The Squaddies’ Shrew: Ian Maclennan’s Adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew Makes its Philippine Premiere on May 27 – 28

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Tanghalang Ateneo, the longest-running theater company of the Loyola Schools of the Ateneo de Manila University, presents The Squaddies’ Shrew, its 39th Season intersession production and entry to the third biennial conference of the Asian Shakespeare Association: “Shakespeare, Traffic, Tropics”. The play is Ian Maclennan’s adaptation and direction of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Ian Maclennan is Professor and current Chair of the Department of Theater and Motion Picture Arts of Thorneloe University in Laurentian, Canada where he teaches Theater History, Shakespeare in Performance, Acting, and Directing. He has written extensively on Shakespearean performance, several of them presented in various conferences across the world. Also an active theater practitioner, Ian has acted and directed in countless productions for the university and the professional stage, and has facilitated workshops on various aspects of performance, Shakespearean or otherwise, in various institutions in North America and the Asia-Pacific. The Squaddies’ Shrew, his adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew was first shown in Tasmania, Australia in 2006 and will have its Philippine debut during the 2018 ASA Conference.

In Shakespeare’s play, Signor Baptista won’t let his younger daughter, Bianca, get married until he has married off his elder daughter, Katherine. Problem is, Katherine has a reputation as a shrew, defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as a “woman with a violent, scolding, or nagging temperament” and no one wants to marry her. Along comes Petruccio who is looking for a wife, particularly one with some money behind her. He decides that Katherine will make a great wife and that he will work on her until he has “tamed” her. He challenges her, he embarrasses her, he scolds her, but she still doesn’t give in. In Shakespeare’s play, Petruccio finally wears her down until she lets him have his way and she becomes the obedient wife. In The Squaddies’ Shrew, Katherine never totally gives in. She recognizes what he is doing and decides to play his game to make him think he has her under his thumb. So, in the long run, Katherine beats Petruccio at his own game by making him think he has won and she is tamed.

In this adaptation, the squaddies (young soldier recruits) put on the play as part of a trick being played on one of their own, Sly, who is a drunken lout. They get him to believe that he is a general and that Bartholomew, one of the squaddies, is his wife. They then put up this play to entertain the general and get him to play Petruccio. Sly falls for it, hook, line, and sinker. These squaddies are not great actors but what they lack in talent, they make up in enthusiasm.

Tanghalang Ateneo’s Ervin Ocrisma plays the roles of Sly, a squaddie who is tricked by his comrades into believing he is a general, and Petruccio, a suitor to Katherine who is the only one who could tame her.

Serge Davide plays the role of Katherine, the shrew. No one dares court her except for Petruccio. He also plays the role of Bartholomew, a soldier who fakes being the wife of Sly.

Eldrick Yuji Los Baños plays the role of RSM, the leader of the squaddies who conceived the plan to trick Sly. His other roles are Baptista, father of Katherine and Bianca, and Vincentio, the father of Lucentio.

Maco Guibone plays the roles of Lucentio, Squaddie 1, and Grumio. Squaddie 1 is part of the crew that plays a trick on Sly. Lucentio is a suitor of Bianca while Grumio is a servant to Petruccio.

Tristan Ahorro plays the roles of Tranio, Gremio, Nathaniel, Squaddie 2, and Tailor. Tranio and Nathaniel play similar roles as servants, with Tranio serving Lucentio and Nathaniel serving Petruccio. Squaddie 2 is part of the crew that plays a trick on Sly. Gremio is a suitor to Bianca while the tailor is a character that makes clothes for Petruccio.

Francis Roy Genelsa plays Squaddie 3, Hortensio, Biondello, and Curtis. Squaddie 3 is part of the crew that plays a trick on Sly. Hortensio is a suitor to Bianca and a friend to Petruccio. He would later disguise himself as Licio, a schoolmaster to Bianca, in order to court her. Curtis is a servant under Petruccio.

The artistic team of The Squaddies’ Shrew is composed of Tanghalang Ateneo Artistic Director and Moderator Glenn Sevilla Mas, Ian Maclennan (Direction and Adaptation), Guelan Varela-Luarca and Nicolo Ricardo Magno (Assistant Directors), Tata Tuviera (Production Design), D Cortezano (Lighting Design), and Lucas Abaya (Graphics Design).

The playdates of The Squaddies’ Shrew are May 27-28. Performances start at 6:30PM at The Doreen Black Box Theater, Arete Arts Wing, Ateneo de Manila University. This intersession staging of the play also serves as a preview run of the season opener of Tanghalang Ateneo’s 40th Season. Regular shows are targeted to run from August 14-18, August 21-25, August 28-September 1 later this year.

For questions and additional details about the show, please contact Frances Catipon at 09175285650.

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PH Rise Sidelines - Cusi Pushes AURELCO, NGCP Sub-Transmission Connection

Wazzup Pilipinas!

As President Rodrigo Duterte asserted the Philippine sovereignty here, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi fits in Aurora’s energization last Tuesday during the commemoration of the First Anniversary of the renaming of Benham Rise to Philippine Rise.

Cusi used the occasion to meet with Aurora Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AURELCO) General Manager Noel DV. Vedad to discuss the island- and micro-grid designs, as well as the planned sub-transmission facilities in their franchise area for the possible connection expansion with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in the Municipality of San Luis, which is located south of Aurora’s capital, Baler.

