This document provides production notes and background information for the play "Ang Laro" by Fly Quintos, an adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's "La Ronde" for 10 male actors in Manila's gay culture. It discusses the playwright's process of adapting the original work while working with limited resources. It also describes the director's approach to the sexually explicit blocking and scenes, aiming for evocative suggestion rather than graphic realism. The play premiered successfully at Theater Now! in 2004 to thoughtful audiences despite competing with a popular male revue. While plans for future productions did not come to fruition, the play remained the writer's "dark renegade of a dream play."
This document provides production notes and background information for the play "Ang Laro" by Fly Quintos, an adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's "La Ronde" for 10 male actors in Manila's gay culture. It discusses the playwright's process of adapting the original work while working with limited resources. It also describes the director's approach to the sexually explicit blocking and scenes, aiming for evocative suggestion rather than graphic realism. The play premiered successfully at Theater Now! in 2004 to thoughtful audiences despite competing with a popular male revue. While plans for future productions did not come to fruition, the play remained the writer's "dark renegade of a dream play."
This document provides production notes and background information for the play "Ang Laro" by Fly Quintos, an adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's "La Ronde" for 10 male actors in Manila's gay culture. It discusses the playwright's process of adapting the original work while working with limited resources. It also describes the director's approach to the sexually explicit blocking and scenes, aiming for evocative suggestion rather than graphic realism. The play premiered successfully at Theater Now! in 2004 to thoughtful audiences despite competing with a popular male revue. While plans for future productions did not come to fruition, the play remained the writer's "dark renegade of a dream play."
This document provides production notes and background information for the play "Ang Laro" by Fly Quintos, an adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's "La Ronde" for 10 male actors in Manila's gay culture. It discusses the playwright's process of adapting the original work while working with limited resources. It also describes the director's approach to the sexually explicit blocking and scenes, aiming for evocative suggestion rather than graphic realism. The play premiered successfully at Theater Now! in 2004 to thoughtful audiences despite competing with a popular male revue. While plans for future productions did not come to fruition, the play remained the writer's "dark renegade of a dream play."
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ANG LARO by Fly Quintos language of the upwardly mobile, the language of the
(Director/Playwright) An adaptation of Arthur
very sophisticated. Schnitzlers La Ronde for ten male actors. As a director, it was a process of filling in the language and the text with gestures, nuances, PLAYWRIGHTS NOTE Remembering a Renegade Play subtexts. It was also a test of adapting. So there was Right after the success of Fluid in 2004, Jun no production budget? Use a series of old beds as Pablo and Miguel Castro of Theater Now! sets. Since the play was contemporary, costumes approached me with two scenes that Miguel wrote. were not a problem. The real battle was with the These scenes were the beginning of an adaptation of material and the treatment. The play was not so much Shnitzlers La Ronde, a play I have always loved. risqu as it was provocative. In blocking the sex They wanted me to refine the two scene sketches and scenes, I did not go for graphic realism but for a finish the rest of the script based on characters that distilled, evocative picture of the men toying, and Miguel had outlines. Miguel wanted a part in the then discarding each other. As Peter Serrano recounts, show, so he turned over the writing to me. straight actors were tense about some of the La Ronde always fascinated me because of blocking especially the climactic orgy scene, which its modern structure. The premise, ten characters in a set to changing from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It vicious cycle of sexual predation, lends itself well to took some time for the entire cast to really get into it, all sorts of adaptations, most notably The Blue the blocking without the feeling that they were being Room. Theater Now! wanted the material adapted taken advantage of. for Manilas gay culture. It was too irresistible a What did I tell them to work on in the orgy project. There was no money. There was limited time. scene was an absence of love and genuine affection. But there were plenty of actors who seemed At the end of the scene, they stood up wearily from interested, though slightly intimidated, by the the bed to confront the audience. The last lines, tara, material. tara na were said without sort of emotion. They Of all the plays in this anthology, Laro is were dead souls going through the motion of a pick- the one without annotation ns. My working script was up. I think when I told them that image and intention, so full of notes and snatches of dialogue that I can no the cast really got it. I will always be thankful to longer reconstruct where the original text ended and Marcus, Andoy, Peter, Julienne, Jom, Miguel, Perry, where the rewrites began. I was working outside of Richard, Neil and Rolly for their trust, as well as to my usual Dulaang UP environment and Theater Now! Jun Pablo for his daring. was really scraping by so that the process of creation Our Bulwagang Gantimpala weekend was and script finalization was not fully