TROPA, Pisay and UP Theater in the 90s

Back in 1989 in UP Diliman, a few people, common friends of a Philippine Science High School alumnus named Auraeus Solito gathered at his house to talk about forming a theater group that would stage plays supportive of original Filipino material and that weren't established norms.

I met Auraeus in early 1989 at a German puppet show in Abelardo Hall at the College of Music. Prior to that, my organization sponsored a twin production called Imoral/Isla Negra by the UP Third World Studies Center staged at the College of Engineering directed by him. Bimbi Verdadero, a fellow member in that organization, and myself, attended the German puppet show late in the afternoon and found ourselves enjoying the post-show talking to Auraeus that ended way past 10 in the evening at the Abelardo Hall grounds discussing theater, art, literature and revolutionizing the theater scene. Wow, such big ideas, such ideals!

Auraeus was then a Theater Arts major and I, a painting major at the College of Fine Arts with no theater background whatsoever, except perhaps participating in a declamation contest in grade school in which I lost, and a protracted membership to the UP Repertory Company. We parted with an invitation to his house in Sampaloc to meet with his other friends.

Apparently, forming an alternative theater group had been on Auraeus' mind for some time. When we finally met at his house a month and a half later (summer of '89, was it?), there were his friends from other colleges and disciplines, none of whom I knew. It was bad enough that I overstayed as it was in UP in '89; therefore, most of those whom I met at his house were batches younger than I.

There is something infectious about Auraeus and the way our ideas jibed, although I wasn't ready at the time to jump into another foray as I intended to finally finish my course that year. Hmmm, think again.

The combined energies of people in the performing arts are even more infectious, and, together, we felt like nothing could stop us from getting to that goal. Thus was born the UP Tropa Experimental Theater Company, aka Tropa.

I had reservations about the word "Tropa" then. It was, I thought, too pedestrian, too un-theater-like, and unconventional. However, since it looked like the majority of what would be its membership seemed fine with it, I did not raise any objections.

From Rene to Roger

Auraeus had been friends with the late Rogelio Sicat, the Filipino professor and playwright. Sir Roger, as we called him, our surrogate pater, guide and adviser, was requested — nay, forced into submission by Auraeus — to translate the Sartre play Hui Clos (No Exit) to Filipino as our initial production. Auraeus had originally approached the late Rene O. Villanueva for translation but they were in disagreement with the copy. "It is a minimalist play", Auraeus told me; "we only need three major characters and we will conduct the auditions next month". Wow, an audition!?

I had not come into the pre-production until after the auditions, as I was preparing to enroll in the following semester once again. I was given the task of designing the stage (what a dream it was for me to do stage design, then offered me on a silver platter!), a rather unconventional one, however. And then I had my crash course on terminologies, many of which I never encountered in my course: raked stage, in the round, stage-left, stage-right, upstage, downstage, proscenium, mumbo-jumbo. No, mumbo-jumbo is not a theater term.

We had a few months to go, and I was being pressured to come up with acting areas "to mask", sofas and chairs to approximate, and a gigantic tilted door at the top corner of the diamond-shaped stage, the highest point of that diamond raked (tilted) stage that had absolutely no backstage, and that was supposed to open and close by itself. I felt I needed to consult with an engineer, as the requirements were too much for me to handle. Consult I did, rather late, though, but all ideas the engineers suggested required some kind of contraption or mechanism which the venue did not have and, which, even if there was a fitting the venue could provide for, we couldn't afford.

Walang Kawala

The budget, or lack of it, was the next hurdle we all faced. Our ideals were becoming reality, all right, but it was also kicking us all in the butt towards show time. The play had been announced to all and sundry — si Auraeus pa! — yet no money was coming in. Ah, a slogan to add to theater mantra: the show must go on. Soon, we found ourselves pitching in our school allowance to feed people and ourselves. We had pages upon script pages to photocopy and place in nice folders. We needed pencils for rehearsal notes and rolls of masking tape to have on hand.

When stage construction time came, we had to purchase lumber, plywood and nails, feed the carpenters and pay them. Rehearsals, mostly held at Auraeus' house, meant feeding the actors and staff. Oh, did I mention that on top of the stage design, I was tasked to make the poster and the program, too? We had to print those as well. Good thing lead actor Paul Quiaño (as Garcin), a fellow visual artist and CFA undergrad, was around to do the company logo. Relatives as young as high school, neighbors, some friends and relatives' friends pitched in, although in reality, we felt that in as much as many people were excited for the new group and the new play, by then titled Walang Kawala, and had a lot of goodwill to share, just as many were wishing we would never even premiere.

