So good, I wathced it twice: Teatro Komunikado’s DELIRYO #TK15thAnniversay

I don’t know how to give a review without giving out spoilers. Though I the chances for a re-run is quite unsure for me, I’ll still keep my mouth shut.

One of the most exciting things about this play is that no one knows what it’s about. Every time I ask a member, they say the same thing; “Mental illness.” That’s all.

We never overhear them rehearsing, we don’t see them practicing their blocking, we didn’t see a prop lying around int he campus. Everything about this project is a secret until A. the day they released the publicity materials and B. the day of the show.

When I came inside the theater, the set up was simple as hell. So I don’t really know what to expect.

First five minutes and BAM! A lot of “Aaaah!”s can be heard from most of the audience. Little did we know that’s not even the half of it. As the plot thickens and emotions gets hyped, we grip tighter to our seats, rooting for Karlo (protagonist(?)) and his… friends.

I’m not kidding or overreacting when I say this; by the end of the play I literally have said “What the fuck” so many times that the girl beside me must be bothered by it. But she didn’t because she gets me.

I like the first run better than the second. Though they’re both really good, I just think that some of the actors from the first one was better in portraying their characters. Sepcially, Ofelia, Osang, and Agatha.

The second run was good. Specially the tech (first run had problems witht he mic). And I love how the alternates made their own version of the character. So I didn’t feel like I’m watching a replay of the play, same story, different attack of the actors.

One touch I really liked was the lights! I loooooove how they incorporated the lights with the characters. And the cue-ing of the changes are flawless. Paired with the music perfectly shifting as the characters enters and exits the stage, they make the vibe of the entire play a character itself that really helped in telling the story.

Hands down to Karlo and Theresa, amazing actors! The best I’ve seen from TK so far. Sad that they’re alumni, I want to see more of them!

All in all, it was one hell of a show and is really worth the hype! 8.5/10

TNB Stream of Consciousness

“Tila ba bagong specie guro sa 21^st century.”

– Titser ng Bayan

Noong narinig ko ‘tong kantang ito sa dulang “Titser ng Bayan” napangiti ako. Hindi dahil napaka-galing ng sumulat ng dula at na-manage niyang maglagay ng iba’t-ibang genre ng music sa dula, kundi dahil ang ngiting iyon ay isang alternatibo para ipakita na sumasangayon ako sa statement ng kanta.

Alangan naman tumungo ako, ang weird naman nun, diba?

Para sa akin, kung titignan mo ang mga guro noon at mga guro ngayon, ibang-iba na talaga ang dalawa. Pareho ang propesyon, magkaiba ng uri. Paano? TUMINGIN KA NGA KASI OMG. De, joke lang.

Dati, panahon pa ni Rizal, ang mga guro ay parang mga tanga; masama, akala nila sila lang ang superyor, mapang-mata at kung ano-ano pang kasamaan ang taglay nila.

Ngayon, ang mga guro, lalo na sa elementarya at hayskul, alalang-alala na sila sa kanilang mga estudyante. ‘Anak’ pa nga ang tawag nila sa mga estudyante nila e.

Ngunit ngayon kolehiyo kaya? Kamusta na ang mga guro ng 21^st century?

May ibang ganun din, tulad ng sa elem at HS, mabait, maalahanin sa estudyante. Pero iba e. Hindi sila kasing maaalahanin tulad ng mga dati naming mga guro. Gusto nila kaming turuan ng ‘independence.’ O sadya bang tamad lang silang mag-turo? Gusto nila kaming turuan ng ‘resourcefulness.’ O sadya bang wala silang maibigay samin na reference at maayos na instructions? Gusto nila kaming turuan ng ‘responsibility.’ O sadya bang bossy lang silang lahat?

Alam ko kasi, objective ang lahat ng bagay sa buong mundo. Nasa sa atin yan kung paano natin babasahin ang isang simpleng kilos ng isang tao. Hindi ito pagiging paranoid or judgmental.

Pagiging open minded ito.

Hindi tayo makukulong sa isang simpleng depinisyon ng isang bagay. Titignan natin ang kahulugan nito; ng mga ito. Tinignan nating and totoong kahulugan nito.

Paano nga ba talaga naging ibang specie ang mga gurong ito?

Bukod kasi sa pagtatapos ng Education sa kolehiyo. Tila baga nagtapos din sila ng iba pang mga kurso.

