Build, Destroy, Recreate: Tanghalang Ateneo Shines Bright Even Without a Theater

Through brilliant productions such as Password: 03d1pu5_r3x and Makbetamaximus: Theater of Destruction, Tanghalang Ateneo proves that the show can go on with adaptation, innovation, and passion.

Tanghalang Ateneo, the Loyola Schools’ longest-running theater company, has found a way to keep the passion of artists burning despite being confined to their homes. Thanks to the brilliant minds of Tanghalang Ateneo’s artists such as Miguel Antonio Alfredo “Guelan” Luarca (Artistic Director and Moderator) and Ronan Capinding (Director of Password: 03d1pu5_r3x), the multi-awarded theater company continues to deliver top-notch theatrical plays for Season 42 even without a theater.
 
Season 42’s theme of Adaptation | Pagbabanyuhay or creating theatrical plays from other classic works of art had already been planned prior to the pandemic. When the pandemic struck, Tanghalang Ateneo opted to retain the season’s theme, but this time chose to explore the online way of telling a story. For this purpose, Tanghalang Ateneo collaborated with other Ateneo organizations like Loyola Film Circle and Roleplayers. Season 42 would give rise to a new hybrid form of art that features theater collaborating with web programming, communications science, performance, and film.
 
Luarca maintains that online theater is not a derivative of its classic counterpart. According to him, online theater deserves its own attention and respect. “Shooting from home is a steep process as it takes more resources and time—more than what we had projected. Mas matagal lutuin,” says Luarca.
 
One of the productions for Season 42, Password: 03d1pu5_r3x is a present-day adaptation of Sophocles’ first play from the immortal Oedipus Trilogy. Password: 03d1pu5_r3x follows the story of Pangulong Edipo as he governs a country caught in a pandemic. A series of interviews and online meetings slowly unravels the dark truth behind the president’s past.

 
The production made use of Pambansang Alagad ng Sining Rolando S. Tinio’s translation to Filipino, and was adapted and directed by Ronan Capinding. The play also brought together both student and nonstudent cast, with the latter composed of veteran actors such as Marian Rivera-Dantes, Miren Alvarez-Fabregas, Katski Flores, Gabe Mercado, Marlon Rivera, and Yan Yuzon. Capinding shares, “[The pandemic] brought us opportunity, not just limitation and paralysis. I was able to bring in my dream actors because there were no limitations of location. We were able to bring together the people that were impossible to collaborate [with] in the first place.”
 
First shown last February 22, 2021 as a Press Night and Gala Night, Tanghalang Ateneo also held a Community Night for the Ateneo community last March 13, 2021. The positive feedback gave the production team the necessary boost to extend their shows for another two weeks.
 
Another play by Tanghalang Ateneo, Makbetamaximus: Theater of Destruction, This is Not a Rap Opera by Khavn is a rap-through adaptation of the Shakespearean classic, Macbeth. Directed by Khavn De La Cruz, Makbetamaximus follows the story of Boy Makbet, a cook for Yoyoy’s Pinakbet, Bagnet, Dinakdakan & Poqui-Poqui Carinderia cum Videoke, Bilyaran, and Inuman, who plots the murder of the carinderia’s heir apparent. It is a 30-day deconstruction/reconstruction of Macbeth such that the production is released part-by-part through their Facebook page every 3:00 pm from April 12 to May 10, 2021. These events will be stitched together, or reconstructed in a culminating play, to be shown as Makbetamaximus.45 in June.

 
As Tanghalang Ateneo continues to defy the odds as it pursues its passion, Capinding likens this season’s innovations to building a toy. “You have all the pieces of the toy, and you can always build, destroy, and recreate it.” This spirit of discovery is echoed by Luarca as he says, “Kailan pa tayo mage-experiment kundi ngayon?”
 
“We need to come up with something to conquer this pandemic that is trying to get theater on its knees,” says Capinding. “We know we cannot stop telling stories. Mas naging importante ang pagku-kuwento, mas naging importante ang pagiging artist,” says Luarca.
 
For more information on its Season 42 productions, visit the Tanghalang Ateneo official website. To view Makbetamaximus, visit their official Facebook page.

For more news and stories on Loyola Schools, visit http://www.ateneo.edu/ls/loyola-schools-bulletin.