic singing and shouting from the cast outside the interview room drowned the interviewees' collective response. Clearly the noise outside said it all.

HANDURAWAN ran at the Assumpta Theater of Assumption Antipolo from January 23 (gala opening, 7 p.m.) to 24 (10 a.m. and 3 p.m.) with possible reruns in school year 2015-2016. For show and booking inquiries, please call (632) 650-7230.

Vince Vicentuan is currently taking MA in Education major in Educational Administration at the Ateneo de Manila University. He is a theater artist and had worked as the theater manager of Assumpta Theater-CCP of the East in Assumption Antipolo. He has written and directed his own musicals like Sulyap-Lahi, The Wonder Bookshop 1 and 2, and Whose Garden is This?, among others. He has over 12 years of experience as an English teacher and almost 20 years as theater actor. He has appeared in the Philippine productions of Oliver!, Chess the Musical, A Midsummer-Night's Dream, The Magic Staff, Dalagang Bukid, and Bakhita the Musical, among others.