Education + Marketing = Titser na nagbebenta ng kung ano-ano. Mapa-silver man yan, Avon Products o kakanin. Meron sila lahat niyan. Ang iba pa nga e, required daw umorder sa kanila ng tone-toneladang handmade crafts.

Education + Theology = Titser na kahit anong ituro, mashi-shift at mashi-shift parin ang tinuturo nila sa Poong Maykapal. Hindi naman sa galit ako kay Hesus, kailangan po kasi talaga naming matuto ng kung ano naman talaga ang subject niya.

Education + Creative Writing = Titser na imbis lesson ang ituro, autobiography niya ata ang nailagay sa syllabus niya. Ewan ko ba. Funny and inspiring naman. Pero nga-nga estudyante kapag midterms na e.

Education + Behavioural Science = Ito naman ‘yung uri ng titser na kung sino ‘yung bida-bida, pasikat at epal sa klase, siya ang paborito niya. MAY GHAD. Favouritism, magsama kayon dalawa. ‘Wag kami, pls.

Education + Law = ‘Yung mga titser tila ba me pinaglalaban. At nakasalalay ditto ang buhay at dignidad nila sa pinaglalaban nila. Ito ang pinaka-ayaw kong uri ng titser. ‘Yun bang kahit mali sila e, nakooooooooooo, kahit na libro o Presidente ng Pilipinas sasabihin niyang mali kahit tama naman talaga sila.

 

Iilan pa lamang yang mga yan sa mga titster na mukhang me sapak sa mga ulo nila. Pero kahit anong mangyari, love ko parin sila. Kasi, nag-aattempt silang pasahan kami ng kaalaman tungkol sa mga bagay-bagay.

Kung ibang specie na ang mga guro ng 21^st century, siguro naman pati ang mga tinuturuan nila, mag-iiba din, hindi ba? Pwede. Pero ibang topic na ‘yun.

Daluyong by PUP SINAGBAYAN

Tonight, I watched a play under the stars.

It was my first time to see a play where the audience are facing each other and the stage is in the middle. I must say, it was a really good first.

A friend of mine, Bianca (Susan in the play), invited me telling me that the story line is good. She’s wrong, because IT’S REALLY FRICKING GOOD.

The play is set in the fictional town of Dinaanan. Lando, male protagonist, went back to visit his dad before going back outside the country to work. In his visit down memory lane, he discovers the devastating things that happened to his town. Two words: storm.surge. Really strong storm surge that made the entire place homeless and jobless.

It also dabbles on the idea of the government’s incompetency to help the victims of the storm; on how they choose to build private resorts thank give them the sea for fishery; on how they never listen to the people’s needs.

It’s a really rich story brought to life with amazing actors. You don’t know how good they played their character until you’ve seen the play. And the shifting of emotions? Ohohohoho, that one scene. THAT ONE SCENE!

Also, keep an eye out for the names, might ring a bell. *winks*

One thing that added to the factor on why the “double-sided” audience is amazing is on how the stage manager made the house their entire stage. And incorporated on how they can make the play interactive.

Here’s an example.

They’re on a boat and someone jumped off board. He went our the right side of the stage and went behind the audience to make it look like that’s what the actors on stage are seeing. To make it more realistic, one girl on stage turned a flashlight on to point it to the man who jumped off board. And as you can see on the photo, a flashlight is indeed, pointed at them. GENIUS.

The entire house was alive! Not a boring second. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and next thing you know, you’re part of the play.

That’s not the only way they used the space (and audience) very creatively. You just have to see the play to know what I’m talking about. *whispers* TIP: if you want to be somehow part of the play, sit in front.

It’s a really, really good show in so many aspects. Actors, story, set, and everything in between is amazing.

Daluyong brought me both entertainment that touched my heart and awareness the two years after Haiyan, people are still crippled. It made me feel things, while giving me a good time. They did a really good job.

There are still shows on Marach 2-5, 6:30PM!! This will be the last week of the play and it is imperative that you see it. Tickets are available at the door only for 50PhP! I swear if I don’t have classes on those days, I’d watch it again.

FUN FACT: I ditched may last class just to watch this. No regrets.

“Paper Towns” by John Green book review

“Paper Towns” Book Review

“And I wanted to tell her that the pleasure for me wasn’t planning or doing or leaving; the pleasure was in seeing our strings cross and separate and then come back together.”

– Q (John Green, Paper Towns)

Adventure. Mystery. Friendship. Self-realization.

All in one book. Amazing.

