Theater Talk + Liquor Ban = Disaster

Muchos gracias to Gibbs Cadiz and (author ) Karla Maquiling for giving me a chance to attend Theater Talk Atbp with Floy Quintos last Saturday. They invited me to come when they showed up in Bloggers’ Kapihan 2.0: Blog Ed 101.

It was an interesting and fun-filled night as well-rounded artist Floy Quintos shared his insights about the state and art of (appreciating) theater in the Philippines. The ambiance was great and the food was equally great, but the company was even better. The night would have been a raving success if it wasn’t for the fact that it was only a few good hours until the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, ergo, the infamous liquor ban.

It was very timely; my grandmother was given a go signal to be discharged from the hospital on Saturday morning. I was relieved of my “warding” duties earlier than expected. I busied myself for the next few hours by bathing the dogs and going online as soon as we got home. Left at around 3PM to attend the Theater Talk event. Traffic in Marikina was awful especially outside the Loyola Memorial Park, so I decided to drop in and pay a visit to my grandfather’s grave. It seemed like many people celebrated the All Soul’s Day a week early.

Some Quick and Bulleted

• Took the taxi; exchanged a few text messages with LA; was supposed to meet him and Jhed until I realized that, hey, I was already in PETA Theater Center.
• Took 2 IDs: “Shari” and “Sharline.” Both Karla and I were a little confused, wondering why I had been provided with 2 sticker IDs.
• Got to talk with AJ, Walter, and Jules before we were ushered upstairs to the room where the event would be held.
• Scanned the list of attendees then realized that there really was a Sharline that would be attending the event…and it wasn’t me! Shoutout goes to Sharline Bareng.
• Got paired up with Philippine Star columnist and Ateneo de Manila University professor Exie Abola during the introduction phase of the program.

Theater, as told by Floy Quintos

• Theater isn’t as popular or as celebrated as the other mainstream media industries, but
• in fact, it serves as a “breeding ground” of talents for them
• It provides an alternative and fresh worldview of an otherwise established text
• The world of theater is a demanding one, both from the production and the audience
• Two different actors will always have different interpretation and delivery of their role, even if both are powerful
• “Gay” is “in” in theater nowadays…”mabenta,” in other words
• Passion is a very important key in sustaining and appreciating the theater industry
• Theater has the ability to add or subtract certain elements to add more power to the whole production
• One needs to rid his/her minds of cobwebs to truly appreciate the beauty of theater

It was an overwhelming experience, all in all. Floy Quintos talked animatedly for a couple of hours without ever losing his audience (although I had to step out for a few minutes to answer a call from my mom ). He kept the whole room engaged the entire time. ‘Twas really a delight and such an honor being a part of the group.

And hey, I won P500 worth of Starbucks gift certificates during the raffle! Haha! I’m not exactly a Starbucks fan, but at least now I won’t have to make a lousy excuse (no moolah, pak!) why I don’t like it there. ;) Here are some eye candies for you to masturbate on.

These pictures are taken from Gibbs Cadiz’ Multiply site. There are 3 photo albums which you can view to see all photos.

Liquor Ban

This is where everything went a little downhill. It’s been quite an adventure having to stroll the streets of a famous Quezon City gimik spot just to find someplace that wouldn’t bore us to tears. Taga-Q.C. ako, but I’ve never really been a well-traveled person. Mostly I stay at home and try to keep my expenses at a minimum. Can’t blame my frugal nature for that. ;)

So anyway, LA, Jhed, Alan, Calvin, Marco and I waited for Kevin and Irvin (and Rens, at first) to arrive so we could do some serious drinking before the liquor ban could cut our fun short. But then, the ban still spoiled the evening. Seriously, one to two bottles that night was definitely…pathetic.

We trudged our way to Starbucks in Tomas Morato. We filled the night with outrageously funny stories, some political talks, and a bunch of sexual remarks (well, that’s mostly on my part, I admit ). Coy, Faith, Jeff and Joe joined us soon after. Unfortunately, I had to leave early as I was about to fall asleep with my eyes open. Turned out my dad was just coming home from his own boozefest, so he said he’d pick me up. Got home. Slept.

Did you know?

I just realized that there is something not many people know about me as opposed to what I told SIr Exie during our “introduce yourself and your partner” part. I’m really not a very social person. I tend to be very quiet when surrounded by many people, and chances are I’d only be able to comfortably talk when in my “own crowd.” Some people think that I’m either snotty or loud, but really, I’m not. Not even close. :D

So anyway, I know I haven’t talked with everyone who attended the event, but I hope that we all enjoyed and learned from the experience.

Need to make a learned opinion, not an opinionated opinion….

The best quote hands down.