This previous weekend, I watched a play festival in CAP Art Center that featured four well known short plays: A Cebuano adaptation of Orlando Nadres' Hanggang Dito na lang at Maraming Salamat (Dinhi na Lang Kutob Ug Daghang Salamat), Angry Jurors, an adaptation of Wade Bradford's 12 Angry Pigs; Amador Daguio's short story The Wedding Dance adapted for the stage, and May Trabaho Na Po Ako, Inay!, a Tagalog adaptation of T. James Belich's Look Mom, I Got A Job!
The play festival was, at most, entertaining. However, the discussion that the program sparked between my friend Manna and me was more interesting.
If there is one good thing about all this, it is that productions that sprout sporadically within a year provide local theatre enthusiasts a chance to do hands-on theatre work. It certainly does not equal formal training, but it's better than nothing for us here. Then again, the theatre scene has been, for the longest time, stuck in a fluctuating cycle of activeness and quiet, and this we owe much to the fact that there is no established theatre school in this province because there is no local industry that will utilize this pool of talent. Until that happens -- until we do something -- we can only go DIY. I can forgive then the apparent lack of experience of many of the actors in the production (Sisa-ish acting -- I could not comprehend the inappropriate smiling amidst the screaming), or the almost successful adaptation of 12 Angry Pigs if not for some lines that led to the ambivalence and inconsistency of the Snake's character, or the bad choice in theatre house music.
The non-existence of theatre schools is also partly the reason for what we wrongly tag as "bad audiences." (and I would like to attribute this discussion to my friend Alex U.). Other than that, production outfits and schools are partly to blame.
The program began with incessant reminders on the proper behavior required in theatre. No cell phones, no eating, no walking around, no screaming, no, no, no as if your grandmother ascended from Hades with a ruler in hand.
What we fail to understand is that a deeper understanding of theatre will manifest in the willingness of an audience to pay for a performance and to observe proper theatre etiquette (provided of course that the performance is of high caliber). We know there is deeper understanding when they give value to a performance.
Moreso, we fail to understand that nagging instructions at audiences before a show starts in a town whose general market has little interest in theatre – and even less understanding of it – is ineffective.
Despite the instructions, last Sunday's audience remained rowdy and were incapable of understanding the subtexts in many emotional lines that, as a result thereof, went to waste.
Requiring students who do not earn their own income to watch plays at a price for a required reaction paper has failed to inculcate a genuine appreciation and respect for theatre, as evidenced by the lack of improvement in young audiences. Coercion causes students to drag their feet to theatre houses close-minded and resistant to what they could learn from suspending their disbelief for a few hours.
Time and again, we've failed to learn from this.
Of course, production outfits want to ensure a return of their investment. Other than sponsorships, the easiest resort is to ensure a large audience turnout – thus the students. But this does not do much to help further the cause of theatre in Cebu. It does little to help educate people. This is a huge contradiction to claims of promoting theatre. Apparently, forcing something on audiences is not the best way to introduce something.
It isn't hard to figure out that one must pick an audience -- regardless of its size -- that is willing to understand and learn, in order to create enriching experiences for both actors and audience, with or without a reaction paper. It is even easier to figure out that to create good theatre experience, one must first insure quality. It is harder work, yes, but if people truly wanted to help forward the cause of theatre, we should be willing to do the rut work.
