A year ago, I watched Phantom of the Opera. After which I was excited to write my total experience. Before I could do so, I saw a notification in my facebook group that the play I was in King and I by Resorts World Philippines was being nominated alongside Phantom of the Opera. Yet another distraction came my way when I saw a bothersome post about the said nominations that irked me sooooo much I just decided to not write about Phantom of the Opera. Somebody criticized the philippine audiences for displaying extreme level of colonial mentality. The blogger boasted that she did not watch Phantom of the Opera because she chose to support LOCAL theatre instead. She implied that people watched Phantom so they could take pictures and post them in social media portraying them genuinely elite and cultured. She implied that of course Phantom of the Opera would have a strong chance of winning because nobody bothered to watch the local shows.
I was fuming mad. I was terrified that people would agree with her. While its true that a handful came for their few minutes of glory in instagram, others came for the art. I am a self confessed theatre buff. I try to watch as many shows as I can because its something I truly enjoy. I fancy musicals and ballets the most. I bought tickets to Phantom of the Opera because of the beautiful music I wanted to see come alive on stage. I wanted to see the intricate plot dramatized in front of me. If a Filipino company staged Phantom of the Opera I would have bought tickets to that show too. Phantom of the Opera was indeed a treat, just a splendid production that allowed the audience to feast on life, color, light, music and everything else in between. It deserved the hype in my opinion. Deep down inside I know she was only talking about a few but still I took offense as if it were a personal attack. I believe I took it badly because it seriously punctured my idealistic view that theatre is nothing but beautiful. In my head if people came to the shows (even if they didn't fill all seats), art and theatre were triumphant. It meant people cared. It meant people spent their time to see other people do what they were meant to do. It meant they shared their precious money to see a show. Theatre may struggle but if people came to the show, then art conquered all. For people to describe the people who show up to these shows (both international or local) as lame, uneducated, uncultured and unsupportive of fellow Filipinos was offensive. Could it be true that our theatre community would be that insecure to think that supporting an international project would be demeaning for the Filipinos ? I didn't know that such an issue existed. I fervently hope that it really isn't and it was just a singular voice. Politics in theatre , lack of funds, ..... these are imperfections that are real to me. But the audience in my head remain the most beautiful thing in the industry, loving and supportive. The idea is to bring more people to watch not offend them.
Then came another post which was just recently was the elected topic of the year for theatre people. A publicist criticized local lighting designers for their lack luster performance and inability to contribute to a play. If I'm not mistaken it also implied that with limited resources available to them the designers could not deliver. I'm all for criticizing art, it develops people. However the premise here was that it was because there was scarcity of talent and financial resources that there is a decline in performance. That I didn't agree with. Thank God for Ms. Lea Salonga who came out with an article that efficiently shut people up. Her title was all people needed to hear "Commitment, All it takes for great theatre to happen". Yes its important to be well funded because a production's vision is attained with ease. That however is not the only thing you need. I belong to the production of King and I who obviously did not spare a centavo in providing all that is required to put up a great show. As our director so eloquently said in one of our company calls " I'm proud of the money well spent in this production." I'm proud of him as well because he was committed to squeezing out everything he could to come up with a splendid production. I'm proud of the production team as well because they were committed to supporting our director's vision. However, I am EQUALLY proud of Philippine Ballet Theatre's performances where there is almost a a non-existent budget because the creative team could still make something beautiful emerge. At the end of the day, you can only call something ART when the creators have bared their souls giving their all to something. There are many many productions that have shown their masterpieces against all odds. To say that the local theatre is unable to deliver is a mockery of a million artists that make up the theatre industry. That to me is the inability to see beautiful things.
Overall, I guess I'm just extremely miffed that there are people who look down on the audiences and people who look down on the art. I know I can't control what people think or do or say. That doesn't mean I can't be sad. So there, I'm sad. In my world, theatre in the Philippines is as alive as the color red. Its passionate. It's rich. It's resilient. I can make a few more hundred sentences to explain why it should be celebrated. I just have a silent hope that people go out there and celebrate it with me by watching a show or two. Perhaps after a dose of brilliance, the negativity of people would dissipate.
