"Art"

Not just Art

One of the reasons (aside from being an addict) why I watched “Art” is its casts. Seeing two TV veteran actors who have done their fair-share of stage plays was already a big thing for a theater-goer. Not to mention, it was also Jett Pangan’s first time to venture into a straight-play.

All of the casts perfectly played their roles. Michael de Mesa played Serge, the dermatologist who bought the painting (‘yung painting na kulay puti na may halos puting guhit na pahalang) for 200,000. Nothing too special about his role I think. He is Michael de Mesa and he acts well. The show was in Filipino and he’s good at it.

[It was the first time I’ve watched Michael’s performance on stage. Hmm, I wonder how good he played as Collins in Rent.]

Jett Pangan also deserves praises for his performance as Mar – the one who questions Serge’s purchase of the white painting. He has done lots of musical plays that’s why he’s no ‘newbie’ in acting even if it was a straight play. He knows the craft well the way he knows music. He delivered the lines well comparable with the way he sings.

[You know what I’ve realized that night? Jett really looks like John Lapuz. Seriously, Jett is a really a great stage actor.]

Meanwhile, I think that among the three actors, it was really Ricky Davao who made the audience’s night. Of course, he had the opportunity to show his acting skills because of his comic role. He played Jun, the ‘weakest’ among the friends who cannot make his stand on anything – it has something to do with growing up under the shadow of his mom. While in some scenes there were three of them on the stage, it was hard too take your eyes off Ricky and shift your attention to the two as you may fear that you might miss something from his act.

[So now I’m excited to see ‘Insiang’ and see the other side of Ricky’s acting prowess.]

While it may seem that “Art” is a stage-play that may tackle something technical (because of the title), it goes beyond learning what modern art or even deconstruction is all about. Apparently, it’s all because of the play’s humor. Lito Albano’s translation is commendable in terms of being able to bring the humor to the play. It’s quite hard to imagine translating a humor-filled play and sill be able to maintain (or even input more humor) to the translated version. Imagine, there was three stages in the translation process (French-English-Filipino) but the humor was maintained.

However, I’ve been thinking if the translation used profound Filipino words. Or maybe it was just me who noticed some of the ‘malalim na tagalog’ because I was so fixated about not being not able to write in colloquial Filipino (more on this in another blog post). It is also possible that it sounded ‘profound’ because of the delivery. But given that it’s theater, I guess it’s apt. And the audience appreciated it so it’s a non-issue.

“Art” is a perfect play to get to reflect about our relationship with our friends. There is politics in friendship. Sometimes, we develop a friendship that has become (or has started) a mentor-learner relationship. In the end, if the other becomes better or has detached from that mentor-learner relationship, one feels betrayed (This was actually the tension between Mar and Serge) Moreover, when we’re better than a friend, there’s a tendency for us to overpower the powerless (like the treatment of Mar and Serge to Jun).

The play can also make us think of our hidden emotions against our friends. While friends care for each other, within us are hidden feelings that may be against them. We contain these feelings as we’re afraid to hurt them. At some point, if we’ve all reached the end of that containment of emotions, we will just all blow up and throw all these hidden emotions against our friends. But regardless of these conflicts, we will all realize that the relationship we’ve built with our friends will always be worth keeping.

Every friendship or any relationship is confronted with a ‘white painting’. Just like this painting, we are confronted with issues or whatnots. And we are all free to give our own interpretation as well as emotion to that issue. In any relationship, respect matters. If we learn how to respect, we can listen and learn from the opinions of our friends. In the end, we can create a friendship that's not centered on control and power.

P.S.

“Art” is something that can be appreciated by anyone. Imagine the old lady beside me didn’t even know at hand what she was going to watch (Ano nga ba’ng papanoorin natin?). But during the show, I’ve observed that she got hooked and appreciated the play. Meaning, the show is for all – shallow, deep, and trying to be intellectual thinkers. I think, “Art” deserves a re-staging soon. Calling Actor’s and Actors. :)