Cusi and Vedad discussed about these plans to increase the reliability of electricity services in AURELCO’s franchise area, as part of the electric coop’s “redundancy” measures.

“Aurora is a thriving province and we have to further equip them with effective energy systems to increase not just the stability of their power supply, but also their capability to be energy resilient, especially that it’s vulnerable to natural disasters brought by typhoons,” Cusi explained.

AURELCO is closely coordinating with the DOE’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Energy Regulatory Commission to put up a 69kV sub-transmission facility traversing Maria Aurora and Casiguran. This also includes a 5 megavolt ampere substation as endorsed by DOE to NEA, which forms part of the electric cooperative’s Distribution Development Plan.

When completed, these projects will provide stable and reliable services to the towns of Dinalungan, Casiguran, Dilasag in Aurora Province and Dinapigue in Isabela or the so-called “DICADIDI areas”.

The DICADIDI areas are currently being served by the National Power Corporation’s Small Power Utilities Group, which is isolated from the Luzon Grid.

The DOE noted that sub-transmission projects are badly needed to improve electricity services in the AURELCO franchise area including also the facilitation of the graduation of AURELCO from its missionary electrification (or subsidy) status.

The DOE Chief concluded, “We are seeing stronger grid connectivity and functioning island- and micro-grids as a way forward to improve Aurora’s current power situation.”

Cover photo caption:

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi (second from left) are AURELCO General Manager Noel DV. Vedad, DOE Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos and Energy Resource Development Assistant Director Ismael U. Ocampo. The meeting happened last Tuesday (15 May) as a sideline to the Presidential Ceremonial Send-off for the All-Filipino Marine Scientific Research (MSR) and Laying of an Ocean Buoy and Symbolic Marker at the Philippine Rise held in Casiguran, Aurora.

Benilde Prof Bags Best Editing Award in France for Bhoy Intsik

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Benilde Film faculty John Anthony Wong won Best Editing for "Bhoy Intsik" in the Foreign Language Film category of the 2018 NICE International Film Festival of World Cinema held in France from May 5 to 12.

Wong bested fellow nominees Chang-Gyun Kim ("A Trip With Friends"), Aziz Imamoglu ("Dad Where Are You I Am Lost"), Yuji Kakizaki and Yasutake Torii ("Dai 2 Keibitai – The Second Security Unit"), Yuan Fang ("Destiny Among the Mountains"), Jose David ("Flea"), Giancarlo Escamillas and Carlo Ortega Cuevas ("Guerrero"), Takeshi Iwamoto ("Lemon & Letter"), Alex Vargas ("Rice"), Shinpei Masui ("Spit & Honey"), Maxime Aubert ("The Blogger"), Abdulla Alneyadi ("The Tragedy of the Monster") and Sreekar Prasad ("To Let").

"Bhoy Intsik," a film about two small-time felons who crossed paths and forged an uncanny friendship, stars Raymond "RS" Francisco in the title role and Ronwaldo Martin as Marlon. Directed by Joel Lamangan, it previously won the Special Jury Prize in the Orient Express section of the 38th Oporto International Film Festival and two acting trophies for RS Francisco at Sinag Maynila Film Festival 2017, in a tie with Kristoffer King ("Kristo"), and Star Awards for Movies 2018. It also competed at the London East Asia Film Festival 2017. 

Wong, who has been editing movies since 2000, considers the film a very interesting project to edit. "The challenge was to create a world where these interwoven lives would interact and counteract with each other without losing the audience in the story's narrative. My team had to work with material that was both visually compelling and dialogue-driven."

The managing director of EDGE Manila Creatives Corporation (EMC2) added that it helped that he was also the film's Visual Effects supervisor. "During editing, when I felt that a sequence needed a little VFX assistance to enhance the mood and tone of a scene, I just ask EDGE Manila's VFX team to add details here and there like 'stormy/gloomy' clouds during a break up scene or digital prosthetics to make a pivotal scene more realistic," he explained. 

Apart from Lamangan, Wong has also worked with the late Gil Portes, Mel Chionglo, Jun Lana, Quark Henares, Albert Martinez and Gino Santos, among others. His work on the 2010 Metro Manila Film Festival entry "Rosario" gave him a Best Festival Editor prize and a similar award from Gawad PASADO (Pampelikulang Samahan ng mga Dalubguro). He has also received a Best Editing trophy from the 2012 Cinemalaya entry "The Animals" and was nominated several times for his editing work by FAMAS, Golden Screen and Star Awards.

Wong dedicated the win to his family, to all the hard-working Filipino film editors and to the Philippine movie industry. "I'm thankful to have once again been able to work with Direk Joel on one of his most important projects. It was also a pleasure to have been able to work with screenwriter Ronald Carballo, cinematographer Rain Yamson II, musical scorer Emerzon Texon and actor-producer Raymond Francisco. All of them were very hands on in the creative process. The success of the film is truly a collaborative process," he stressed.

Aside from his professional work as a movie editor, he also shares his vast post-production knowledge by teaching at the film department of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Design and Arts. He also shoots and directs short films, music videos and corporate videos. He is a graduate of Ricky Lee's 14th scriptwriting workshop.