And there was pressure, real and perceived. Two months hence, and we were obviously past the getting-to-know-you phases: the play readings and analyses, the bashed egos, hard falls and stage acrobatics, raising of voices and tears of disappointment and fatigue. No more offerings of theories by this time, no chasing of ideals, just some vice picked up along the way.

The afternoon of the opening day, Auraeus called Elaine Eleazar (Inez) to the backstage exterior balcony of the theater and played some notes on his melodica which Elaine had to memorize: it was her character's swan song, something which Elaine had been bugging Auraeus about throughout the rehearsals in the past months. Finally, her song had been composed. Darn, and I had 16 square feet of stage to cover using the just-arrived cans of paint so graciously donated by some friends of Elaine: black enamel! Enamel, as the label indicated, takes 24 hours to dry. At some point during the painting, there appeared some electric fans gathered from god knows where, while some of those hanging around started fanning the painted areas of the stage with whatever they could get hold of — folded newspapers, mostly.

That very same afternoon, Manny Barias, who played The Doorman (and who, with Susan Morales, were our production sound people), was reviewing for a very important pre-med subject in one corner, coming in on short notice in place of Jess Acullador who was in grief over the loss of his father two nights before; Wena Basco, our company manager-cum-other lead (as Estelle), jubilant over finally securing permission from her brother, arrived with his ultra-large loudspeakers for us to use. Confidant-to-all Paul Morales, choreographer, was patient enough to understand that he couldn't rehearse the dance on stage as it was still being painted.

Members Custer Deocaris and Bimbi Verdadero (production manager) were arguing with each other in the hall while dragging and fixing the school chairs at the top of the amphitheater-like audience area; Ralph Galan was keeping cool and refused to be unfazed, Nini Matilac and Tere Jamias had just finished wiring up the lights. We were to open in 2 hours, just in time for the walang kamatayang pan de coco merienda from the UP Shopping Center.

We were all touched to have Tony Mabesa come by for a rain check, but not without leaving, heaving, in usual Mabesa-esque fashion, upon finding the venue still in total disarray. Clint Ramos, refusing to be unfazed like Ralph, remained cool while putting on the actors' make-up and pinning the costumes. And thus we started to worship Darna's stone (step aside, Ding!).

After a round of prayers — "finished-or-not-finished-pass-your-papers!" — and scampering to hide in our respective places (mine was beneath the stage itself, directly under the door bolt), someone softly called out: "aaaannnddd...blackout!...Music!".

All the world's a stage

Rogelio Sicat's Walang Kawala, like the other Tropa productions that followed it, became some kind of a trailblazer for other student theater productions in UP and other schools to follow: productions such as the world premiere in Filipino of Karel Capek's R.U.R. (trans: Rogelio Sicat, for the UP Tropa Experimental Theater Co.), our version of Nick Pichay's poignant Uyayi ng Ulan and the premiere of Cris Martinez' Freshman; the restaging of Sicat's Moses, Moses and some original short plays written by the new members.

Also memorable were the staging of the original works I'bun (Child), Maikling Buhay ng Apoy (The Brief Life of Fire, later made into a short film by Aureaus), Sisa, Maria Clara and Salome as trilogy, and our first and only musical, Manhid, which achieved some kind of cult status. It was Manhid that strengthened the bond between members of a band named Eraserheads which was on the verge of a break up prior to being part of the production as our nightly live band, and in which the song "Kailan" was first played.

Much of our audience attendance, our marketing, our reputation and our notoriety — it still baffles us to this day what we were notorious about — were from word of mouth. We did not make piles of money, but collected many good reviews, many a heartache, many life lessons and even more memories to cherish. "Beg, borrow or steal" was some kind of motto that guided us when we needed props or sets. No excuse is acceptable for absence when in a production because in theater, the only acceptable excuses were if "you're either dead or dying". And we put in every ounce of blood, sweat and tears for the sake of the audience who bought our tickets or lined up to watch our plays; most times, it came to the point of actually wringing one dry once one committed to the ideals of theater.

Post-prod in the 90s

When it was clear that we had done, as a collective, something significant that had touched our audience, it was time for the majority of members to shift their attention back to studies, but not after giving up some subjects and semesters in favor of keeping Tropa alive. Less than a decade and many a productions after Walang Kawala, it was time to move on.

In the early 90s, Auraeus dabbled in short film direction after becoming a MOWELFUND scholar. Always, he relied on the ka-Tropas for artistic input. Our first major commercial work together, Auraeus and I, was doing the Huling El Bimbo MTV for the then very successful Eraserheads, again with many ka-Tropas involved.

