A Soulful Venture

If you’ve been reading this blog for quite some time now, you’d know that I often write about theater (information and review) and it’s among my passions. My passion for it is actually the reason why I attended Theater Talk with Floy Quintos organized by Gibbs Cadiz, Migs of Manila Gay Guy, and Karla of Pinoycentric. It was a by-invitation gathering that’s why when I read about the talk through Gibbs’s blog, I never had second-thoughts of registering to the event.

Maybe not everyone in that event are really theater aficionados but the fact that they were there means they are open to becoming one. They are opening themselves to the world of theater. Which is actually a good thing as they are writers – they can influence their friends (at least) or audience to venture into theater-acting. Also, a lot of the attendees were young people (college students). At least at that age, they are investing in this kind of soulful venture.

Meeting passionate people (especially about the arts) elates my soul. Being passionate about something and making sense out of that passion made the event possible. The attendees really have to thank Gibbs for making his passion an advocacy. More and more people are learning to appreciate the beauty of theater. More and more are developing that appetite for the arts.

The event was a bloggers-only thingy. But being the 'anti-social' that I am, didn't get to know more of the bloggers. One thing's for sure though, I've learned a lot. Thanks again to the organizers. Oh and thanks for the CD (priceless!) too (and the prize haha).

Sidenote: Before going to the event, I knew I was bound to get a prize. Precognition? :P

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I love writing down notes during talks (maybe because I used to document seminars and meetings, heck I’ve developed that scribbling habit during talks). I think it’s just wise to share some of the things discussed during the talk (this will be of help to those friends whom I’m having a hard time engaging in theater. And I hope I got all the good points right). This sharing also includes notes directly from Floy Quintos (provided by the organizers).

My oh my people, you should’ve been at the talk. People who speak fast (but clear and coherent) are people who’ve got a lot to share. And Floy Quintos is just like that. He’s brilliant and passionate.

THEATER APPRECIATION

According to Floy Quintos, compared to movies and TV shows, theater has no media values. It has lesser audience for advertisers or sponsors to invest much money on it. While there are some sponsorships, it is not comparable to that of Movies and TV (in terms of number of sponsorships vis-à-vis benefits to the sponsors in terms of audience).

Why Appreciate Theater?

Floy Quintos pointed out three reasons for appreciating theater:

1. Theater is the feeding ground for mainstream industries.

Most of the support actors (those that feed and sustain other mainstream industries, i.e. advertising, film, and TV) are from the theater. Quintos mentioned Irma Aldawan (the queen of Independent Films), Ai-ai delas Alas, Nonnie Buencamino, and Eugene Domingo. Actors who usually play support to a film or a TV show are the good ones (e.g. Ama Quiambao, Pen Medina). What makes them good? They all came from theater. They have learned and mastered the craft with their exposure in the theater.

2. Theater develops a certain (remarkable) work ethic among its practitioners.

According to Quintos, there’s a certain work ethic that theater instill in its practitioners. Most of them has this kind of thinking, “It’s not about me; it’s about the play.” Obviously, most of theater actors aren’t after the fame. I think, that measures their devotion to the industry they belong. I believe that this is also the reason why the theater actors (amid being good than the popular TV/Movie actors) are content with their support roles. They are after what can make the material good.

3. Theater provides new insights or world view.

“Theater opens up different worlds – alternative viewpoints and external truths of the classic”, said Quintos. He believes that it is demanding not just of its actors but more importantly of its audience. There’s a certain convention in theater that provides the audience of an alternative world.

Quintos used Macbeth’s Forest as an example to help the audience visualize his point. In a movie, a forest is a forest. You use a real forest to create the scenario. Unlike in theater productions, there’s a certain ‘improvisation’ (that’s the way I understood his point). For instance, on stage, you cannot use or create a forest. With the use of leaves and creation of magic (as Quintos described), one can create a forest. Hence, the creation of new world is also about the audience ability to imagine.

How to Appreciate Theater?

I think points raised in this part can actually help us bloggers/writers what to look for when reviewing a play. Of course, this part can also help anyone who’d like to understand theater. It’s given that most of the people who came to a theater production unprepared would end up ranting and not understanding the play.

Open yourselves to the World

“Theater is a distillation of truth as seen by a director, an actor, a designer, a playwright” Meaning, it’s not something you see and you get instantly. From the talk, I think theater offers you multi-faceted truths that would depend on how you interpret the ‘reality’ or the ‘truth’ presented in the play. In short, when you watch a play, you have to have a prepared mind and be ready to indulge yourself into some thinking. It's mainly about the spirit of openness.

Evaluating the Message

According to Quintos, we have to look at the language of the play. But when we say language it's not just the medium that we're talking about but the entire form of the play. Ask yourselves what world they are giving you. He made mention of the common trend in the Philippine Theatere these days which is deconstruction, particularly, deconstruction of classic novels. We often see 'contemporized' (did I get the term right?) versions of classics today (e.g. Love. Labor. Lost. & Romulus da Grayt). In theater, "we are forced to think about something." Oh, second point is still about thinking.

Evaluating the Actors

In reviewing a play (or in watching it per se), we also need to look into the ability of the actors in bringing beauty to the play. According to Quintos, to say that a good performance could be measured in the actors ability to "achieve the middle ground between sense of truth and technique." Technique is about the way an act is done (e.g. poise, breath-control, delivery, righ projection, etc.). Do I need to explain more what sense of truth is?

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“Theater is demanding of the audience.”- Floy Quintos

Given such, it is something not easy to venture in if you’re not prepared. Actually there are two points of preparation in venturing into theater. (1) You need to have the money and be willing to spend it for watching a production; (2) You need to have an open and thinking mind (and be more knowledgeable of everything that connects with theater). Some weeks ago, I wrote something about “Passion for Theater.” I’ve always wished theater to become something as easy as movie-going (where anyone would have the thirst to watch it). I was already convinced (because of the conversation in that previous post) that theater-going can’t be turned to movie-watching. And the talk just made this argument more acceptable.

You really have to have the passion to enjoy theater. Since the price of theater tickets is expensive (double or more than double the price of movie tickets), you must have the willingness (not to mention the money) to invest time and money to watching the show. It’s really hard to force anyone (who doesn’t have that passion) to buy a ticket to a show and end up unsatisfied. The least we can do is to bring these people (our friends for that matter) to a show for free (just like what Gibbs is doing) and facilitate them in watching the show (for better appreciation).

The appetite for arts should be developed during our formative years (para hinog). But I guess, it’s not yet too late for young people out there (high-school and college students) to develop such kind of thirst. Maybe teachers should expose their students to different local productions and guide them in developing that passion for a soulful venture that is theater.

Passion speaks of the heart and soul. Hence, when you watch a play, feel it with all your heart. There you'd be able to understand its message.