Letters of Rizal_An “Environmental” Play

March 26, 2011

Here are some photos that I shot Thursday night at Teatro Hermogenes Ilagan, U.P. performed by my friend’s [Belen Calingacion] students. It was a class performance. The audience were seated on a low platform in the middle of the theater instead of around, or in front of the performers. Personally, I wouldn’t like to view from “within the performer’s circle.” Unless the platform is probably revolving…(joke!!!), or the venue is outside in an open-air area, [in which case the sound system and light requirements would be quite costly, so forget it!!]. The space is small and the viewers couldn’t freely move. Even the performer’s movement was limited — in the sense that they could only take the circular path. The viewer’s instinctive tendency is either to look only at the person speaking the lines, or just listen to him when they couldn’t move their head beyond the usual 45 degree head movement. It must have been very challenging for the players though…

I was there to “talent scout” for a Rizal poem reader…and to see whether I could integrate parts of their play to the project that I am about to do.