End of Honeymoon (Year 1 over)

A few months ago it felt like forever, but today it feels like things just started yesterday. Suddenly, YEAR 1 is over.

My first 11 months in Singapore was one exciting roller coaster of emotions, mostly filled with sadness and depression being away from home and my family and having left behind so many responsibilities and missing opportunities in the local scene, and also joy and excitement from learning so many things from new experiences and from people who I know I would never have met or learned from if I did not come to ITI.

It's difficult to wrap up my entire Year 1 experience in just one blog entry, but I will try my best. My idea now is to search on Facebook and on instagram all my #BuhayITI and #BuhayTheaterStudent and other related hashtags to look back on the different highlights of my stay here. I will also try to recall the contexts of all these statuses and photos. So sit back, relax, and join me in remembering the highs and lows of my life in SG.


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#IntenseMovementExercises
Posted January 11

"Went home last night from school around 8pm. Higa sana "saglit" sa sobrang pagud.
Zzzz. Ngayon na nagising. 4AM."

This is when my body was still adjusting to the rigid training. It wasn't easy, promise!
Here are some photos of what we did in Movement Class.

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#BodyMindAndSoulWorkingTogether
#SaNgalanNgKultura
#SchoolAndField
posted February 22

"Praxis, indeed, leads to better understanding and finding new knowledge."

I can't fully remember, but I'm quite certain it's a reflection after Humanities class. Looks like a post-discussion thought.

posted March 2

"Subject: Humanities
Assignment: Write a 500-800 word essay answering the question, “How can I recreate in performance a gesture, expression or movement (an action) which has a long history or tradition of practice?”
Status of assignment: Submitted 1 and a half hours before deadline.
Status of student: brain strained but still hot. Way mupalag kay stress naming tanan aning term-end requirements. Support nalang."

The best thing about school is being pushed to read, study, and analyze. When not in school we tend to base things all on experience. But when practice and theories meet, more magic can happen. You allow yourself to be more open to things that have already been explored by experts and those who have studied the field even before you get acquainted with it. It definitely answers a lot of your questions or even help you formulate more questions to answer in order to understand things better.

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#MeAsAPotato
posted March 27

"It's the start of term 2. And this would best describe my current state: Fresh, growing, surviving. But be aware that I planted 5. Two survived at the end of term 1, then we had a week break and this is the only one left."

Eventually, these potatos died because they were planted on unhealthy soil. What's the metaphor? I don't know. haha! Maybe to remind me to just forget simply surviving but just living in the moment, stop counting the days, and fight.


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#LoveSchoolFeels
#LearningWhileCreating
posted April 10

"When a school project is too exciting it gives you goosebumps."

posted Nov. 6

"What i I learned today from our post modular laboratory research performance: Some creative choices you make can be polarizing. People may really like or dislike it. However, as long as you've conveyed the message clearly and as long as you know the decisions were well thought of and not just random, then you can say it's successful. Eyes always on the main objective."

Our PML (post modular laboratory) research is done after we finish learning a traditional form (for year 1 we had Noh and Wayang Wong). We are asked to do our own research on how our experience in learning the form can be useful when applied in contemporary work. It also allows us to study further and try to answer our questions about the form, the process, and the experience as a whole.

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Posted July 3

"Just read all the Evaluation Reports from my teachers. Whewww! I'm happy with the feedback, both the good ones and the points for improvement. Now, I know what to focus on next semester, which starts TOMORROW.
LEZ DO DIZ!
Anyway, matulog na ko kay one of the comments kay "Eat well and rest properly... you looked tired sometimes during term 2."
WAHAHA! Sinabeh!"

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#Floating
#WayangWong

Posted August 9

"Still recovering. Can't say anything yet bout my body pilgrimage experience. It deserves a blog entry."

Well, I guess this is the right time to share about my Wayang Wong body pilgrimage experience. Sorry it took months to do this.
Wayang Wong in general felt so familiar maybe because of the nature of Indonesia and Philippines as countries in terms of culture, history, and geography. They have so many similarities. My experience was something that I could explore locally when I come back to PH, particularly the use of combined improvisation and form in telling epic stories. The concept of the body pilgrimage is also something that I could apply back home, perhaps with YATTA and other groups and individuals who want to experience it. Basically, in body pilgrimage we spent 12 hours (from 6PM to 6AM) doing everything in slow motion: eating, walking, taking a shower, etc., but no talking, no communicating with the others, no reading, no gadgets, and not allowed to leave the school premises. We were invited to open our awareness and observe ourselves and everything around us. The level of awakening of our senses is wonderful. I personally had very memorable moments of seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling, and thinking of things like I've never had/done before. For example, looking at how the vinegar's color changes as it slowly flows down my spoon, how the cloud formations provided so many images and reflections about my life while watching the sky and the moon move for more than half an hour, and how fast my mind can move from one thought to another as I was trying to follow it, and many others. Crazy, but a real life changer. It made me realize how fast-paced our lives are that we forget the importance and beauty of the details of things around us and how they could change in less than a second. Through body pilgrimage I saw how magical it can be if we just learn to stop and be aware of every movement of life.

