Tanghalang Pilipino brings back online Layeta Bucoy’s most provocative play ‘Doc Resureccion’ │ GMA News Online

Politicians promising us a greater life throughout elections is a story as outdated as time.

When acclaimed playwright Layeta Bucoy wrote “Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin Ang Bayan” some 13 years in the past, the nation was below an administration accused of large corruption, election fraud, rampant red-tagging, and impunity. Suppose: the botched NBN-ZTE deal, “Hiya Garci” that introduced an electoral disaster, the notorious Ampatuan bloodbath, and so forth.

“Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin Ang Bayan” was initially staged in 2009 as a part of the Virgin Labfest on the Cultural Middle of the Philippines. Virgin Labfest is the annual competition of untried, untested and yet-to-be staged one-act performs. The identical 12 months, it gained first prize within the one-act-play, Filipino Division, on the annual Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.

Directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio, “Doc Resureccion” was staged once more the next 12 months as a part of the Revisited Set for the 2010 Virgin Labfest.

The play is a few younger, idealistic medical physician who desires to alter the old-school feudalistic, patronage politics in his hometown. With none expertise in operating a paperwork, he runs for mayor within the sea-side city the place he grew up, dominated by conventional politicians.

It seems he’s the stronger opponent of the incumbent however there’s one main hindrance. Doc finds out his cousin, “Boy Pogi” Resureccion, is operating as a nuisance candidate below the payroll of the incumbent mayor to handle some “soiled jobs.”

Apart from the blood relations, he and Boy Pogi are childhood playmates. They grew up collectively like brothers and sooner or later had been fascinated with the identical lady.

However whereas Doc manages to raise his standing in life by means of arduous work, Boy Pogi stays the small-time fisherman who can’t afford to a construct a good consolation room in his shanty by the shore. He nonetheless lives along with his alcoholic, practically blind father named Papang, his mom named Mamang who sells fish within the city public market and his accomplice Elsa, a former intercourse employee now pregnant with their first-born.

The play takes place in Boy Pogi’s shanty. After intentionally avoiding any connection along with his estranged cousin for years, Doc makes an unannounced go to. As their dialog shifts from cordial and glad to one thing nasty, Boy Pogi reveals the true nature of Doc.

Doc tries to bribe Boy Pogi out of the race however issues flip ugly.

 

Is Doc for actual or is he simply one other first-time politician who, after having had a small style of success as a non-public citizen now desires to feed his ego in a much bigger area and like all people else, will get eaten by the system?

When it first ran, “Doc Resureccion” was such a giant hit, it grew to become a cult favourite, a lot in order that in 2012, TP created a set of 4 performs and referred to as the collective as “Eyeball” for its twenty fifth season. It has turn into a contemporary basic and a must-see for younger voters. Many university-based theater teams re-staged it over time.

Quick ahead to 2022 — 10 years since “Eyeball” — and TP is bringing again “Doc Resureccion” for the brand new era of voters mired in pretend information, misinformation and rampant historic revisionism. 

Bucoy instructed us she didn’t do any revisions or main updates from the unique model.

“Simply two traces to discuss with automated elections. Mano-mano pa midday ang elections nu’ng nasulat,” Bucoy instructed GMA Information On-line by way of FB messenger.

(On the time it was written, we solely had handbook elections.)

13 years in the past, many thought the play was impressed by true occasions although it may possibly’t be distinguished which explicit candidate within the native elections she was referring to.

“Not actual individuals when it comes to factuality however views and world views of actual individuals,” Bucoy mentioned, clarifying our decade-long hunch. 

“No interviews, no analysis. I used to be in a single with the opposing forces. And it was very troublesome to acknowledge that as a Filipino, inside me resides the good divide,” she added.

TP would have cherished to share this masterpiece to a stay viewers however given the pandemic remains to be not over, it will be greatest for the 2022 model to be shot for streaming. This could additionally attain these within the provinces, OFWs, and migrant Filipinos who could have heard of the play however by no means had the prospect to go to the CCP.

For this venture, TP brings acclaimed multi-hyphenate theater-film veteran Dennis Marasigan as director. Apart from being a a lot awarded lighting designer, theater director and actor, Marasigan has directed a number of award-winning movies tailored from performs like Tony Perez’s “Sa North Diversion Street” and Malou Jacob’s “Anatomiya ng Korapsyon.”

 

“The principle problem in directing ‘Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan’ is tips on how to seize and talk the essence of the play for a streaming viewers,” Marasigan instructed us by way of e mail.

“Because the play was initially meant for a stay viewers, making certain it interprets by means of a ‘mediated’ medium is the primary goal of this manufacturing.  There may be additionally the added problem of getting actors to regulate as soon as once more to face-to-face interplay after two years of principally doing on-line performances, if in any respect,” he added.

There was a time when there have been talks on the CCP buffeteria and cafes on the close by North Harbour Sq. that the play was about to be tailored into movie and he’s going to direct it. The “Maritess” in us prompted this author to ask for replace.

“Tanghalang Pilipino, in its goal to proceed with its work of offering thought-provoking productions to the viewers, determined to pivot throughout this pandemic-stricken interval fairly than simply sit again and look ahead to stay performances to come back again,” Marasigan mentioned.

