2nd Season Offering of Red Turnip sponsored by FILA

For me any theater invite is fun to attend at.  And what fun it is to attend to one that is teamed with the dynamic identity of a known sports brand. 

Theater and sports?

 They do match my dear.  They are both dynamic, active and deliver a punch.  That is what  Red Turnip Theater season opening press conference preview, sponsored by FILA is; a press conference with a punch.

Held last June 16, 2014 at 2^nd’s Restaurant in Bonifacio Global Center, the 2^nd season preview launch of Red Turnip was well attended by both media and social media practitioners.  The whole event was a collaboration among Red Turnip, FILA and PR practitioner, Toots Tolentino.

For this season, Red Turnip is again offering two straight plays and a short re-staging of last season’s piece which is Cock.  Still maintaining true to their vision, both plays are bombastic with emotion and tackles things that touches everyone regardless of race, gender and orientation.  Starting this season is Rabbit Hole, 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner.

Poster of Rabbit Hole

Teaser Poster for Time Stand Still 

Written by David Lindsay-Abaire, “Rabbit Hole” was a Broadway hit that garnered several Tony nominations

and a win for its lead actress, Cynthia Nixon. It was then adapted into a critically-acclaimed film with Nicole

Kidman in 2010 and earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

The story revolves around Becca and Howie, a couple who lose their four year old son to a car accident, and

the grief that slowly threatens to tear them apart. Shifting between humor and heartbreak, “Rabbit Hole”

explores the way people deal with loss and how this affects those closest to them; their families.

The Manila premier has film and television star Agot Isidro in the role of Becca, with theater veteran Michael

Williams as her husband Howie. This production marks Agot’s return to theater after notable turns in

Tanghalang Pilipino's "Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah", Atlantis Productions' "Baby" and Trumpets' "Honk!". Williams'
long list of credits include starring roles in "Jekyll and Hyde", "Les Miserables" and "Man of La Mancha" for
Repertory Philippines.

         

Joining Isidro and Williams are Che Ramos-Cosio (Tatlong Maria, Dogeaters) as Becca’s sister Izzy and
Sheila Francisco  (South Pacific, August Osage County) as their mother Nat.  Dulaang UP's Ross Pesigan
(Ang Nawalang Kapatid, Titus Andronicus) rounds off the eclectic cast as Jason, the young boy
responsible for the tragic loss of their son.

This is also the directorial debut of Topper Fabregas.

"Rabbit Hole" opens on August 1, 2014 and runs all weekends of August.

Log on to https://www.facebook.com/RedTurnipTheater for complete show schedules.

My Thoughts

Face-to-face with a good number of theater practitioners, it sure is both overwhelming and humbling at the same time.  Overwhelming because, these are people who gives life to a playwright’s work and humbling because of the passion for their craft that you feel it emanating from them.  Coming from a former theater practitioner, this is one event worth keeping in my mind and heart.

Red Turnip Theater

Red Turnip is a small but growing group.  A group composed of five unique individuals bonded by their love and passion for the theater/stage.  Basing it on our interview with them, speed dating style, you would see their different personalities, outlooks and love for the stage.  With the cast of Rabbit Hole, the interview session was fun, dynamic and full of information.  The entire artists were candid and really open to answer queries that may get thrown to them.  Seeing Nonie Buencamino, Michael William, Agot Isidro, Che Ramos, and the rest of the Red turnip people answer questions in their socially relax manner is a treat that day.  Besides Rabbit Hole and a re-staging of Cock, their second offering for this season is Time Stand Still, whose lead characters are to be given life by Nonie Buencamino and Ana Abad Santos.

Here are some sample questions thrown that day:

For Cris Villonco:

“Will you be directing for Red Turnip?”

-“As of the moment, no.”

Topper Fabregas & Jenny Jamora

For Topper Fabregas:

“What would be the best color to describe Rabbit Hole?”

-“Blue.  It is that shade of blue that is not dark, nor bright.  It is something in-between.  You would see it in the poster.  That shade of blue.”

For Ana Abad Santos:

Ana Abad Santos with
Nonie Buencamino

“How do you detach from your character?”

-“At times I cannot for it is there.  It is part of me.”

Lines coming that day that caught my attention were from Rem Zamora.  He said, and I quote: “ . . . that stage in life when people look for their identity in life, regardless of what age.” – a line so true in life,  and; “It has to be that perfect marriage or union.  From the playwright to the actors, then with the audience.” -  that perfectly said formula of a theater production.

When asked to describe a colleague, here is what Jenny Jamora has to say about debuting director Topper Fabregas. –“Topper is so into details. As a director he is will not feed you what you need to do but rather ask you. He is fun to be with!  Makulit!”

For Agot Isidro, this is a comeback in the theater world.  When first offered to do a reading and informed of the schedule of the play, she immediately agreed to do it even if she is not yet aware of the material.  Why?  According to her, and I quote: “I will be working with friends.”  It is a good element to have when working but also difficult when faced with a character that needs tension and friction.  Such is the case of Agot’s character, Becca, in connection with her husband Howie, played by Michael William, and the people around her.  Agot and Michael are good friends in real life but due to character demands, friction and tension must be made present and tangible for the audience come curtain rise.

Red Turnip with cast of Rabbit Hole & Time Stand Still

Rabbit Hole is a story about people coping with their loss.  The story is, yes dramatic but balanced with a sense of humor given by the playwright to the actors and delivered to the audience.  A humor that some would say, “only a family can get away with it”.   

It is a joy to know that the art of straight-play production is back!  It has been a long period of musicales and such that even school guilds went into that path.  Thank you Red Turnip for bringing it back!  Thank you FILA for supporting the arts.

“You can never bleed a turnip but you can always paint it red”   

(Some information used is from the press kit provided by Red Turnip & Toots Tolentino)

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