Last summer’s heat wave was at its peak when we traveled to Bataan and visited a school on the outskirts of Balanga City. Our friend, Bataan-born Mike Apostol, hustled us to a huge airconditioned room where a rehearsal for a senakulo was taking place. Milling around were 15 to 20 people in full costume, all of them members of the community theater group called Tanghalang Tatsulok. They’re all volunteers. They have day jobs that pay the rent, so to speak.
Mike Apostol introduced us to one of the apostles, his friend director/playwright/actor and Tatsulok’s co-founder, Carlos “Bong” Ramos. He looked calm and composed despite doing triple dut. Aside from writing and directing the show, Ramos the director cast Ramos the actor to play Peter. It was a nice departure for him, he explained, as he had always been the villain. It started when he played the devil in the first play he was in, he said with a laugh.
The senakulo was work commissioned by the Balanga city government. As Tatsulok has no permanent home, it rented the room in the school for rehearsals. They were scheduled to perform Holy Wednesday evening in Balanga’s beautiful plaza. The night began with the church procession on the main thoroughfares.
The senakulo was the night’s main event. But then, Central Luzon’s first heavy rainfall in weeks happened that night. The downpour was of biblical proportions. Just when we thought the show would be cancelled, it went on just shortly before midnight. For Tatsulok, the rain was a minor problem.
Plays commissioned by local schools and local government units (LGUs) are Tatsulok’s bread and butter. The product has to adhere to what their clients want. Funding the plays the group wants to produce is usually an uphill battle. Support from sponsors or cultural groups is irregular. It came to a point when the budget for a play they were rehearsing dried up. However, that didn’t discourage them. Cast and crew trooped to the nearest pawnshop to hock their cell phones.
Writer/director/actor Carlos ‘Bong’ Ramos in last summer’s ‘senakulo’
Bong Ramos was a B.S. Agriculture major at University of the Philippines Los Baños when the theater bug bit him. Noli Me Tangere was staged on campus, and watching it became life-altering for him. A close friend was an active member of the repertory group. Ramos watched their other plays. “I got so interested in theater I decided not to finish my course. I started acting in plays produced by our parish church in Bataan,” he said.
Not long after, he and two friends who also acted in the church productions were invited to join a cultural and pastoral group called Kalipaya. Based in Quezon City, Kalipaya holds theater workshops in provincial towns and stages plays that touch on youth and environmental and women’s issues. “They held workshops on acting, playwriting, and production. I later became an actor and facilitator for their workshops,” he said.
In 1998, Ramos and two friends founded Tanghalang Tatsulok. Having their own community theater group gave them the freedom to explore a wider scope of topics for plays. They also aimed to educate their audience. Through their productions, Bataan folk could learn more about their home province. Historical dramas and current social issues became their specialty. Also, the plays would showcase the artistry of their playwrights and young actors.
Bataan students who attended Kalipaya’s workshops were recruited to perform. Tatsulok‘s first original production was penned by Ramos. Titled Patintero, ironically it served as metaphor for the hurdles their start-up theater group faced. Funding became a problem, but they did seek the help of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Happily, the institution agreed to buy out tickets, which were then distributed to the students of Balanga.
Due to family and career commitments, Tatsulok’s two other co-founders became less involved in the group’s activities. In contrast, Ramos honed his skills in theater operations by attending the community theater management workshop of the Philippine Education Theater Association (PETA). He also joined the first batch of Tanghalang Pilipino’s (TP) Self-Actualization Workshop.
Among Tatsulok’s recent productions was Pagdaong, written by Ramos and Mark Lorenz Rey. It dramatized the plight of fishermen affected by the Chinese navy intrusions in the West Philippine Sea. After the performance, the cast and playwrights moderated an open forum with their audience. This “talk-back” was done to stimulate the audience and ultimately make them ask: What can I do to help the fishermen?
The actors Tatsulok groomed are already showing promise. Some were in the cast of TP’s Pingkian. Not forgetting their theater roots, the rookie actors excitedly arranged for their Tatsulok colleagues to attend Pingkian’s matinee performance. Ramos and his company eagerly traveled to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex to watch his actors shine with the best of Manila’s performers. It was a proud moment for all.
Championing theater in Bataan: playwrights Anthony Kim Vergara and Dingdong Novenario and Tanghalang Tatsulok’s co-founder Carlos ‘Bong’ Ramos
The ensemble’s involvement in theater beyond Bataan grew. Tatsulok playwright Dingdong Novenario’s Dominador Gonzales: National Artist won acclaim in last year’s Virgin Labfest. It was restaged in this year’s festival. And there’s playwright Anthony Kim Vergara. A member of Writer’s Block, Vergara penned The Interview, which was staged back-to-back with Pagdaong.
What Tatsulok lacks is local public support. Many in Bataan are avid theater goers. They’d drive all the way to Pasay City to see Hamilton, but ironically not for a play in their hometown. Fortunately, Tatsulok has soldiered on because of the sheer passion of the ensemble. It’s not a source of income but performing onstage is rewarding enough. So for 26 years now, this group has been championing theater in its home province. They’re Bataan’s unsung theater heroes.