documented. My near empty. When we moved to Batute, were jam memories, as well as those of the actors, must serves packed. I guess word of mouth had gotten around as annotations. because we were turning people away at the gate. I I do remember this: As a playwright, it was a remember that we were running at the same time as chance to write gay characters that used different highly successful male revue, Penis Talk 2. One social languages the language of the streets and the theater goer came up to me at closing night and said, gay bars, the language of the chat rooms, the This is so much more thought provoking! The characters are so real! Who did you base these men my research, I looked at architectural spaces for on? inspiration. No one in particular was, and still is the One day, I was driving in one of those alleys answer. Like the original material, Laro moves from in Katipunan and saw a row of building structures the streets in a dizzying, upward spiral to the with facades that jutted out at angles. Using that idea, penthouse of the Pilantropo. Perhaps, my own life I went through various sketches to achieve wall journey has taken through similar routes. panels moving forward and changing the perspective. We had plans for a second run but shortly I wanted solid panels with the appearance of a wave. after, Jun Pablo was diagnosed with cancer. He The Faculty Center Studio was the best survived it but no plans for a Laro repeat are choice for the play. Usually used as a laboratory for forthcoming. Nevertheless, Laro remains my dark theater students in UP, most of the earlier designs that renegade of a dream play. I did there were in the arena staging. Looking for The Play was first produced by Theater more dynamic ways of using that space, I was struck Now!, the now defunct experimental arm of with the rows of windows on one side of the theater Bulwagang Gantimpala in November 2004. There and thought that it was the perfect space to fill my were six performances at the Gantimpala venue in wall panels. The result was a panoramic space of Luneta and additional six performances at the clean lines but with an optical illusion of the waves Bulwagang Batute of the CCP. of white wall panels to show the characters effect on NOTES FROM THE ARTISTIC STAFF each other. Alex Cortez, Director (UP Run) It was summer of 2004 when we did Fluid. I MGA TAUHAN Ang Call Boy Ang Estudyante wanted to try more experimental, adventurous Ang Ideal Ang Kalaguyo staging. Floy wanted it as honest as straightforward Ang Manggagamit Ang Manunulat Ang Modelo Ang Pilantropo as possible. I eventually agreed. The play was so Ang Pulis Ang She-Male uncomplicated but its sense of honesty could not be PANAHON AT LUGAR ignored. Fluid dealt with the ordinary and Kasalukuyan sa Maynila. extraordinary in a very comic but sensitive style. Characters flowed naturally and the wit and UNANG TAGPO humor of the material bore semblance to the lives of Ang Call Boy at ang Pulis. artists who tried to please others more than (Madaling araw sa pampang sa ilalim ng Jones themselves. Fluids humor was affecting. Their Bridge. Malamlam ang ilaw sa entablado. Ilang essence reflects its strength: Floys view of saglit pa, lilitaw ang liwanang ng ilaw mula sa iang relationships. mobile patrol. Mula sa kung saan, magtatakbuhan Tuxqs Rutaquio, Production Designer (UP Run) ang ilang lalaking nagmamadaling magsuot ng Sometimes, I get my design concept from damit, pantalon, ang ilan ay tatakbo nang hubad. the title of the play without, of course, being too Mula kung saan, lilitaw ang isang Call Boy. literal. Since the art world is space of the play, the Patakbong tatawid ng entablado, makakasaubong springboard became just that a gallery. As a part of ang Pulis, babalik sa pinanggaligngan, at mapapatalikod nang makita sa kabilang panig ang naman isa ka sa mga bading na humahada mobile. Di makakaalis sa kinatatayuan ang Call Boy. rito? CALL BOY: Hindi boss kailangan lang kumita. Nakatingingin lamamng ang Pulis. Pagkatapos Pasensya na, Trabaho lang. (Ilang sandaling msilip, at masigurong wala na ang mobile, dali- magtatama ang kanilang mga mata, iiwas daling isusuot ng Call Boy ang kanyang damit at kaagad ang Pulis.) pantalon. Akmang patakbong aalis.) PULIS: Anong pase-pasensya binababoy nyo PULIS: Hoy ID mo? itong park e. CALL BOY: (Buong pagtataka.) Ha? CALL BOY: Hindi naman bossing. Kailangan lang PULIS: Madaling araw na, gagalagala ka pa Ilang talagang kumita. (Magdadalawang isip ang taon ka na ha? ID mo nasaan sabi?! Pulis, sandaling titingnan ang Call Boy.) CALL BOY: Bossing naman PULIS: Sige, sige palalampasin ko na to. Pero PULIS: Anong bossing bossing? Parang gulat na huwag ko nang Makikita ang mukha mo rito gulat ka pa a. CALL BOY: Napadaan lang bossing ha. PULIS: Anong napadaan? Napadaan sa ano? Ganyan CALL BOY: Okay boss (Magtatagpo ang tinging ka ba mapadaan sa park? Hubad? (Maririnig ng dalawa, magtitinginan ng ilang sandal. ang kaguluhan sa di kalayuan. Titingin sa May mababasa sa tingin ng Pulis. Akmamng pinagmulan ng ingay.) aalis ang Pulis.) Boss lika (Titingin PULIS: Aba nga naman, at nakarating pala ang Tv ang Pulis, aakmang aalis.) Ayaw mo bang station na magko-cover ng raid ngayong sumama sa kin? gabi ha PULIS: Ako ba? CALL BOY: Ha! Puta CALL BOY: Oo naman may ibang tao pa ba rito? PULIS: Uuyy sikat kayo ngayong gabi ha Mukha namang paalis na rin sila Lika Makikita na kayo sa TV ng mga nanay na malapit lang tinitirhan ko rito niyo (Matatawa. Sisigawan ang mga PULIS: E tarantado ka palang CALL BOY: Nagmamagandang loob lang naman kasama.) Hoy!? Eto pang isa CALL BOY: Boss hu-huwag naman good boy boss. Konting inom lang PULIS: Sinusuhulan mo ako e naman ako bossing e. CALL BOY: Di naman bossing PULIS: Good boy? (Matatawa.) Mukha nga PULIS: (Atubili.) Wala akong oras kailangan ko ng mukhang good boy na good boy ka sa mga bumalik sa presinto. bading diyan sa suluk-sulok e O baka