Teatro Tomasino, the
university-wide theater guild of the University of Santo Tomas, is mounting its
second major production titled Twosome. This twin bill production
features Welcome to Intelstar and Wanted: Chaperon to be directed by the
guild's professional adviser and university alumnus John "Sweet" Lapus. This
30th anniversary offering of Teatro Tomasino will be staged at the Albertus
Magnus Auditorium, UST Education Building on December 11 and 12 with shows at
10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Wanted: Chaperon takes a look into the parents who want to supervise the moral development of their children who have entered the period of young adulthood. The play showcases two sets of parents who come from two societies in conflict during the time of pre-war Manila.
A typical day in the home of Don Francisco turns upside down
when he acquires a new servant who wants to be designated as a
"butler." On that same day, he and his wife Doña Petra want to look
into the previous night's dates of their unico hijo and hija. Their arguments
becomes more chaotic and hilarious when Doña Dolores, and her son, Fred visit
their house.
Wanted: Chaperon portrays Filipino
tradition and family values; the playwright has constructed a metaphor about a
society caught up in a socio-cultural crisis. The generation gap is exemplified
by Don Francisco's line to his son recalling his courtship of his wife,
"Noong nagliligaw ako sa iyong ina, ang binibigay ko sa kanya ay mani at
balut."
The classical play by National Artist for Literature Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero and translated by Jose Villa Panganiban has been adapted by Teatro Tomasino with a twist of modernity by the Universal Sweet, John Lapus.
The 2005 Palanca award-winning play Welcome to IntelStar is a monologue written by Chris Martinez that takes an amusing and light-hearted look at people who work in the financially rewarding but rather cyclic world of call centers.|
It's 11:30 p.m. and the viewers are treated to a typical training session
conducted by Ma'am Chelsea, the hotshot training manager of a top-rank call center
company that specializes in U.S. directory assistance. Her job is to teach new recruits (the
audience) to become virtual Americans.
Chelsea is a picture of
confidence and proceeds with the orientation using her "neutral American accent"
through
tectonic shifts in accents, mindsets, body clocks, and a PowerPoint
presentation throughout the entire play. At the end of the presentation,
she reflects on her chosen career of five years while drinking Tanduay from her
spill-proof Starbucks mug.
For inquiries, you may contact production manager Raymond
Beltran at 0916-4905128, marketing head Patricia Katipunan at 09167812088 or
the Teatro Tomasino Office at 406-1611 local 8484.