Opening this book is like opening my window. At first, I feel nooooooooooo connection or whatsoever in the characters of the book. However, going to the near end and when I closed the book, I kind of saw myself both in Margo and Quentin.

I’m like Quentin in a way that he is so devoted and loyal to the person he loves, he will do anything for that person. Like, oh, I don’t know, steal his mom’s car in the middle of the night to go to an 11 part revenge to people who sucks adventure or miss his *THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW I KNOW HOW IT FEELS SO I’M NOT DOING THAT TO YOU* That’s the kind of love that’s profound and life changing that he didn’t change other people’s lives, he changes his own.

I see myself in Margo on how firm she can stand on her beliefs and views in life. I like this side of her that when she made up her mind, that’s that; you either join the ride or get the hell out of the way. Because I’m like that too. I also like mysteries and being a ninja/detective.

As for the story, I really like how John Green built up the disappearance of Margo; a long night of adventures right before the day of. And how he built up on how much Q likes her, flashbacks throughout the entire book. Lastly, how he revealed who Margo is, leading up to the ending; the decision to *THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW I KNOW HOW IT FEELS SO I’M NOT DOING THAT TO YOU*.

You see, the thing here is you never really know who the real Margo is until you finished the entire thing. It’s so cool that you’re just as clueless as everyone else; even after these flashbacks or after hearing the side of other people. This shows that people can be and really are multi-faceted, no matter how we think we know one person. And that really says something about the people we live with.

A lot of people I know didn’t like the ending, I don’t see why. This just shows that Margo stands in what she believes and she already made up her mind about it. She’s a free spirit, doing whatever she wants. It’s a happy ending, as I see it. And Q, I’m pretty sure he’s happy too, because he got what he wanted (finding what he’s looking for) and he will get what he wants (getting into Duke and going on with his life).

People, NEWS FLASH: Not all happy endings involves people being happy together forever, okay? People being happy, though not together- but happy nonetheless- is also a happy ending.

I really like the way it ended and that last line, oh my. I couldn’t see any other endings; it’s perfect. It makes sense. Okay, maybe it doesn’t make sense with the Q and Margo we see at the beginning but if you see how both of them, and their relationship, changes, you’ll see it’s just the right amount of bittersweet for an ending.

Closure.

All in all, for me, it’s not ‘profoundly moving’ like SLJ said so in the cover of the edition I read. However, it’s a really good read and that was one hell of a treasure hunt.

4.8/5 🙂

Stream of consciousness: Last year, my friend asked me to write an essay for this class she have.

Her topic is music and how she can relate to it so much and stuff.

I know it’s wrong to pass someone else’s work, but she asked me for help and she has a lot of other shit on her plate. SHE’S ALSO ONE OF THE GREATEST PEOPLE I MET IN HIGH SCHOOL THAT KEPT ME FROM OFF-ING MYSELF. So yea, I failed her and gave this three-paged ramble. She said she loves it and it really looks like she wrote it. The next day, she messaged me on Facebook telling that her professor read it out loud. Oh dear god.

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NOTE: You will see my point about limbo and overthinking in this essay. Just look on how messed up and unconnected that crap is.

Press “Play” to Eject

“Take me away, a secret place. A sweet escape, take me away. Take me away to better days. Take me away, a hiding place.” – Pocket Full of Sunshine, Natasha Beddingfield

Do you ever get that moment where you feel so sad that you just want to lock yourself in a room, turn up the music and cry? Once in our lives, we do. And that’s fine. Well, how about those days where you look in the sky, put your headphones on, and happily skip the hell to school? You know those days. Sometimes, you choose the music that goes with your mood, but most of the times, the music does the choosing. Amazing isn’t it? You can’t even see or feel it yet, it can predict what you’re going to feel like.

One of the amazing wonders of music.

When I’m alone, I always imagine. I don’t think, I imagine. There’s a huge difference between the two. However, that is not my topic in this essay. What I’m about to talk about for the next 798 words or more is how I imagine things when I’m alone and how I use music as an outlet to get back in my comfort zone.

When I think, I don’t just think and remember stuff by myself, I wander off. I go to places I would like to be to and situation where I could do what I want or things I could’ve done instead of what I actually did. But most of the times, I think of the future; of what might be. What might become of me, my job, my family, friends and all that. Then I start to overthink, I start to wander off some more. I let my subconscious self take over. I am now in places and thoughts beyond my control. And then I begin to question, why? Why is it like this? Why is this like that? Why? Why? Why?