“This play was chosen to be the fabric for that pivot, which meant exploring past streaming and actually going full-on movie manufacturing. Nevertheless, the restrictions and capturing protocols prevailing final 12 months (2021) meant that the price of producing this a full-fledged movie manufacturing was past what Tanghalang Pilipino might afford by itself.  Companions wanted to be discovered, which was very troublesome, significantly for a non-commercial materials perceived to be political, evidently,” he added.

From a veteran in all issues associated to theater and movie like Marasigan, he has excessive praises for Bucoy: “She is among the greatest and possibly essentially the most provocative playwrights now we have in the present day.”

TP Actors Firm senior member Jonathan Tadioan reprises his position because the abominable Boy Pogi. Marco Viaña performs the charming, good trying Doc Resureccion, Lhorvie Nuevo as Boy Pogi’s spouse Elsa, Sherry Lara is available in as Boy Pogi’s mom and 2021 Gawad Urian greatest actor awardee Fernando “Tata Nanding” Josef because the alcoholic, blind father.

Tadioan instructed us in Filipino that among the many challenges with “Doc Resureccion” is that if he can nonetheless act within the stay stage.

 

“Kasi halos dalawang taon na kaming halos hindi nakakaarte. I imply, could possibilities na umaaarte ako pero sa ibang medium. Sanay kasi ako o kami sa entablado na walang lower or retake,” he mentioned. 

(It has been two years since we had been final on stage. There have been possibilities for me to behave in one other medium, however I am used to the stage with out cuts or retakes.)

For the previous two years, Tadioan and the remainder of the TP Actors Firm have been doing “Tara Peeps,” a collection of weekend academic radio performs for youngsters and younger adults shot like brief movies and streamed on TP’s Fb web page and You Tube channel.

“Pag salang mo sa stage yun na yun hanggang sa matapos. Pero ito kasi iba kukunan ka, ‘yung follow-thru ng feelings mo nandun ka na biglang lower. Retake natin. So kailangan be within the second. Hindi Siya dapat placed on. Parang on-off swap ng feelings,” Tadioan emphasised.

“Pero dahil si Sir Dennis (Marasigan) ang mag-di-direct, kilala naman niya kami at kilala namin siya. So alam naming nasa mabuti kaming mga kamay,” he added.

Viaña could be doing the titular position of “Doc Resureccion” for the primary time. Within the 2009, 2010 advert 2012 variations, it was veteran actor Riki Benedicto who did a wonderful portrayal of Doc Jess.

In 2009, Viaña was nonetheless in his senior 12 months in school on the Mapua Institute of Know-how when he noticed “Doc Resureccion,” amongst different glorious performs that 12 months on the Virgin Labfest.

“Graduating pa lang po ako midday. I used to be a member of a theater group in school, yung Mapua Tekno Teatro and a good friend invited me to observe the Virgin Labfest.”

Upon seeing “Doc,” he mentioned he was “hooked” and knew from that second on he would pursue skilled theater. He grew to become a member of TP in October, 2010. Now, he’s the affiliate inventive director of TP and has additionally tried his fingers in directing and stage design over time.  We requested him if he feels some strain in doing the position.

“Ang totoo mas pleasure ang nararamdaman ko dahil sa pagkakataon muling makatapak sa entablado ng CCP matapos ang dalawang taon,” Viaña instructed us by way of FB messenger.

“Hindi man namin pisikal na kasama ang mga manonood, bagong pamamaraan ng pagkukwento ito para sa TP at isa ulit pagkakataon itong ‘Doc Resureccion para makapaghatid ang TP ng isang dula na mahalagang maipalabas ngayong 2022,” he added.

“Dagdag pa na makakasama ko ulit sa entablado ang mga kapwa myembro ng TP Actors Firm.  Kaming limang actor sa dulang ito ay lumaki at tumanda na sa TP Actors Firm,” Viaña mentioned.

Through the years, Marasigan has directed many performs in TP with Tadioan and Viana as lead actors. Among the many most up-to-date titles that readily come to thoughts is “Ang Pag-uusig,” in 2017 and 2018. It’s Jerry Respeto’s adaptation of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.”

“Doc Resureccion” can also be not the primary time Marasigan directed a play by Bucoy that was shot for streaming. For the 2020 Virgin Labfest, Marasigan directed “Ang Dalawang Junior,” which had Viana and Tadioan as lead characters.

“It’s all the time a pleasure to direct Tad and Marco, particularly now that they’ve matured each personally and professionally.  With their expertise, they’re much more prepared to experiment with and discover the bounds of the roles they’re taking part in, which may solely result in a extra participating expertise for the viewers,” mentioned Marasigan.

For a Gawad Urian greatest actor awardee, it may be mentioned the position of a blind alcoholic is a stroll within the park for the veteran Josef. Greater than that, being TP’s inventive director for greater than a decade, Josef is aware of how related the play has all the time been, then and now.

“We selected ‘Doc Resureccion, Gagamutin ang Bayan’ for streaming this 12 months due to its timeliness,” he instructed us by way of FB messenger.

“Layeta Bucoy’s play probes into the darkish recesses of the errant psycho-social habits of Filipinos throughout elections. Watching the play that vividly depicts the all-too- acquainted, however nonetheless stunning machinations of trapos (conventional politicians) may problem or encourage the viewers to suppose extra critically in selecting the leaders that they may vote for within the coming elections,” Josef added. — LA, GMA Information

“Doc Resureccion” streams from April 17 to April 30. Tickets can be found on Ticket2Me.internet.