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posted August 23

"But then, I'm reminded, "TIRED" is not in our vocabulary"

Indeed, #BuhayITI.

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#EskwelaPaMore

Posted August 28

"Kana ganing hubag-hubagan kas kakulba, dayon di ka tulog, dayon ug makatulog kay uromon pa gud. Unya mumata ug sayo kay mahadlok ma late. Mag memorize pa sa lines. Pag-abot sa studio dagko ug bugnaw kaayo ang singot. Ingon ana ka ngilngig among maestro sa ACTING. hahaha! Last rehearsal ugma, performance tomorrow. So help me God." 

 Our Acting class with Guillermo Angelelli was perhaps one of the most intense classes we had so far, but it was also one of the best learning experiences I had in ITI. It gave me so many new techniques on the use of the body in improvisation and devising through psychophysical method. I miss the thrill of it, actually.

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Now Here's a few quotable quotes from our teachers

Posted March 30

Morning: Movement class
Teacher: keep your palms on the wall. Keep swinging your foot...
Classmate: my arms are in pain.
Teacher: Too bad. Life is not so easy.

Afternoon: Acting class 

Everyone emotionally charged after intense activity
Teacher: It's not easy to achieve, it takes time.When the audience give you an applause they don't necessarily think of how you worked so hard to achieve it. Appreciation is good, but this is also why we deserve to be paid.

Posted March 31

"The experience can be very fascinating, but can also be very painful."
Voice/Speech teacher on being a theater student.

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I guess I have to stop here or else it will take you hours to read everything, plus it's already 2am. I guess this is enough to describe how tough yet colorful my first year in SG had been. I thank all my teachers for guiding me through. During my assessment they told me how they were able to follow my journey and they saw how I was able to achieve my goals. My Acting teacher, Beto Ruiz, even challenged me to "bring back the fire" that I tried to learn to control - the lion that I tried to tame - over the course my first year in ITI. He said it's about time to use it again, now that I have learned to manage it better. Bring back the fierceness but still with ease and discipline.

I also want to extend my deepest gratitude to every single individual who extended help in whatever ways in order to help me survive here in Singapore, especially to my mama Malou, my brother Kim, the rest of my family, my YATTA family especially to Nanay Dessa, Nikki, John, and Junsly, my MISPA and Pro-MISPA family especially to Baerbel and Bert, to Ate inday Melvin and tito Franz Klein-Koerkamp, Ma'am Esther Windler, sir Cidni Mapa, to the Gugma Gaia friends especially for my send off, and to those who want to remain anonymous but who generously extended a helping hand to me, GOD BLESS YOUR BEAUTIFUL HEARTS. I may not be able to name you all one by one, but all I can promise is that everything I am learning here in Singapore will be shared to the communities in the Philippines, and I will never forget how I was blessed by friends that I must never forget to pay forward. 

to all my classmates, as our teachers have told us during assessment, "honeymoon is over" and "expectations will be higher." Looking forward to more roller coaster rides. Daghang Salamat.

(photo credits to ITI, Ted Tac-an, and other sources. Mostly not mine)

Surviving School and Singapore

I guess I've finally got the hang of Singapore and school. The first semester was tremendously dramatic because of the adjustments I had to go through being far from home for a long time. It wasn't an easy transition.

One time in April I could not understand why I felt so groggy and grumpy. Then I later realized that my body was yearning for the heat of the sun and the coolness of the sea. It was summer in PH while there was constant rain in SG. My classmate told me maybe I had Seasonal Affective Disorder/Depression (SAD). That, and many other causes of sadness and loneliness, brought me to a very dark place, but thank God I survived it.

It was also difficult that I did not have my family and friends around whom I could immediately turn to when I had problems (academic, emotional, and financial). I will say this again - studying in Singapore is very difficult considering the cost of living here. Every time I think about my my monthly expenses, which could amount up to 30,000-40,000 pesos monthly (food and apartment rental), I get so stressed out. So I just tell myself, "God will provide hope. Hang in there." And voilah! I survived the first 6 months.

