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Paint it red: Introducing the Red Turnip Theater Company
There's a new theater company in town. And they're going straight—the straight play, we mean.
As theater luminary Rem Zamora told GMA News Online, "It's probably been in the making for three years...basically, it's five actors, five friends who agree that we would see more of the material we like. Not that we think what other people we do is bad, but that there's a shortage of people doing the things we find interesting."
What Zamora and the four other co-founders of Red Turnip find interesting is the straight stage play, the theatre genre under which, say, the American Theater Wing would give out their dramatic Tony awards.
"Rather than waiting for the other companies to do it, or the other companies we work with after pitching to them, we decided, okay, why not take matters into our own hands and put up another theatre company," Zamora added.
The members of theater company Red Turnip: Five friends who "just wanted to do the plays we wanted to do." Photo courtesy of Red Turnip
What's in a name
The names behind Red Turnip will ring familiar to those who regularly follow the theatre scene in Manila. Apart from Rem Zamora, the troupe involves Ana Abad Santos (who will be directing their first production), Cris Villonco, Topper Fabregas, and Jenny Jamora.
The roots of this idea took hold, as Fabregas recalled, in the process of organizing a reading of a play he and Jamora wanted to stage with Santos as director. It took two years before the idea of a full-blown company emerged. The five launched the company yesterday in an event hosted by another theatre luminary, Jamie Wilson.
“There’s a [serendipity] there too when you find the right friends who are of the same mindset, who want the same things,” said Jamora at the launch. “We just wanted to do the plays we wanted to do…and so we took [on] the responsibility to do it ourselves!”
Jamora added that it was definitely a passion project: “What better way to spend your career in the arts with people that you love, playing the things that you love, and at the same time sharing it with the friends around us and the society that are part of?”
Even the name of the company highlights this passion. The name of the company came from a reported remark the late Zenaida Amador (who at one time or another worked with the five) made about an unnamed actor she directed: “You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, but you can sure as hell paint it red.”
It was a quote about bad acting, but the company feels that it is about that same kind of passion (and well-timed humor) that they are celebrating.
Vibrant openers and enders
Red Turnip wants to build an audience for the straight play, once a staple of the English-language theatre scene. While the current theatre scene is dominated by the musical play, they feel that there is an audience for the kind of emotionally powerful material these actors have always wanted to do.
Manila, they emphasize, has a very vibrant theatre scene, with lots of shows and new companies sprouting up.
Their choice of a first play, which will be staged in October 2013, is an intriguing one. It will be Patrick Marber's play Closer, made into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.
And the cast? Bart Guingona (who recently received critical praise for playing Mark Rothko in Red), Angel Aquino, Cris Villonco, and Marc Abaya (who was with Jenny Jamora in the indie film Ang Nawawala). Ana Abad Santos will direct the play, which will be staged in Whitespace.
Guingona said of the difference between the film and the play, “What I felt that the movie did not capture is the feeling of in-your-face, which is why it is called Closer. It’s easy to be detached from a movie, but when it’s happening right before your very eyes, it is a whole different ball game.”
Initially, they are to have two plays per season, but the company emphasizes that they will not just do one big play, but venture into different staging formats and smaller productions, even a bit of "guerrilla theater."
Even the material will vary in the future. Their "season-ender" will be a romantic farce called Cock, which will be staged in February 2014. What their debut season will have in common is that Closer and Cock will require very intimate spaces.
Sustainability
The challenge is, how would they build an audience and at least come up with a business model to make it sustainable?
"Different theatre companies have adopted business models," Fabregas admitted. "But I can honestly say that not one business model works. The audience is changing…in our case, I think we need to adapt or adopt several business models."
This includes how they will sell tickets, build interest in productions, and other related matters.
However this will go, it looks like this venture will be a happy addition to a theatre scene that is vibrant and very much alive—and hopefully readers will find time to explore what this and other arts ventures have to offer.
For more information on Red Turnip, follow them on Twitter and on Facebook. — VC, GMA News
The names behind Red Turnip will ring familiar to those who regularly follow the theatre scene in Manila. Apart from Rem Zamora, the troupe involves Ana Abad Santos (who will be directing their first production), Cris Villonco, Topper Fabregas, and Jenny Jamora.
The roots of this idea took hold, as Fabregas recalled, in the process of organizing a reading of a play he and Jamora wanted to stage with Santos as director. It took two years before the idea of a full-blown company emerged. The five launched the company yesterday in an event hosted by another theatre luminary, Jamie Wilson.
“There’s a [serendipity] there too when you find the right friends who are of the same mindset, who want the same things,” said Jamora at the launch. “We just wanted to do the plays we wanted to do…and so we took [on] the responsibility to do it ourselves!”
Jamora added that it was definitely a passion project: “What better way to spend your career in the arts with people that you love, playing the things that you love, and at the same time sharing it with the friends around us and the society that are part of?”
Even the name of the company highlights this passion. The name of the company came from a reported remark the late Zenaida Amador (who at one time or another worked with the five) made about an unnamed actor she directed: “You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, but you can sure as hell paint it red.”
It was a quote about bad acting, but the company feels that it is about that same kind of passion (and well-timed humor) that they are celebrating.
Vibrant openers and enders
Red Turnip wants to build an audience for the straight play, once a staple of the English-language theatre scene. While the current theatre scene is dominated by the musical play, they feel that there is an audience for the kind of emotionally powerful material these actors have always wanted to do.
Manila, they emphasize, has a very vibrant theatre scene, with lots of shows and new companies sprouting up.
Their choice of a first play, which will be staged in October 2013, is an intriguing one. It will be Patrick Marber's play Closer, made into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.
And the cast? Bart Guingona (who recently received critical praise for playing Mark Rothko in Red), Angel Aquino, Cris Villonco, and Marc Abaya (who was with Jenny Jamora in the indie film Ang Nawawala). Ana Abad Santos will direct the play, which will be staged in Whitespace.
Guingona said of the difference between the film and the play, “What I felt that the movie did not capture is the feeling of in-your-face, which is why it is called Closer. It’s easy to be detached from a movie, but when it’s happening right before your very eyes, it is a whole different ball game.”
Initially, they are to have two plays per season, but the company emphasizes that they will not just do one big play, but venture into different staging formats and smaller productions, even a bit of "guerrilla theater."
Even the material will vary in the future. Their "season-ender" will be a romantic farce called Cock, which will be staged in February 2014. What their debut season will have in common is that Closer and Cock will require very intimate spaces.
Sustainability
The challenge is, how would they build an audience and at least come up with a business model to make it sustainable?
"Different theatre companies have adopted business models," Fabregas admitted. "But I can honestly say that not one business model works. The audience is changing…in our case, I think we need to adapt or adopt several business models."
This includes how they will sell tickets, build interest in productions, and other related matters.
However this will go, it looks like this venture will be a happy addition to a theatre scene that is vibrant and very much alive—and hopefully readers will find time to explore what this and other arts ventures have to offer.
For more information on Red Turnip, follow them on Twitter and on Facebook. — VC, GMA News
