near yet far, far yet near

SEASON TWO: SUN CHASER

NEAR YET FAR, FAR YET NEAR: A TWIN BILL OF PLAYS

March 27-28 | April 10-11, 2015

IKARUS was founded to bring life to DITO: Bahay ng Sining’s stage. It is a professional theatre company exclusive only to talented and daring individuals who day-in and day-out stake their l ives for beauty and truth. IKARUS pursues the sun.

Follow us. Join us as we rise.We will never rest even when the time comes for our wings to burn.

DITO is a canvas, a stage, a screen. DITO is dedicated to give artists of all fields a platform for their creations.

Do you have an idea? Do you have something to say? Artist, welcome home.

For inquiries and r eser vations please contact BJ @ 09064241107.

For news & updates, fol low the page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DitoBahayNgSining

S E A S O N T W O : S U N C H A S E R

HAMLETDirectop & Script by Jay Crisostomo IVFebruary 20-22, 27-28, March 6-8

NEAR YET FAR, FAR YET NEAR: A TWIN BILL OF PLAYSby Paolo Apagalang & Enrique EstagleMarch 20-21, 27-29

BRAVE NEW WORLDDirection & Script by Jay Crisostomo IVJune & July 2015

IT’S APRIL, WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?Script by Rolando TinioDirection by Ricardo AbadSeptember 2015

THE VELVETEEN RABBITScript by Joaquin CerdasProduction Design by Claudine DelfinDecember 2015

D I R E C T O R ’ S N O T E SS I L E N C E R E F L E C T I O N S

B Y P A O L O A P A G A L A N G

I t’s been a while since I’ve written Director’s notes. So I’m not exactly sure how to

do this. But here goes. Funny guy naman ako eh, so I think ok lang yan. UNA sa lahat, thank you audience member, dahil nanood ka (or kung excited kang bumili nitong souvenir program na ito at intermission palang, na nanonood ka) ng palabas namin. Kung binabasa mo ito sa blog ko, salamat na baka manonood ka ng play namin. Kung friend kita or nakaka inuman regularly, i-eexpect kita sa mga show namin ha? Kung hindi kita kilala, i eexpect ko na maging friend or kainuman kita sa mga show namin ha? Or after the shows. SECONDLY, you might be asking kung bakit “Near Yet Far, Far Yet Near” Ang title ng production. Nung nabuo namin ang materials nito (Hi Yaps Estagle my

fellow writer), it wasn’t exactly easy to come up with a theme. Ok, sige given na, love plays ang mga ito. Pero, ang dami daming pwedeng sabihin about love, anong masayang pag-usapan? So after some thought, we figured out na one aspect of love na interesting gawin at i-intertwine sa plays ay ang concept ng SILENCE. Sa panahon ngayon, usong uso, or prevalent ang self censorship. Marami tayong gustong sabihin pero ang daming factors na pumipigil sa ating gawin iyon. Pag may sabihin tayo or gawin na hindi kaaya aya, lalabas na agad sa facebook yan or twitter o kung ano mang social media mo. Ako din mismo guilty dito. Ayan tuloy nagpapaka overly safe tayo. At pag lumabas sa social media yun, nag susuffer ang identity natin. Na iinsecure tayo, natatakot. Yung older generations, mas bad-ass kaysa

sa mga tao ngayon palagay ko. Just imagine, pag nanlil igaw sila dati, or nakikipag landian, diretsahan. Ngayon, may mga concept ng “thing lang yan”, or “happy crush”, “sawi”. Dati walang ganun. Or baka meron pero hindi masiyadong napapansin, or hindi masiyadong nababalita. Pag may trip ka, attack. Eh ngayon? Kailangan stalk mo muna sa facebook or twitter, tapos pag match ang mga like pages niyo, or pag marami kayong mutual friends, or pag pareho kayong naglalaro ng COC, etc, doon ka palang mag-iisip na mag go. At pag mag fail , rekta na mag rarant ka sa facebook, or mag popost ng mga cryptic song lyrics to complain about why the world isn’t fair blah blah blah. The older generations? Bad-ass. Wala silang paki sa judgments ng mga tao. Malamang, nung time nila konting tao lang ang nakaka judge sa kanila. Pero sa panahon ngayon, mas na jujudge tayo on a wider scale. And sadly, at the end of the day, when we are unable to express a lot of who we truly are, slowly, l ittle parts of us disappear or die. And a lot of people nowadays find it so harder to cope with heartache. Naturally may mga

mag didisagree sa akin sa mga previous statements ko. Tama lang, may mga exceptions naman to my observations. Pero isipin niyo. Ang dami talagang whiny biatches today. Tapos false courage lang ang meron. The plays talk about 2 kinds of silences. One Rainy Evening in April talks about not saying anything, despite having so many things to say. 10 Questions naman talks about saying so many things, but not saying what we truly want to say. Misdirection kumbaga. So ayun, SILENCE makes us feel either near yet far or far yet near to certain people depending on the way you look at it .dramaturg, I lovingly took off what was not needed, and respectfully changed what I did. Hopefully, Mr. Will does not turn in his grave. At last, I offer to you the most taught and accesible Hamlet I can muster. I offer to you, what I believe to be, as director and dramaturg, to be a play that is truly poetry in action.