Thank God there was a semester break or I'd go crazy. Many thanks also to those who helped and those who until now are constantly supporting me. You always remind me that quitting should not be an option because the knowledge and skills I am acquiring from the school will not only benefit myself but also my community back in the Philippines. I believe my coming to Singapore is not a mere accident but God's will. I take this not just an opportunity to be a better artist but also a responsibility to be a better servant of God and His creation and people. So, I will continue to fight, and please don't stop supporting me.

Anyway, especially for those who are following my blog but could not follow me in facebook, here are the some of the highlights of my first 6 months in ITI.

Aside from the skills I learned like voice, body, and acting techniques, what I learned in ITI so far is how to appreciate one's own local culture and how to be inspired by it in order to create a culture-inspired contemporary performance. I have also learned the importance of learning one's responsibility as an artist in uplifting, promoting, and protecting culture and cultural rights. Our experience in learning Noh Theater, for example, has made me appreciate more the richness and uniqueness of the Asian culture.

Noh rehearsals.

That is me in blue, playing one of the demons in the Noh play Momijigari.

                           

With the other demons for the final dance.

                               

It looks easy, but Noh dances are one of the most difficult that I have done. They require so much body and mind preparations.

 

Class photo with our 2 Sensei (masters) in the middle. I miss them already. Such beautiful human beings and great artists.

     

One of my favorite moments. Photo after watching the open rehearsal of Tapestry Playback Theater. It was during April fools, hence the red clown nose.

     

Me during breaks. Classic. #TugTaTug (photo by Tysha Khan. I think. lol)

 

Our cohort tradition - an obligatory group photo outside the white house during end of sem. We are complete in this photo, and hopefully until graduation.

I wish I could post action photos during our other classes and performances, but there was no chance for me to take photos (and some of my classmates are not very comfortable about it). I will try to keep this blog more alive this term especially now that I have already somehow adjusted. Highlight on the word TRY. hahaha! Bye for now! Thank you! I love you all!

New Circle of Crazies

Presenting to you the 2017 Year 1 students of Intercultural Theater Institute.

These are my batchmates. I will be working with these creative beings in the next 2 years and 10 months. I'll introduce them to you one by one from left to right (or, basta follow lang).

That guy in blue to my right is Ted Nudgent Fernandez Tac-an (full name para intense). He's a Filipino actor/dance artist, educator, and cultural worker from Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental. He is an alumnus of La Salle University Teatro Guindegan. What's interesting is that we never bumped into each other before we auditioned for ITI. We only heard of each other from common friends within the arts community in VisMin, yet it turned out that we were actually born in the same city and graduated from the same high school (MONHS alma mater dear). I guess most of you have seen him already in my previous vlogs because he's my roommate here in SG.

Next to him in black shirt is Regina Toon who is a brilliant poet/writer and also a singer. She shared to me that she used to be a licensed busker around SG. She recently launched a book (a compilation of her poems, I guess) and she'll give me a copy soon in exchange also of a copy of my album. That was the deal.

Below Regina, in red and in an anime pose, is Yiseong (pronounced as e-song). She's one of the ate's in the batch and she's a little older than me. By the way, she's not Korean. She just chose to be called Yiseong (not her real name) because of her fascination with Korean arts and culture.

Behind Yiseong is the baby of our batch, Akanksha (also known as Akku). This stunning beauty from India may only be 19 years old, but despite her young age she had enough experience in performance. She studied Kathak dance back in India, and she's really good in movement.

That guy that Akku is leaning onto (in light blue shirt) is Jalal from Syria. I know, he looks like Borat. He gets that a lot. haha! What's interesting about this guy is... uhm... so many things. I guess we all have seen/read the news about what's going on in Syria right now. All his stories gave me a new perspective about his country.

Beside Jalal (right, wearing shades) is Jin Chen from China. Before coming to ITI, she finished her MA in Creative Practices and Directions at University of Surrey - Guildford in London, UK.

Behind Jalal and Jin is Theresa. She's Chinese Singaporean, but not totally. That is because she has Spanish-Filipino blood. It's funny when she does an impression of her lola talking in Filipino. She's also a singer/musician (go figure). I wish to listen to her songs soon.

