El Filibusterismo: A play presented by Torn Ticket

Watching filipino plays has been an annual thing for high school students at my school for quite some time now. It is always held at Cinema 8 of SM North Edsa, and has been seen in more ways than one as a mini-field trip, so it sure sparks up excitement.

Being held at a mall, the oporunity is taken adavntage of. Students pss permission letters to our school office early on saying that they have been permitted to stay afterwards and buy something or whatever excuse they use in the book.As seniors right now, this is a very good chance for a photo opportunity.

Tata Selo, Huli and Tano: scene from the play

Since the theatre company holding it this year (on September 3, 2011, Saturday) was different from the past three years (before: Villa Teatro now: Torn Ticket), we really had no idea what to expect. We just did our best to come early for good seats. Commonly, one or two people cast in the play or part of the crew are local actors or actresses with known names in the industry of "showbizz". This year, the lead role, Simoun, was played by Jao Mapa and the whole presentation was directed by Nino Muhlach.

The play was started with the national anthem and this dramatic way it was waved on the stage and it ended with a picture=perfect momnet with the flags of the Philippines and of the Katipunan (KKK). Props were amazing as well, and there was a funny bit where all the actors moved in slow motion that was surprisingly entertaining.

Photo-Opp while waiting in line :)

Overall, the play was a success to us, even though we had to wake up extra early on a Saturday and the lining up befor entering, as usual, took aroung an hour because it still gave us a good time. They even had blood and gunshot effects, plus an explosion and a jumping-out-of-a-window-stunt that was kind of funny and unexpected... talk about keekping the audience of short-attention-spans awake. :) Not to mention the number of characters the brought about crushes... even some of the teachers agree. hahaha... Too bad this was our last time, but who know? Maybe there'll be a next time where we'll personally look for a way to but tickets ourselves just for the sake of old times.

David Archuleta Live in Manila: Our A-dork-able Concert Experience

We've been counting down to the day David gets us hypnotised and so mesmerized with his "boyish charm" for days and on the night of his concert here in the Philippines, we weren't let down.

The concert was held on a school bight, but that didn't stop us. Who cares? hahaha. My dad and little brother were going to bring me to Cubao and they were to stay lurking the areas while the concert was going oon and we'd go home all together. I had been texting the friend, Kimmy, I was going with almost the whole drive there with excitement. As we were parking in the basement, my dad kept thye conversation going by asking me big of a fan I thought Kimmy was and I told him the truth, "She says David's her soulmate... he just doesn't know it yet." ;)

I fight to keep my excitement and anxiousness contained as we take the slow escalator rides up the the mall levels. I tell my dad the "default" meeting place in case we can't contact or find each other in the chaos of people surely to emerge when the contest is over. I get a text from Kimmyasking me where I am and saying that she's at the drop off in front of the Araneta Coliseum (now the Smart Araneta Coliseum) and that she can't see me anywhere. I rush off to find a girl wearing a yellow shirt with a design identical to my blue green shirt (yeah, we had shirts made). I see her with her back turned to me and I grab her from behind, and excited as we were, we jump and muffle our screams. We were about ready to get in when I realize I didn't have any money with me. I was in such a fuss that I forgot to get some from my dad.



This was what was on our shirts.

Kimmy accompanies me back to Gateway (the mall I mentioned earlier) and I ask money from my dad. My dad gives me guidelines and reminds me of things like "be careful with your things" or the "don't talk to strangers" type of thing and Kimmy keeps my three-year-old brother entertained. Later on, while walking back to the coliseum, I'm told how cute my brother was and how he kept telling Kimmy stuff. Kimmy, not knowing how to speak my brother's language, kept saying "huh?" or "what?" - and my brother, totally unaware how he still speaks baby talk, kept reapeating it until, Kimmy feigned surprise "Oh!", hahaha.... Believe me, that's always the easier way.

We buy a couple of snacks and some water (which they opened and kept the bottle caps to themsleves, by the way, ang no, I don't know why) and nachos, and we are soon pointed to where our tickets get us seated. Amazingly, we were a little less crowded on our side compared to the side opposite us and the people seated in the row in front of use were like a little of on the older side. Not older as in big-sister old but more like your aunt's mom type of thing. I'm not trying to judge or be rude, but that was how it is. Opposite is, way, waaaaaay on the other side were full of people our age, almost wild and in a frenzy before the concert even started. Random cheers and scream would most of the time start with them.

I tell Kimmy, the signs I know and have obserevd as the start of the concert come closer: spot light being tested, a big number of food vendors rush in and do their job, then they slowly disapppear, the sound booth (that'st what I contral the place where they control the sounds and maybe the lights) gets a little bit more crowded, the media people take interviews, then reserve their spaces, and finally the lights dim.

Julie Ann San Jose

False alarm. A voice on the speaker resonates around the area as it introduces Julie Ann San Jose, a local artist from the tv network GMA (channel 7). She was the opening act for David and I got to say that I admire her for the number of songs she performed. I think she sang around five not to mention it icluded Superbass by Nicki Minaj, so rapped too, and she even slipped while dancing to another song. She had a group of fans who cheered her on despite the fall and she just laughed it off, and we ended up having as much fun as we thought she was having.

Kimmy squeezes my arm and I tell her, "This is it!" as the coliseum get's even darker, and the intro tune to one of David's songs plays on the speakers. David runs from the side of the stage and greets us. He starts singing as the crowd gets wilder and sings along to the lyrics of the song. At first, I don't recognize the song, but once he gets to the chorus, I realize the song was Stomping the Roses which I was telling Kimmy about, just a while ago. Throughout the concert, I was in contact at different moments with my other concert buddy, Jancent, and he called me when I told him to so he could sing and party along even though he wasn't phyisically there with us. David sang an encore of course and Crush was his final song for the evening.

The only bummer we encountered was the concert ending... yeah, yeah, all good things come to an end. :) It actually ended earlier than we expected. It didn't even reach midnight and the concert started at eight. We guessed it was because he had no outfit change and there weren't any long breaks. David sang and sang song after song, and we loved him for that.

Kimmy and I separated for the night talking about the hightlights of the concert and how shoould buy David's speacial Asain Tour Edition of his The Other Side of Down album. We left with the funny thought of how we would both probably have a concert "hangover" the next day at school and how we'd experience the a-dork-able David in concert all over again in our dreams. :))