Tanghalang Pilipino’s silver anniversary coffee-table book now available

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Yay! My article on Tanghalang Pilipino's silver anniversary coffe-table book was published in Philippine Daily Inquirer's October 8, 2012 issue.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iwroteit/message/374
Tanghalang Pilipino’s silver anniversary coffee-table book now available
By Walter Ang

Tanghalang Pilipino has produced a coffee-table book, “Tanghalang Pilipino: Celebrating 25 Years of Philippine Theater,” to commemorate its recently concluded silver anniversary.

Spearheaded by  artistic director Fernando “Nanding” Josef and written by Inquirer contributing writer Amadis Ma. Guerrero, the 171-page hardcover features a jacket with the image of actress Noemi Manikan-Gomez in costume as the character Angelita from “Dalagang Bukid,” the company’s inaugural production in June 1987.

Her photo is stylized with sketches of the production’s set design in a manner that recalls the style of TP founding artistic director Felix “Nonon” Padilla’s woodprint designs for many of the company’s early souvenir-program covers.

The book is divided into chapters which “deal with material that provided the company with its unique identity.”

It begins with the group’s history; its objectives of “developing a national theater [group] that would develop original Filipino plays and mount translated foreign works”; and the rationale behind its original and updated logos.

The different theater forms that TP has staged are discussed: sarsuwela (the indigenized Filipino theater form “with songs and dances” that evolved from the Spanish zarzuela); original musicals (with subject matter or themes that range from historical pieces and films to indigenous epics and oral-narrative chants; and even comic-book gender-changing superheroines), and plays that mirror societal issues (from political milieus to personal relationships and everything in between).

Guerrero gives summaries and histories of selected scripts or librettos; quotes from interviews with the productions’ respective directors and other collaborators; and excerpts of reviews published at the time of the productions.

The book reveals the inner workings and processes undergone by the backstage disciplines, featuring composers, translators, set designers, costume designers, and lighting designers who have worked on TP productions.

The book concludes with a section that showcases the actor, specifically the kind of actor molded in the TP spirit.

Padilla’s creation of the Actors Company (AC), the group’s pool of resident actors who perform in season productions and continuously train in performance methods, has since been one of the defining elements of TP.

Josef was part of the pioneer batch of AC (personally invited by Padilla). Former TP artistic director Herbert “Herbie” Go was also an AC member.  Other former AC members have gone on to acclaim as actors for stage, TV and film, or administrators of other theater groups.

Call 8321125 loc. 1620-21, 0917-7500107, 0918-9593949, 2183791. E-mail tanghalangpilipinomarketing@yahoo.com.ph.

Also published online:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/70476/tanghalang-pilipinos-silver-anniversary-coffee-table-book-now-available

What do you think of this book? Share your comments.

Tony-winner David Gallo designs set of "Nine"

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Yay! My interview with David Gallo, the set designer of Atlantis Productions' "Nine," was published in Philippine Daily Inquirer's October 3, 2012 issue.

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Tony-winner David Gallo designs set of "Nine," closes Oct. 7
By Walter Ang

Gallo's computer sketch of his set design for "Nine."

Atlantis Productions' staging of the musical "Nine" features a set designed by Tony Award winning set designer David Gallo.

"Nine," based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film "8½," focuses on Italian filmmaker Guido Contini, who, dreading his imminent 40th birthday, gets entangled in a web of romantic difficulties in early-1960s Venice.

With book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, the musical was made into a movie in 2009, directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) and starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Contini.

Directed by Bobby Garcia, Atlantis’ “Nine” features Jett Pangan as Contini with an ensemble of popular theater actresses, recording artists, and TV/film actresses: Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo plays Contini’s wife, Cherie Gil plays his film producer, Eula Valdez plays his muse, Carla Guevara-Laforteza plays his mistress, Ima Castro plays a prostitute he encounters, and Jay Glorioso plays his mother.

Distances
Gallo met Garcia in Broadway Asia Entertainment’s touring production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” in the late ’00s, where he designed the set while Garcia directed. The show opened in Manila and toured several Asian countries.

“I’ve always enjoyed working in the Philippines, so naturally when he rang me asking if I was interested in working on the production of the great musical ‘Nine,’ I jumped at the chance,” Gallo says.

Based in the US, Gallo worked with Atlantis’ production staff via the Internet. “[Since] it’s become the norm to design shows almost entirely using technology, most of the things I design are communicated via the Internet. Everyone can open and share even the largest files with ease.”

The only drawback, Gallo notes, is the loss of personal interaction, though a situation that’s mediated by this familiarity with Garcia.

“Theater is a business of emotion and feeling. It’s then that having a great bond with someone such as Bobby truly pays its dividends.”

New
Gallo has not seen the film version and has only seen one staging “many years ago.” He emphasizes the need to “approach every project as a new beginning.”

He researched on various bath houses and spas around the world. “I found some particularly interesting images from India, which I was then able to spin into a Viennese look. I find that capturing a feeling, a mood or style is more important than attempting to replicate a place, either real or imagined.”

“One of the interesting things about being a scenic designer is the fact that every production naturally finds its own way to a particular style.”

Costumes are designed by New York-based Filipino fashion designer Robin Tomas.

“Nine” runs until Oct. 7, at Carlos Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza Bldg., Makati. Call  8927078, 8401187 or Ticketworld at 8919999.

Also published online:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/69688/tony-winner-david-gallo-designs-set-of-nine-which-closes-oct-7

What do you think about this production? Share your comments.