Performances
MATA NA! is a theatrical informance commissioned by the Gender Watch Against Violence and Exploitation (GWAVE) for its advocacy program.
It tackles stories, issues and laws pertinent to the discussion of Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC), specifically human trafficking, child abuse, domestic violence and rape
SYNOPSIS:
MATA NA! uses the format of a documentary TV program. Hosted by Rey Dakila and joined by Atty. Walay Catacutan, stories and relevant information about various forms of Violence Against Women and Children are shared, as well as respective laws that can be used as legal redress.
Segment 1 looks at the issue of human trafficking and Republic Act (RA) 9208. It follows the story of Julie, a single mother who was recruited to work as a domestic helper in Singapore and could not stand the abuses of her Chinese employers. She leaves her employers but was forced by her recruiters to work in a sex den to pay off her debts from the agency.
Segment 2 probes into the issue of child abuse and talks about RA 7610, chronicling how a 14-year old girl, Giselle gets involved and falls for a much older man, leading to her father behaving violently.
Segment 3 examines domestic violence and RA 9262 through the story of Carmen and Jeff, a middle-class couple whose marriage was marred by economic, psychological and physical abuse.
Finally, Segment 4 tackles rape and RA 8353. It shares the story of long-time sweethearts Lily and Johnny, and Lily’s conflicted feelings when Johnny forces himself on her in spite of her clearly expressed desire to be a virgin until they get married. In between the stories are original songs, informative commercials and audience participation.
Running time: Approximately 1 hour (can also be performed as a segment)
KAYA NAKO is an advocacy piece on the rights of disabled children based on stories provided by an NGO called GPREHAB (Great Physicians for Rehabilitation).
It portrays the poignant stories of Jolina, JV, Diane and Carlo, each story illustrating the difficulties they face in light of medical services, accessibility, employment, and education, all of which are stipulated in the Magna Carta for Disabled persons.
Running Time: Approximately 1 hour
Leon Kilat – This musical play was performed for the National Heritage Month Celebration.
It chronicles the dynamic life of the talented Leon Kilat who hailed from Bacong, Negros Oriental but whose life adventures took him to various parts of the country until he became involved with the Katipunan, and led a revolt in Cebu.
He was betrayed and killed in Carcar, Cebu. The play explores the theme of heroism.
Running Time: Approximately 50 minutes
Kikay Kalaykay
This musical play was inspired by the efforts of St. Paul University Dumaguete’s Solid Waste and Resource Management Program. It led to an exposure trip to the city’s dumpsite in Candau-ay, and the stories of the scavenger families who are making sense of the move to relocate the dumpsite to another part of the province.
The play centers on a young girl’s resilience and struggle to finish her schooling while her family faces mounting difficulties from poverty and illness.
The play has a quirky feel, with the garbage (I.Ron, Plastika, Bay Pipar, Cellophanes, Cartone) given a life and having their opinions about the situation.
Some of its colorful costumes are made out of recycled materials. Music utilizes the banduria, with upbeat as well as melancholic melodies and rhythms.
Running Time: Approximately 1 hour 20 minutes
Taytayan ni Fabian -- This musical theater production is the first YATTA production written and directed by the youth artists themselves.
Taytayan ni Fabian is a story that revolves around a little girl whom truth became her book and life became her teacher. With a dying wife and an ill daughter, Mang Dote was forced to steal medicine from a pharmacy while carrying his baby, Fabian.
While hiding from the police, he began to sing his song for his baby and had the time to leave Fabian at the bridge thinking that she would be safe there. Unfortunately, Mang Dote was caught by the officials and was imprisoned.
A cat, Osang, and a mouse, Gardo, were hiding under the bridge.
While talking, they heard a baby cry. They saw Fabian at the bridge and decided to bring her home with them.Mang Dote was released the day after he was caught. Since he had nowhere else to go, the chief of police assigned him to be their spy; for beggars/ street children are rampant in their barangay and they are suspecting that these children are part of a syndicate; selling of peanuts and juice became Mang Dote’s undercover.
Fabian grew under the supervision of Osang and Gardo until her seventh birthday. It was then that she became more and more curious about life beyond what is under the bridge. Osang and Gardo-- being overprotective for they know that it would be dangerous for Fabian to go up-- are trying to convince her to stay at home. When food became scarce, it was time for Osang and Gardo to climb up and leave Fabian alone.
While walking inside their house, she found a mirror and a photo of GMA. She was shocked for she didn’t look like her father or mother. She began to have questions and wondered who her real parents were. Forgetting all the things she was reminded of, she climbed up the bridge and saw vendors, cars, and people.
There she met Baldo, Buta, and Bosing, children who work for the syndicate and were kind enough to tour her around
Barangay 30 and teach her about the life at the streets. She also learned about the violence that these children experienced and why they chose to stay and be enslaved by the leader of the syndicate. While having their adventure, they met a peanut and juice vendor who happened to be Mang Dote spying on beggars who might be part of the syndicate in their barangay.
