After The First Weekend Run
So how was our first weekend run? Great! Except for the late entrance by an actor in our opening night, there was no major faux pas in the succeeding shows. I only had two shows, Thursday evening and Saturday evening, so I had ample rest time in between the shows. This week will be more physically demanding because I have two shows back-to-back on Saturday. Still, I have several hours of rest in between shows, so I hope that’ll be enough.
Saturday evening after the show I decided to join the kids in their version of their gimmick—dinner at Fazoli’s in Libis. There we the alumni had fun teasing two of the kids. You see, a week ago one of them finally admitted to the group that he was bisexual; furthermore, he also admitted he had a crush on one of the guys in the cast. So when they were seated beside each other during dinner, we had a ball asking them questions like “So what do you like about each other?” and “Will you give each other a chance?” Very college kids level type of past time, matchmaking via public humiliation.
Afterwards we left the kids and attended a birthday party in Tia Maria’s in Tomas Morato. The birthday celebrant was the former boyfriend of one of our cast members (she didn’t attend the party) who was still smarting over the break-up. He obviously wasn’t over her, and it was very clear to all of us there that night that he still has a long way to go before he can let go of her. We stayed with him until around past two, when he was already too drunk to keep his head up. After we helped him home, I decided to go home and rest.
I had planned to go to either F or Club Bath after the Saturday evening performance because I’ve put my sex life on hold the whole time we were in rehearsals. But that Saturday evening turned out to be one great weekender for me. A good onstage performance followed by teenage matchmaking and ended up with helping someone let go.
Sunday was a very domestic one. Most of the day was spent playing with my niece Naya, who’s getting more and more used to me. And in the evening I attended a small birthday celebration for our director at his house in Cainta, 10 minutes from our house. There we played with his two kids (one 6, the other one-and-a-half years old) and discussed future plays. Gosh, I really missed the stage.
But I also realized that theater is very demanding—one needs to devote a lot of time and discipline. Theater is a jealous lover. I was lucky my boss allowed me to join this play; next time I might not be so fortunate. Still, I’m very thankful for this opportunity. Years ago I left advertising because I wanted to “scratch my theater itch” and devoted almost a year doing nothing but theater. I experienced the best provincial tour of my life (bringing “Ang Kambal” to Iloilo and Roxas City) and helped in the music and sound design for “Makbet”, but I also ended up with close to four thousand pesos in debt. Ugh. Some of my happiest memories are the ones made during that time, but what a cost. I was so foolish then. One day I’ll find a happy balance doing what I like most and yet still earn enough to live in relative comfort. Until then, this will do.
Heck. I still have The McVie Show after “Bayan-Bayanan.”
Saturday evening after the show I decided to join the kids in their version of their gimmick—dinner at Fazoli’s in Libis. There we the alumni had fun teasing two of the kids. You see, a week ago one of them finally admitted to the group that he was bisexual; furthermore, he also admitted he had a crush on one of the guys in the cast. So when they were seated beside each other during dinner, we had a ball asking them questions like “So what do you like about each other?” and “Will you give each other a chance?” Very college kids level type of past time, matchmaking via public humiliation.
Afterwards we left the kids and attended a birthday party in Tia Maria’s in Tomas Morato. The birthday celebrant was the former boyfriend of one of our cast members (she didn’t attend the party) who was still smarting over the break-up. He obviously wasn’t over her, and it was very clear to all of us there that night that he still has a long way to go before he can let go of her. We stayed with him until around past two, when he was already too drunk to keep his head up. After we helped him home, I decided to go home and rest.
I had planned to go to either F or Club Bath after the Saturday evening performance because I’ve put my sex life on hold the whole time we were in rehearsals. But that Saturday evening turned out to be one great weekender for me. A good onstage performance followed by teenage matchmaking and ended up with helping someone let go.
Sunday was a very domestic one. Most of the day was spent playing with my niece Naya, who’s getting more and more used to me. And in the evening I attended a small birthday celebration for our director at his house in Cainta, 10 minutes from our house. There we played with his two kids (one 6, the other one-and-a-half years old) and discussed future plays. Gosh, I really missed the stage.
But I also realized that theater is very demanding—one needs to devote a lot of time and discipline. Theater is a jealous lover. I was lucky my boss allowed me to join this play; next time I might not be so fortunate. Still, I’m very thankful for this opportunity. Years ago I left advertising because I wanted to “scratch my theater itch” and devoted almost a year doing nothing but theater. I experienced the best provincial tour of my life (bringing “Ang Kambal” to Iloilo and Roxas City) and helped in the music and sound design for “Makbet”, but I also ended up with close to four thousand pesos in debt. Ugh. Some of my happiest memories are the ones made during that time, but what a cost. I was so foolish then. One day I’ll find a happy balance doing what I like most and yet still earn enough to live in relative comfort. Until then, this will do.
Heck. I still have The McVie Show after “Bayan-Bayanan.”
posted by joelmcvie at 3:35 PM
3 Comments:
reading this made me miss my theater days... yep, the discipline is harder than what most people know... difficult but rewarding... congratulations! more shows hopefully for you!
so when are you going to act for indie movies? ;-)
Thus spoke the mother of a months-old child. You've effectively tied yourself down for the next 17 to 21 years. :-)
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