At the end of the day, I have to admit to myself that all these is a product of one thing, fear. To be more specific, fear of the unknown. As humans, we are programed to always be curious. Of course, we don’t know anything. And I once read somewhere, “Knowledge is power.” If curiosity kills a cat well I think asking is a sure ticket to being murdered. So instead of asking people, I ask myself. And I hate myself for that. Because I always do that and I always end up in one place: nowhere.

I couldn’t get a grip; couldn’t get my shit together. It’s like I’m in an endless limbo. And I am letting myself enjoy it. Most of the times, I snap it off. Breathe. Go outside and BE NORMAL. But sometimes, I dive in the sea of confusion and worry, full on armour. And by armour I mean my phone and earphones.

I put my headphones on and I’m in another world. I’m in the worry-less world but I still know I have things to worry about. It’s like, being in a party and having fun but you’re wearing that backpack full of BS of your own life. I try. I try to snap out of it but sometimes it’s just too hard. Just too hard to escape the thoughts, the worries. Too hard to escape, from myself.

So instead, I try to live with it.

However, running from my fears won’t make me live. Living in them isn’t living at all, either. So what I do is I solve them. But before that, I have to be happy first. Happy people solve problems faster than average. I watched it in a YouTube video once.

Comfort zone. A place or situation where one feels safe or at ease and without stress. MY happy place. Now, that’s very simple. My happy place is any place that has my phone and earphones in it. On it. In it? On? In? I don’t really care about grammar at this point, this essay just got excited.

Music.

How can I begin describing the best thing on earth? They say you are what you eat, I can’t be the best thing on earth because I can’t eat music. Even if I tried. I want to be free from my own thoughts. And I can’t do that. I want to solve my problems. That, I can do. I want to be happier. Possible. But what will be the outlet of my feelings? Yes, music. Dur.

In every genre people play, a different mood sets in. But with me, it’s different. Whatever genre I play, as long as it’s music, I’m in a good place. Why? Let me tell you why. I feel that, in a way, the song I play is my story. It speaks the truth I dare not to reveal to the world. It says exactly how I feel, like words taken from my mouth. It’s the companion I have when my eyes are closed and I’m in this never-ending road to the unknown. It’s the only thing I have that cannot be taken away from me even if they tried.

Because it lives inside me. I feed off it.

Obviously, I’ve lost track of what I’m talking about at the beginning of the essay. See my point earlier? Even in writing I could be lost. I could be taken over the random stuff that’s popping in my mind. But let me try to pick up the pieces and be back.

Let’s start again.

Whenever I’m alone, I tend to think a lot. I think about my future and then overthink. Then I start to question stuff. Asking for reasons and why things are as is. Then I realize my fear of the unknown. And how curious I am. Then I am nowhere. I try to fix my problems because I don’t want to worry anymore. But before anything else, I must be happy first, and that is that music does to me. It brings me happiness.

I’m not the kind of person who has this person that I can always call when I’m having a bad day. But I do have this one thing that I can always count on making me feel better. I think we all know what that is, at this time. Earlier I talked about music and outlets and stuff. Well, I write my own songs. This is the part where you shake your head because a part of this essay finally makes sense. I forgot which part, go figure.

My band is a huge help in this part for they are one with me in this topic. They make me happy because they are the constant reminder that I’m not alone with this music thing. That there are people like me. We all have parts here, I play the guitar. And when we go to gigs and concerts or summat, I feel so alive. Like, all the blood running through my veins are high and alive. My favourite happy place.

I usually don’t have a favourite type of music because music is music, ya know? But if I do have to choose one, it would definitely be rock. Because it has its own variations. Like a whole new set of kinds of music within a kind of music. Like everything else in encapsulated this genre.

Maybe I am not perfect, and I have my own bag of bull inside my head. And it’s fine. Makes me sure that I’m normal. And that I’m just as sane as everyone else. Music being my comfort zone is cool, too. It shows that I’m the kind of girl who doesn’t need a guy by her side. Because I know how to dance myself. It shows that I am independent. Strong.

And by music, I now just realized, I know there are people like me. I know someone understands me; knows how I feel, thinks the way I do, share the same experiences as mine. I realized that I am not too weird for my own kind. Or too emo. (Well, maybe I can be sappy dramatic, but I’m NOT too emo. One cannot be too emo even if they tried.) I realized that I am human.

So…. That’s me. My worries and thoughts. I just discussed, ever so eloquently, my opinions and comfort zone and everything in between. Now I’m gonna ask you. What’s your view on this?

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what the actual fuck is this crap