We've been talking about restaging some plays — Manhid, in particular, but that may not happen anytime soon yet. Currently, many ka-Tropas are still working together in various projects or other, or help each other out in some way. There may never be another Tropa in UP for a long time, as we were born of the times, and we drifted with the times but the spirit is kept alive. Just like what Inez said to Garcin: "itanim mo ako sa iyong isipan at buhayin mo ako" (from Walang Kawala, trans: Sicat), Tropa lives on in our memories.

Pisay

You see, what made Tropa so atypical was the fact that only two members were theater majors: Auraeus and Paul. The other members were from diverse disciplines: Math, Molecular Biology, Tourism, Fine Arts, Business, Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Philosophy, Humanities (now known as Art Studies) among others. Many second-wave members were from Auraeus' own alma mater, the Philippine Science High School.

...the Movie!

"Pisay is a beautiful film, simple and sophisticated, direct and campy, one that gets better and better as it goes along. From the evidence gathered, the praise is valid for Filipino cinema as a whole, which is undergoing something of a renaissance.”

~ Emmanuel Burdeau Cahiers Du Cinéma

(L-R: Winning in France: Auraeus, EJ Jallorina, Claudine Najera,
Carl Barrameda and Hai Balbuena)

Cahiers du Cinéma is the most prestigious critic's group in the world. They have declared that Filipino cinema is on the verge of a renaissance. But a renaissance needs hard work and in order to reach this renaissance, Philippine Independent Cinema needs an audience.

Pisay is the latest film of Auraeus Solito who also directed internationally award-winning films Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros and Tuli.

Pisay recently won two awards in the 14th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema in France: The Grand Prix du Jury (Grand Prize of the International Jury) and the Prix du Public (Audience Prize).

Former Tropa members were an essential part of the production: Paul Morales (as executive producer), Erwin Navarro (line producer/Tropa actor and stage manager), Claudine Najera (film marketing, and appeared as the Geometry teacher/Tropa actress and artist), Wena Basco (as "Fanny"/Tropa actress and company manager), Carina Evangelista (as the SocSci teacher and Pisay soundtrack librettist/Tropa writer and Manhid co-librettist), Jobin Ballesteros (Pisay musical score) and bit roles by Elnora Ebillo and Ernest Mangulabnan, who, with husband Buddy Zabala, also set a Pisay song to music (/Tropa multi-taskers). Perhaps we shall have a company call on the opening night of Pisay's commercial run.

I join my ka-Tropas in asking for your support and help us reach the renaissance of Philippine Cinema.

Please watch Pisay the Movie.

Pisay will be shown February 20 –27 exclusively at the following SM theaters:

• SM North Edsa Cinema 8
• SM Megamall Cinema 9
• SM Manila Cinema 4
• SM Southmall
• SM Fairview Cinema 6
• SM San Lazaro Cinema

Read the review here. Trailer courtesy of direkmik Cahiers du Cinéma.

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Added notes

• On June 24, 2008, Pisay the Movie won the most number of awards (totaling eight) at the 5th Golden Screen Awards. These are:

Best Motion Picture (Drama)
Best Director (Solito)
Best Original Screenplay (Henry Graheda)

Best Supporting Actress (Drama, Musical or Comedy) for Eugene Domingo

Best Original Song (“Ang Puso Kong Musmos”) written by Carina Evangelista, Buddy Zabala and Ernest Mangulabnan

Best Editing (Mikael Angelo Pastrano and Kanakan Balintagos)

Best Production Design (Martin Masadao, Regie Regalado, Dante Garcia and Endi Balbueno)

Best Musical Score (Vincent de Jesus and Jobin Ballesteros)


• On Aug. 30, 2008, the Eraserheads finally performed a one-night reunion concert at the Bonifacio Global City Open-grounds. Read about it here.
  



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ADDED Oct 20, 2009:

Some important MANHID notes related to commenter "daguob"'s below re the link he provided to the video of the favorite cult musicale staged in UP:

• The character of "Muradugo" was played by livewire Michelle Reyes as seen on the video;
  
• The video was shot and uploaded by Rodel Basco, the brother of lead actress Wena Basco;
  
• The hooded actor in the scene is no other than the musicale's playwright and song libbrettist, Aureaus Solito;
  
• Bandmaster and musical director was Vincent De Jesus, currently an award-winning film and television scorer and composer.
  

You can watch the scene mentioned by "daguob" in the comments below, as well as Rodel Basco's priceless footages of the musicale here.


Thank you Erwin (daguob) and Rodel.