At the end of the day, Baldo, Buta, Bosing and the other children were called by their master to collect the money they got for the day. During the operation, the police raided their hideout and caught them. Baldo sent Fabian away and told her to run. Scared, Fabian climbed down the bridge and searched for Osang and Gardo. She didn’t know that Mang Dote ran after her. When she was beginning to cry, she sang her song which had the same melody as Mang Dote’s. It was then that Mang Dote began asking her questions and found out that Fabian was, in fact, the child he left at the bridge seven years ago.
Osang and Gardo saw Fabian and Mang Dote reunited and decided to then let her be.
Kaluwasan sa Damgo ni Greta
In a city lived Dolor and Dolfo Makalipay together with their daughters, Anita and Greta. Due to economic reasons, Dolor was compelled to work overseas and leave Dolfo to take care of their children. Dolfo is a public High School teacher and is known to be good in his profession. But, things had gone for a wrong turn when the younger daughter Greta joined a gang, the Kapakapa Krukru, and entered a relationship with its leader, Bruno Makalisang. It complicated the difficult family situation. Dolfo confronted Greta and with Greta’s stubborness, Dolfo sent her away. Greta left and chose to go with Bruno. Meantime, elder daughter Anita worked hard and focused more on her studies unlike Greta whose preoccupation with her barkada and Bruno led her to take on various vices. One day, Greta was so drunk and became unconscious; Bruno together with the other members of Kapakapa Krukru took advantage of her. She could not accept what just happened, so she went back to her family and sued Bruno for raping her. Rumors circled in the community as the hearing was going on. Everybody had their own views and opinions. May it be teachers, young people, elderly, even NGOs voiced out their take on the case especially because Greta is a minor. The hearing continued until Caloy Catapusan, a member of Kapakapa Krukru, came into the picture. He told the story and the truth about how Bruno planned to deceive and use Greta to satisfy his sexual needs and eventually rape her. Bruno was proven guilty and was sent to prison
Greta gave birth, but the baby died due to STD, an illness acquired from Greta. Nevertheless, Greta continued getting treatment. She went back to school and aspired for a better future. She showed people that she could be more responsible. Anita became a teacher like her father and Greta became an accountant. The Makalipay family became reunited again with many lessons learned along the way to face the future.
(Running Time: 1 hour)
Aahh Bakus!
As part of a national cultural campaign dubbed Advocate Right to Safetely (ARTS) Zone Project which promotes children’s rights and positive discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment, YATTA produced an educational musical play Aaah Bakus! an adaptation from the original production of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) entitled Rated PG.
The story is set in a modern day urban-poor Filipino community. It focuses on Joselle, a mother with too much work and too little time for her family. Her husband Romy is a salesman with a meager salary. Her kids Rosalie and Ton-ton, determined to get an education, compel Joselle to apply to work overseas to augment their family’s income. The whole family feels strained dealing with the prospect of Joselle’s plans to leave, and finds themselves increasingly at odds with one another.
Romy’s knee jerk reaction when Tonton makes a mistake is to punish him with the belt, but Joselle urges him to use positive discipline. Her husband who was raised “under the belt”, has trouble adjusting to Joselle’s parenting and style of discipline.
In the meantime, the pressure on the family is compounded by their social milieu which is set in a community where drug dealers operate, abusive households proliferate, and an over-burdened teacher resorts to corporal punishment in the classroom.
A police operation puts Tonton’s life at risk and Rosalie is blamed for this, leading to a confrontation between her and the parents. Unexpected community news forces Joselle and Romy to think more seriously about their options. The story ends with a dialogue with their children and a negotiation of responsibilities.
(Running Time: 1 hour, to be followed by an Open Forum)
LagabLove
LagabLOVE is all about teenage and youth relationships. It is a story of the immortal being Cupid who through misfortune has lost his wings; he is on a mission to regain his lost wings so that he can return to Heaven. During his expedition, he meets a group of youth who are struggling with the common challenges and struggles of being in a relationship that teenagers face every day. Cupid sees this as an opportunity to get his wings back, but it will take all of the love and wisdom he has. This is where he meets Rex, a youth who is facing strong temptations.
Cupid is determined to help Rex rise above the temptations and make a more responsible and wise choice towards his goals. (Running Time: 45 minutes, to be followed by an Open Forum)
Alkanseng Alkansiya
Synopsis:
Honesta juggles the responsibilities of being a barangay captain and a single mother to her 3 children Nino, Girlie, and Millet. Despite these challenges she strives to become a good role model not only to her constituents in the barangay but most importantly to her children, teaching them honesty, truthfulness, and responsibility. One day she had to attend a seminar that requires her to leave her kids for 3 days and pass on the responsibilities to her eldest son Nino. This puts the children in difficult situations where they were confronted with temptations, dilemmas and hard decisions. As the family navigates through its challenges of managing their resources, a group of commentators called the Baboy Gang representing the voice of social conscience, provoke thinking and stir discussion. They comment on the actions of the children and foreshadow future events. Will the wrongdoers be caught? What is the face of justice when corruption is proven?