At her back, raising his arms, is Thasil Backer from India. This big guy looks very tough and intimidating but the sweetest in person. He's also a budding theater actor from his region. If I'm not mistaken, he's from Hyderabad City.
*Update: So, yeah, I was mistaken. haha! He did his 3-year post grad course in Hyderabad Central University, Master of Performing Arts (with Acting as field of specialization), but he was born and raised in Kerala.

The last guy to the right looking so calm is Vignesh Singh. He's Indian-Singaporean and also a local singer-songwriter. To listen to his works, click this link to his soundcloud. He just recently posted some new demos so go check it out. By the way, he likes Up Dharma Down. hehehe.

Farthest to the right beside Vignesh is Wendy, the mommy of the class because of her caring and sensitive nature. She was one of the first people in school that I got to hang out with. Besides being a theater student, she is also in the local film industry. Perhaps one of the reasons why we easily clicked is the fact that she is also a Playback Theater performer.

Lastly, squatting on the ground is Tysha Khan. This Malay-Singaporean girl has been to Davao City as a volunteer for Gawad Kalinga. So, she knows some things about the Philippines, and as a matter of fact, her favorite pinoy fruit is... uhm... mansanitas. hahaha!

So I'm gonna be stuck with this bunch of talented and unique personalities in that school on top of the hill. This will surely be a fun climb everyday.

Climbing Up Emily Hill (a status update)

It's been more than a month since my last blog post. I'm sorry about it. I decided not to write anything the past few weeks because I wanted things to sink in and just start flowing into my system. You know what I mean? I also realized that people DO follow what I write in my blog and others can be very critical. For example, I was criticized for claiming to be a "cultural worker" by someone who thinks I'm actually not. I can write more about this, but then again I don't owe anyone an explanation so let them think what they want to think. I am aware and very reflective of the things that I do and what I want to do, and I'm trying to figure out how to do things better (I guess, that's why I'm in a school called "Intercultural Theater Institute"). Hence, that blog description shall STAY! :-) Suck it up! Haha!

I consider all these as part of my journey. Climbing up that hill will never be easy.

(This is Emily Hill, and our school is located on top of it. I guess they strategically situated the school on the hilltop as part of the challenge for the students. Imagine, we climb it everyday for 3 years.)

Everytime I climb Emily Hill I think about how long this journey is going to be. For someone who gained knowledge through numerous workshops and seminars that normally run only for days or weeks, a 3-year study feels like forever. Not to mention the change of lifestyle and the adjustment to the culture of Singapore and many other cultures since, you know, I am in an "intercultural" school.

If you know my lifestyle in Dumaguete, it would really be difficult for you to imagine how I'm doing this. I now wake up as early as 5:30AM to cook our packed lunch and read some articles and books at the same time. 

(My "balunan". Ted cooks the rice and boils the egg, while I cook the dish. It actually feels good to cook again, although it's not so nice when the smell of onions and garlic stays in my fingers)

There's one week every month that we are assigned to clean the school. As in mop the studios, clean the kitchen, etc. This means we have to wake up even earlier because cleaning time is 7:30AM and our first subject starts at 8AM.

Usually, our first subject is Movement which is around 3-4 hours everyday except Wednesdays. So, yeah, after cleaning the school we need to MOVE! How haggard is that? Haha!

(Example of what we do in Movement class. We play with boxes and sticks, mop the floor in different positions for 45 minutes, etc. Core... it's all about the CORE)

My other subjects this semester include Taiji, Acting, Humanities, Tech,  Intercultural Exchange where we get to share to each other a piece of our culture, and Noh Theater, which is a Japanese traditional theater form.

(Our Noh Theater gear. My Tabi, a Japanese traditional socks, and Ougi, Japanese fan)

As I said, this journey will never be easy. But with all your support and by God's grace I shall endure and finish this. My eyes are on the finish line, or should I say, on the hilltop. I am a work in progress, and forever will be. Work work work work work, as Rihanna would sing. Coz one big truth about life: no work, no pay. 

UNSA DAW???

So, what happened? (The Earnest Mugna 5)

So, the results are in. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me and to those who helped me in different ways, especially to my friends in the medical field who guided me. Thanks also to those who sent financial support for my medical check up. God bless everyone. I owe you all big time.Glory be to God.

Celebrating New Year in SG (The Earnest Mugna 4)

This is how i spent the last day of 2016 and the first day of 2017 here in Singapore.

Uh oh... Oh no... (The Earnest Mugna 3)

Some troubled times in SG... please pray for me. Apparently, I have health issues which is making it hard for me to get a student visa. Please check the video for details. Again, please pray for me.