Life is a Trap

The Cultural Center of the Philippines opened the fifth year of Virgin Labfest. This event sponsored by the Writers’ Bloc and the Japan Foundation gives opportunity to stage new plays. Fifteen new materials will be performed at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute from June 23 to July 5, 2009.

There are five sets that consist of three plays each. Last Saturday, I was able to see “Life is a Trap” which were all about in search of escapes. Truths stirred by humor can make one sit through three amusing plays in a Saturday night. First in the three plays was Paigan. It brings us to the US-Filipino War when the US Government sent African-American troops to fight against the guerrillas. David Fagen defected from the US Government and fought side-by-side with the Filipinos. Liza Magtoto, the writer, presents the dilemma to the audience to identify who your enemy is. Filipinos are still in a war against poverty and money will be our way out of it.

Hate Restaurant is a work by an Australian, David Finnegan. Toby, a chef who works in a local diner, came to work to find her employer Lucille unfit to work for the day. She needs to cook for 70 guests for a breakfast conference. She juggled between minding the demanding guests and her crazy waiters. Light yet tragic, something like Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell in theater.

Nick Pichay’s Isang Araw sa Karnabal closes the night with a political drama set today. The play gives us a chance to eavesdrop to a lover’s date in the perya. Despite the festive mood of the carnival, they just cannot escape their grief over the loss of loved ones. Gripping from their painful past, they cannot see beyond building a family in society filled with injustice and political harassment.

IMAX boasts of its images and Dolby surround sound. Theater gives you better because the actors show you tears and feel their anguish as they throw their lines. Audiences elicit their immediate response from the performance on stage. This set of plays apparently used real knives as props. Personally, I was scared that there might be an accident waiting to happen that night with bolos and chopping knife were used in the set. Audience can make a successful performance. But sometimes, it can spoil it too. Last Saturday, my laughter was pre-empted by the audience. The punch line was not yet delivered but they already were laughing. I don’t know if they were the performers or any of the writers’ guests. Other than that, I enjoyed the plays and I’m looking forward to watch the others.

Life is an obstacle course but there’s a way to go through it. Never be afraid to solve its puzzle. You may commit mistakes but you can always correct it. Don’t take life’s problem too seriously and leave some space for laughter. Before you know it, you’ve unraveled something marvelous and you can write about it on the next Virgin Labfest.