(Continuation)
LOS ANGELES, California?Before we continue our feature on Bernardo Bernardo and Becca Godinez, we?re shouting ?Bravo!? to our former classmate, Erlinda ?Dang? Koe, who received the Outstanding Thomasian Alumni (Total) Award for humanitarian service, in rites held at the University of Santos Tomas last Feb. 28.
Dang, inspired by her eldest son, Gio, who has autism, has tirelessly pioneered efforts to increase awareness about autism in the Philippines. As the national president of Autism Society Philippines, Dang leads the movement that helps half a million Filipino families dealing with autism. Congratulations to Dang and the other recipients of Total Awards.
Dang and other select alumni, as well as faculty members who served in the ?60s and ?70s, will be honored in a general alumni homecoming, in commemoration of the sapphire (45th) anniversary of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters at 3 p.m. Saturday.
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Also happening today?but in LA?are the ?VDay 2009: Filipinas? performances to stop violence against women and girls. Bernardo and Becca lead the cast of ?A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer,? while Nia Peeples and Tamlyn Tomita headline ?The Vagina Monologues,? which go onstage at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, at the Aratani Theater of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. More information is available at www.vday2009.org.
The continuation of our Q and A with Bernardo and Becca:
This will be the first time in LA that an all-Filipino cast is assembled for benefit readings of Eve Ensler?s ?TVM? and ?MMRP,? and this will probably be one of the largest groups of Filipino actors, TV personalities and community leaders ever gathered in one night.
Bernardo Bernardo (BB): Happy days! A chance for an inconceivably silent and invisible minority to be heard and appreciated. Beyond the power and the urgent, heartfelt message of both productions, these two shows are fantastic showcases for Pinoy talent.
Importance
Becca Godinez (BG): Kudos to all Filipino actors for recognizing the validity and importance of this event. I?m proud that we have courageously left our barangays to come together to participate in making a unified statement against the ?mechanism of violence.? I am deeply humbled and honored to be a part of the Filipino voice.
What was your reaction when you saw ?TVM? for the first time?
BB: I directed the Filipina Women?s Network production of ?TVM? at San Francisco?s Herbst Theatre in 2004. Those Pinays rocked! I translated a few of the monologues in Tagalog. Wonderful experience. Unfortunately, I didn?t get recognition as an Honorary Vagina Warrior (sigh). Always the bridesmaid?
BG: I saw a performance of ?TVM? in Manila a few years ago. It takes you aback at first, because the message is ?in your face.? However, Eve wrote it so adeptly. You can?t hide from it; you can?t pretend you didn?t hear what was being said. The message kicks you in the gut.
Becca, Ted Benito (producer) told me you have a strong connection to the words and experiences that Eve shared in your monologue, ?Fur is Back.? Why?
Documentary
BG: Sometimes, a piece grabs your attention and wrenches out a deep and powerful reaction that surprises you as an actor. There are truths to many of Eve?s lines that had been my own truths during the many metamorphoses in my life.
In my youth, in my wide-eyed impressions of success, I equated that top-of-the-ladder experience with material things. I thought I needed ?upper echelon? approval and high-society trinkets. As I grew up, I began to take notice of a bigger world.
Once, I watched in horror a documentary about women from Africa who were castrated. In another, I saw a video of young girls who were violently raped numerous times by Sunni soldiers.
When I read this piece, I became acutely aware that each topic Eve brought to the fore was in fact familiar to me and, by its impact, I realized that I cared. I care very deeply about God?s people, and I instantly identified with the character.
Bernie, Ted said you cried when you first read Carol Michele Kaplan?s ?True,? the monologue that you?re doing.
BB: There are times when an actor gets his hands on a script, and he just connects with the character and his lines. It?s surreal. You?re just reading, trying to make sense of the words, scene, action and, all of a sudden, you?re transported. You?re channeling the character, feeling his feelings, and owning his words. It?s weird and fantastic at the same time. I did not want to cry?it just happened.
Prosy dela Cruz will be delivering the only monologue in Tagalog, ?Ang Aking Baha.? Isn?t it great to have a monologue delivered in Tagalog, because there?s nothing like the forceful impact of hearing those raw words in our national language?
BB: That?s great for Prosy. It?s a gift they enjoy to extended maturity. Some of my male friends are already suffering from the onslaught of Viagra-less recession. It would be nice if there was a successful male version of ?TVM.?
But, you?re right. It?s better in Tagalog?juicier, more graphic when needed, more playful and lyrical. It hits you where you live. Caveat: Dedicated Pinoy prudes best stay away if they?re easily offended. Definitely for adults only.
BG: Absolutely. It brings home to our culture the corporate yet singular female experience. It was written with a world view, yet it?s also Filipino.
Special connection
There are many other performers and monologues in this VDay production. Which talents or monologues are you looking forward to watching?
BB: I have a special connection to Becca, so I?m definitely looking forward to her performance. But, I?m sure my fellow actors are going to blow me away. I don?t want to have expectations, really. I want to be surprised.
BG: I?m sure each one will be uniquely different.
How different are the audiences in Manila and LA?
BB: When it comes to audiences, people are basically the same everywhere. You can fool them some of the time, but they develop bulls**t detectors pretty fast. So, truth in acting is crucial.
The difference? Language can sometimes be a problem in Manila when it comes to nuances and matters of topical interest. But, it?s nothing major.
What I miss most about performing in Manila is that, over there, one?s opportunities to explore his range as an actor are practically limitless. But, whether you?re in Manila or LA, it is a Sysiphean uphill climb. Same problems, different locations.
BG: It may not be the audience that is different, but I am different. As I have aged, I have become fearless as an actor. Whether I cared to admit it or not, portrayals in my youth probably lacked the depth I can now bring to a character. An audience recognizes artistic honesty. What I do miss about Manila are my coactors at Repertory.
What do you hope the audience to come away with?
BB: Hopefully, people will love themselves better, respect women and girls more, and get a realization that we?re all in this together if we want to make changes for the common good.
BG: I hope they will become more aware of the violence that women are still experiencing today. I hope the readings help build intolerance to the seeming apathy for abused women.
On a lighter note, what?s the fun side of being in this production?
BB: Watching rehearsals is always fun. But, what I enjoy most is sneaking a peek from the wings, witnessing a fellow actor?s performance between two worlds, as a fellow actor and as a member of the audience.
BG: Being with the actors and growing inside the roles together. I have been away from the theater for far too long, and I miss it. The bug bit me again!
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.