(Running Time: 45 minutes)
Shorter Pieces
Koko ug Kaka:
A parable on the Golden Rule, this story is about a two-headed bird that lived in harmony until one of the heads decided she wanted more, and plotted to poison the other head, realizing too late that what she does to the other affects her as well because they share the same body.
Body Parts:
A hilarious piece on discrimination and the need to value each other’s gifts. Various body parts are claiming to be the most important and valuable part of the body. But they all agree that Pwet is unimportant and most disgusting part of the body. Then one day Pwet could not take the insults anymore and decided to stop functioning. This led to the deterioration and illness of all the body parts, urging them to think otherwise about Pwet.
Oxygen War
A playful piece performed at the Negros Island-wide summit on climate change, 2050 takes us into the future when climate change has resulted to all its nightmarish effects on the environment and humanity.
Emissaries from that year are tasked to return to the present year to convince people to change their ways for the next generation.
Rape Buzz
Rape Buzz was inspired by a rape case filed by a young woman against a Swiss national in Dumaguete City. A group of women and men rallied around to support the woman, which eventually led to the creation of Gender Watch Against Violence and Exploitation, an NGO that focuses on assisting survivors of gender-based violence. The rape case is unpacked through monologues of five different characters, revealing the web of social and cultural factors that has contributed to the perpetuation of sexual violence against women, especially minors. The monologues are interspered with actual excerpts from the attending fiscal’s resolution.
Pamilia Mi
A play about recognizing who is our family. This tells a story of a girl named Nicole who grew up with her Aunt Nida after her parents separated when she was still in elementary. She has an expectation about an ideal family as seen on television. Nicole resorted to lying about her family. Later in the story, her best friends Maylee and Dorathy discovered her secret. Through her Aunt she came to realize her mistakes and learned that she had a family that cared for and loved her all along.
SCHARON MANI RESTAGES
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The beloved musical theater production Scharon Mani, first performed in December 2015, will be restaged at the Silliman University Luce Auditorium on Nov. 18 (8pm), 19 (10 am and 8pm) and 21 (3pm and 8pm), 2016. Bringing together talents from eight different school, the production is a partnership between the Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts and the BellTower project and hosted by Silliman University.
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The play centers on the character of Charlene, a girl who sells pork rind and peanuts (chicharon and mani) to help her family. As she intersects with the lives of other young people, her love for music and her family brings the community together to help her pursue her dream.
The play, written by Junsly Kitay, is directed by Dessa Quesada Palm and Earnest Hope Tinambacan, with choreography by Nikki Cimafranca, musical direction by Juni Jay Tinambacan, stage design by Aziza Daksla and lighting design by Loren Rivera. It features popular songs from the BellTower Project including those of Enchi, Hopia, Willfreedo, 5VOLTS, Elijah, Finpot and Empithri.
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You may call 0917-3235953 for ticket reservations (Php 100, 200, 300).
SYNOPSIS OF SCHARON MANI
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YATTA’s Dumaguete inspired production features local talents and songs from the BellTower project. The ensemble cast tells the mosaic stories of life in Dumaguete, connected by the vibrant Charlene, a young girl whose father Nelo sells chicharon and mani (pork rind and peanuts) while her mother washes laundry for a living. With national auditions for a singing show coming to town, Charlene’s dreams of becoming a singer is now closer than ever when a force of nature pulls her farther away from it. But determined, Charlene decides to help sell Scharon Mani (Chicharon and Mani) to raise the money needed for her family and her plans. While selling Scharon Mani, Charlene meets Renz, a passionate self-supporting pedicab driver’s son. They both cross paths at Way Mahay RestoBar, where Renz gets a job as a waiter. There, Renz finds himself drawn to Hannah, Charlene’s idol and a music student who unbeknownst to her father performs in a band. Charlene also meets the distraught Alnel, a hopelessly romantic registered nurse working at a call center. Captivated by Charlene’s raw talent. Hannah helps her with her singing and Alnel helps her out with her style. Things take a rough turn though when their problems catch up with them and Charlene is caught in the crossfire. With the auditions cancelled and moved to another city and tensions in Charlene’s family elevating, Charlene loses all hope and decides to give up on her dream. Her friends: Renz, Hannah and Alnel come to rescue when they all rally around her to realize her dream. With her hopes revitalized, she takes the audition heads on and sings backed up by family and community.
(Running Time: 2 hours)