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PERFORMANCES scheduled to be held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) from March 16, 2020 to Oct. 2021 had to be postponed, canceled, or rescheduled because of the coronavirus pandemic. This displaced a significant number of artists, theater workers and technicians, carpenters, painters, and seamstresses.

While live shows were on hold, the CCP’s theater crew were reassigned to an intensive maintenance program, with some doing research and skills development, as well as designing and fabricating implements needed for their work.

The situation was captured in a short film documentary titled Backstage Pass: Life Behind the Curtains.

Produced in cooperation with Southern Lantern Studios and Daluyong Studios, the 30-minute short feature documentary on the theater crew’s backstage work is directed by award-winning indie filmmaker Joseph Mangat.

“My production team and I were clueless of the amount of work that goes in preparing the theater. Seeing firsthand the dedication and the skills of the theater crew was amazing. I was blown away by the way they work as a team and how in sync they are with one another. What I saw was like a performance and I wanted to showcase this in the documentary,” director Joseph Mangat told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.

The film highlights the back-of-house activities of the CCP theater crew in the lights, fly, and stage areas. It features veteran crew members who share their unique backstage stories, from when they were training until growing dedicated to their work. It also covers the theater crew’s tasks before production ingress, such as the rigging and focusing of lights, installing color filters, and rigging backdrops.

“Our intention was to create a cinematic documentary, a film that captures the artistry in their work and that would frame the theater crew at center stage. We wanted the work they did to be seen with as much care and thoughtfulness, similar to how one would watch a dance or stage performance. Our hope that the audience appreciates the beauty and the craft of what goes on at the backstage,” he said.

According to CCP Production and Exhibition Department head Ariel Yonzon, the CCP intends to make more short documentaries featuring other aspects of backstage work such as costumes, drafting, set construction, props, and front of house.

Backstage Pass: Life Behind the Curtains can be viewed at CCP’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/culturalcenterofthephilippines/videos/392815808986710. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

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CARTOONISH images of a little girl and a dinosaur, their bodies morphed together, are hung on pastel pink walls; at the other end of the gallery, the walls are painted gray and hung with acrylic paintings and watercolor portraits of a brooding young boy.

These are the works of Indonesian pop-surrealist artist Roby Dwi Antono and Filipino pop-surrealist Mr. S (a.k.a. Mark Jeffrey Santos) who are holding simultaneous solo exhibitions, “Intensity, Intimately” and “Reflections” by Mr. S, at  Galerie Stephanie.

‘INTENSITY, INTIMATELY’
Mr. Antono’s career accelerated after a major exhibit at the Art Fair Tokyo. According to his artist bio at Galerie Stephanie’s website, Mr. Antono’s works “evoke pulsating emotional depths, fusing the aesthetics of Surrealism and Classical Renaissance imagery to create a contemporary juxtaposition that’s all his own.” Since the artist’s Philippine debut in the gallery in 2016, Mr. Antono has been a mainstay on its roster. He has participated in Art Fair Tokyo (2016, 2018), Art Fair Philippines (2017, 2018), and the recent edition of Discovery Art Fair Frankfurt.

“Intensity, Intimately” is Mr. Antono’s second solo show, focusing on his inclination towards iconic Japanese characters such as the kaiju, a mythical creature similar to Godzilla. The artist presents the kaiju as a mythical creature with a child forming a “parasocial” relationship with TV characters.

Some of the works —  Us, We are There Together, Epic Battle and Lonesome Hero — were created using black and white oil pastels on canvas, while the child-like illustrations —  such as Hey You!, Don’t be Afraid, and An Asteroid Strike — were done with oil pastel.

‘REFLECTIONS’ BY MR. S
Mr. Santos had a career in video and film before exploring creative work as a visual artist in 2014. His works are described as “steeped in the world of fantasy” and “complete with a dreamlike environment and wide-eyed characters.” Since 2015, Mr. Santos has had four solo exhibitions, and has joined art fairs and group shows in the country and in Taiwan, China, and the United Kingdom.

In “Reflections,” Mr. Santos shows how the pressures of society affect the way we live, how we see ourselves, and how it contributes to our fears.

These messages are depicted through a young boy hiding his face with a mask and facing his inner demons up close. In works such as Encounter with Myself, Mirror Image, and Eye to Eye, the subject finds himself in conflict when trying to appease others.

“Tayong mga tao, iniisip natin masyado yung opinions ng iba (We people tend to think too much about the opinions of others). Sometimes, when we want to do things, we are hindered by those said about us,” Mr. Santos told BusinessWorld at the exhibit’s launch on April 1.

Among his paintings, Mr. Santos favorite piece is Looking Down at My Demons, which he said was where he was able to accomplish incorporating the theory of light and how it behaves in its surroundings. In the painting, the subject holds a lamp and looks down and is confronted by his inner demon.

“…’yung naiisip natin is ’yung opinion sa sarili natin, kasi usually hindi naman ’yon ’yung iniisip nila. (What we often think of are our opinions about ourselves, because others usually do not have the thoughts that we assume they do),” Mr. Santos said.

Mr. Antono’s work showcasing popular TV and comic characters represent heroism and power and are juxtaposed with Mr. Santos’ use of Japanese iconography.

“Intensity, Intimately” and “Reflections” are on view until April 17 at Galerie Stephanie, on the 4^th floor East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong. For inquiries, e-mail inquiry.galeriestephanie@gmail.com or call 7940-5726. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman