12:34 am - Wed, Jan 18, 2012

5 notes

Theatre and Company Call: BlueREP at 20

When I was 7, my sister—who was 12 then—joined Ateneo Children’s Theatre. Their play was Gregorio Del Pilar, Ang Batang Heneral, and being the ducky little sister I was, I sang along with her as she rehearsed, watched her do her choreo at home and ended up memorizing all the songs. I knew the play almost by heart and had flipped through her souvenir programme only too many times.

Consequently, when I was 11, I joined ACT, too. I got in as part of the ensemble of AGYU (the lead role of which was played as an alternate by a then straight Amos Francia). I had so much fun, I decided to join again the next year, when the 12-year-old me played Dorothy in The Wiz.

And the rest is (my theatre) history.

Who would have known that a lot the friends I made then would still be my friends now, ten years later? Who could have known that the audition I did when I was 11 would lead me to going back into theatre in high school even amidst my never-ending dance rehearsals and academics, even when I had to take a cab every night and go home at 10 pm and still had to study after? Why have I let it lead me straight into an exhausting rehearsal schedule, even now, in college, as I grapple with my thesis, when I could be doing or trying to get better at any of the other things I love like dancing or drawing or sleeping?

Because there’s nothing else like it, that’s why. Theatre, especially in blueREP, is a journey of different stages with different levels of fun, depth and difficulty meshed so well together, one can’t help but just enjoy and learn from it.

I’d like to pay tribute to theatre and its by far the most helpful teacher to me, this wonderful org, by giving my all in the concert for its 20th anniversary, Company Call: BlueREP at 20. It’s time to give back! The rehearsals and my performance are my thanks for the lifelong lessons and relationships I got from blueREP and theatre.

Here are my orgmates (and the alumni) and I having fun during our photo shoot and rehearsals, blueREP style (rehearsal photos shot by Boo Gabunada):

If you’re reading this and are not part of the cast, do catch this spectacle we’re preparing for. Not only will it be (theatrically) star-studded, but full of heart and young talent as well. Here’s a blurb from Clickthecity.com:

This year, blueREP is celebrating its 20th season with Company Call: blueREP at 20— a concert showcasing various numbers from productions staged through the years, since the organization’s beginnings. From Pippin to The Fantasticks, Footloose to Stages of Love, All Shook Up to Hair, original cast members from these productions will regale you for one night only in this celebration of musical theater.

Directed by Toff De Venecia (blueREP’s Freakshow and Little Shop of Horrors), with musical direction by current blueREP artistic director Ejay Yatco (blueREP’s Edges) and choreography plus additional direction by Jim Ferrer (blueREP’s Rock N’ Rule and Black Prom) Company Call: blueREP at 20 will be held in the Henry Lee Irwin Theater, Ateneo de Manila University, on February 11 at 8PM.

Contact Ant Almonte at (63 926) 716-4395 for ticket inquiries.

See ya there!