P L A Y W R I G H T ’ S N O T E S

O N G E T T I N G L O S T , B E I N G F O U N DW H I L E L O O K I N G F O R L O V E L O S T

B Y E N R I Q U E I G N A C I O E S T A G L E

(I implore your pleasure for me to be personal-- more personal.) For so long, I’ve been lost in the sea of love lost, drowning in its loss, getting sucked in deeper as I desperately tried to swim my way up and out. Surprisingly-- or not -- it sucked me back in its vast vortex.

I have thought before that being in the middle, and at the middle, of love lost will make me find love lost in its beautiful yet recalcitrant truth. I am deeply mistaken as it only constructed more of my own demise in my own love lost.

For over two years, One Rainy Evening in April has transformed itself beyond a

singular mental photograph with a vicious intent to destroy the apparent image of someone. It has become a beautiful madness of awkward reality served as an intentionally half-baked slice of l ife, cream on the side.

I’ve had an amazing experience giving more life to this play in these last two or so years. And allow me the pleasure of thanking some people who have been an integral part of this miraculous process.

Thank You:

• My best friends: Rhem David and Lester Abuel, who were also my first readers. Thank for encouraging me to soldier on, not giving up.

• My playwriting mentor : the great Glenn Sevilla Mas, who enjoyed the first ten pages of my original manuscript-- without knowing that I was the one who wrote it-- and invited me to become a Virgin Labfest Writing Workshop Fellow. I apologize for not accepting the invitation because of work. For what its worth, I sti l l regret it to this day.

• My constant collaborator : Paolo Apagalang. Our relationship transcends beyond friends, professional partners, and artistic collaborators. Thank you

for giving your immense seed, bringing new life to this play. I will never forget this experience.

• My unmuse: Jem Vergara. I’ve learned so much in those three weeks. Thank you. Really.

• My P. Thank you for giving l ife to a character that was unseen, unheard, and unmentioned, but as important as the ones on stage.

• My partner-in-crime: BJ Crisosotomo. Thank you for this opportunity to continue making the festival of fools

we’ve envisioned ten years ago during that fateful drinking session in Cantina.

• BJ’s partner-in-crime: Claudine Delfin. Thank you for bringing to life the one bedroom apartment I’ve always wanted to have, sans the refrigerator.

• Our other designers: Jan Leyson, JP del Mundo, and JR Rodriguez. Thank you for giving color to this black-and-white play.

• My beautiful stage manager : Regina Saquin. Thank you for listening to my ramblings as well as driving

me near my house every after rehearsal.

• My cute photographer : Christine Chung. Thank you for the amazing photographs.

• My Joseph: Tarek El Tayech. Thank you for understanding who he really is: not a douchebag.

• My lovely Frances: Trency Caga-anan. Thank you for giving her new life, showing me more than what I thought I wanted.

• Our narrator : Jerome Flor. Thank you for bringing to life Apags’ poetry in a very

cute fashion.

• Our other actors: Guelan and Tin. Thank you for answering Apags’ 10 Questions.

• The PTFJ Ad Consult Team, especially my boss, Gerrard Fabie. Thank you for supporting my passion and teaching me the power of distil led ideas and compelling narratives.

• My mother Agnes, and my sister, Chinee. Thank you for your unwavering support to my artistic endeavors.

And

• My Ness Sheen. Thank you for making me fall in love once again. Thank you for inspiring me to bring art back into the frontlines. Thank you for believing in me, even if at times I didn’t. Thank you for giving me your incomparable love.

Finally, I dedicate this production to my two fathers.

• My biological father : Marcial Estagle, Jr. I know for a fact that you love what I’ve done with this play. I just

wish you were sitting beside me the whole time.

• My “second” father : Ricky Abad. I know for a fact that you might not like what I’ve done with this play. I only wish that at the very least it made you smile.

In conclusion, I cannot admit that in conclusion I have found love lost. But I know that I’m getting close to finding it; and through finding it I hope to also find love found.

Enrique Ignacio EstagleMarch 26, 2015

Makati City

Postscript:

To the r eal Frances: I don’t know you anymor e. I don’t want to tr y to know you anymor e. It ’s of f ic ial : I’m over you. Thank you. Take car e.

P E R F O R M E R SP R O F I L E S

FRANCESTRENCY CAGA-ANAN

JOSEPHTAREK EL TAYECH

BENGUEL AN LUARCA

CL AIRECHRISTINE NERY

P E R F O R M E R S P R O F I L E S

P E R F O R M E R S P R O F I L E S

NARRATORJEROME FLOR

A R T I S T I C & P R O D U C T I O N T E A M

P R O F I L E S

DIRECTOR/WRITERPAOLO APAGAL ANG

WRITERENRIQUE ESTAGLE

A R T I S T I C & P R O D U C T I O N T E A M P R O F I L E S

MUSICAL SCORERJP DEL MUNDO

STAGE MANAGERREGINA SAQUIN

PRODUCTION DESIGNERCL AUDINE DELFIN

PRODUCTION MANAGERJAY CRISOSTOMO IV



SOUND DESIGNERJR RODRIGUEZ

LIGHTING DESIGNERJAN LEYSON


Yolanda Benosa Zernan Fernandez

Tina AtienzaMina Solas

Sindikato incTanghalang ateneoApagalang family

Shir t. ly for #poetees

Nikki James Cando

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

PHOTOGRAPHERCHRISTINE CHUNG

P H O T O G A L L E R Y

S U N C H A S E R M E D I A P A R T N E R S

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