Self-reflexive theater: Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank hits the stage
FIFTEEN YEARS after the film Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank took the indie film landscape by storm with its satire of the industry’s fixation on poverty-centered cinema, a theatrical adaptation marks the razor-sharp franchise’s fourth installation. Now in the form of a play, it is set to run at the PETA Theater Center from June 19 to Aug. 16.
The 2011 film starred Eugene Domingo as a histrionic version of herself, an ambitious actress determined to win awards by playing a poor woman in an indie film. The 2016 sequel saw her take on mainstream romantic comedy drivel, then the third iteration in 2019 — a seven-episode digital series — illustrated the absurdity of historical revisionism.
Like the previous installations of this multi-platform franchise, the play will be a satire with a purpose, this time turning its focus to the Philippines’ active theater scene.
Titled Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4: Oh Sh*t! It’s Live Sa Cheter!, it is helmed by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA).
“This ‘golden age’ of theater is really quite interesting. From the pandemic, all of a sudden, it boomed. The ticket prices are so high, but people are buying,” said director Maribel Legarda, at a press conference in Quezon City on May 4. “We’re happy but it also has its own set of challenges and problems. Maybe it’s also a cautionary tale — just because we’re in a golden age doesn’t mean everything’s okay. We have to keep on reflecting and seeing ourselves in larger contexts so that we keep growing.”
She added that Septic Tank 4 will have an “intergenerational quality” appealing to theatergoers both young and old, seasoned and new. “We should be able to poke fun at ourselves, be self-reflexive, and laugh, especially because we have a lively scene,” she said.
Supporting Ms. Legarda in the creative team are writer Chris Martinez, assistant director Johnnie Moran, set and costume designer Gino Gonzales, lighting designer Barbie Tan-Tiongco, choreographer Raflesia Bravo, and video designer Bene Manaois, with sound and music by Angel Dayao and lyrics by Michelle Ngu Nario.
Returning as herself is Eugene Domingo, a non-negotiable presence since she has been the anchor of the entire franchise.
This time, she is accompanied by a lineup of theater practitioners playing both “archetypes and hyper-real versions of themselves”: Melvin Lee, Andoy Ranay, Meann Espinosa, JC Santos, Stella Cañete-Mendoza, Joshua Lim So, and Marlon Rivera.
EVOLUTION OF SATIRE
Structured as a “play within a play,” Septic Tank 4 will explore “the process of theater-making … blurring the line between reality and performance.” Audiences can expect an irreverent tone and a meta narrative filled with humor, spectacle, and social commentary, which are the bread and butter of PETA productions.
For Mr. Rivera, who directed the indie cult classic and its two sequels crossing film to digital, it was only right that he join the project as an actor this time, since he is not a theater director.
“This is supposed to be fun and a love letter to the Philippine theater. I know there’s a lot of vitriol, but it’s really a love letter to everyone,” he said.
He and writer Chris Martinez, who was the screenwriter for all the previous installments and is the playwright for this one, agreed that Septic Tank has always been about “satirizing institutions.”
“In spirit it has always been self-referential. It has always referred to what is happening at the moment so, for me, the most exciting part is that we know all these people,” Mr. Rivera added. “I have been off theater for the longest time, since the ’90s. It’s my first time back and I’m just excited to be here, to perform and namedrop all our friends in theater.”
As for Ms. Domingo, as the star of the show, a major hurdle is that they will mount 50 shows in total over the play’s run — and she and the other leads have no alternates.
“We need vitamins, supplements, prayers,” she said, “And we are studying each other’s parts.”
She explained that while she is best known for her film work, she does theater every few years and makes sure each play is totally different — and this one is possibly the most challenging so far.
“We’re going to show you what, how, to be a theater person. So, everybody’s required to be a triple threat,” she said. “We’re going to sing, we’re going to dance, we’re going to act. We’re fighting, we’re making you laugh, we’re making you cry, and most of all, you get out of the theater a little smarter, a little prouder, and a little more nationalistic.”
Septic Tank 4 will be both a celebration and a commentary. The excerpt shown to the press early in May offered theater insider jokes. There were jabs at jukebox musicals being mounted left, right, and center; at playwright Rody Vera not being available; at distinct schools of acting ranging from Dulaang UP to Repertory Philippines to PETA itself; and at new theater audience members watching shows just to look sophisticated.
THE FUTURE OF THEATER
Mr. Rivera pointed out that poking fun doesn’t have to be malicious, as it can lead to more meaningful discussions.
“Audience development is critical. The audiences now came from so many places, like Ang Huling El Bimbo and recently One More Chance the Musical with Ben&Ben,” he said. “It brought in new audiences to the theater. The point is to grow as a community as much as we can.”
The process they underwent to choose which theater-makers would appear as themselves was rigorous, said playwright Mr. Martinez.
He conducted in-depth interviews, asking questions like “What does theater really mean for you? Why are you still in the theater when you already have all these options in front of you?”
PETA artistic director J-Mee Katanyag added that doing it helped them “ask questions about where today’s theater landscape will go.”
“Because it’s a contemporary or new work, it will be constantly updated throughout the run,” she explained, on whether the material will shift depending on what’s happening in the real world of theater. “More seasoning will be added, but of course we’ll have to make sure each issue is put in responsibly.”
For Mr. Rivera, even the choice of Aurelio Tolentino’s Kahapon, Ngayon, at Bukas as the “play within a play” that the characters will mount is relevant.
“That’s a very important choice done for this production because if you read it, it’s a very seditious play. It should remind us that theater has always been at the forefront of protest,” he said.
Septic Tank 4 will not provide answers, said Ms. Katanyag, but it will hopefully give everyone ideas that may inform future actions regarding Philippine theater, “whether as actors, creators, reviewers, or audience.”
Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4: Oh Sh*t! It’s Live Sa Cheter! is set to run from June 19 to Aug. 16 at the PETA Theater Center, Eyrnard Drive, in Quezon City. Tickets, ranging in price from P1,800 to P3,500, are now available via TicketWorld. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
