MANILA, Philippines - Sitting through the staged reading of four plays by Ma-Yi Theater Company at the CCP Little Theater could make even the most decorous feel a bit uneasy.

Filipinos living abroad, at their quirkiest, were being portrayed on stage by some of the country?s first-rate stage actors to the delight and applause of an egalitarian crowd composed of students, professors, labor leaders, stage actors, theater buffs, the Forbes Park set, foreign guests and local media.

In excerpts from ?Project: Balangiga,? Filipinos and Americans engage in debate whether the historic Bells of Balangiga, which are in the possession of the United States of America, should be returned to the Philippines.

The quirkiness begins when one Pinay character introduces herself as being single, then progresses to one Pinoy piano teacher breaking into a song he has written as his contribution to the dialogue.

It continues with ?PeregriNasyon? by Chris Millado and ?Middle Finger? by Han Ong, family-oriented stories divulging the hardships of Filipino families living abroad in trying to adapt themselves to and blend in with American culture and society.

?Nebraska,? a work-in-progress slated for production in New York in 2009, is about a Filipina boarding a train without having purchased a ticket.

Authenticity

Despite these foibles, the fact that Filipinos are clever and persevering should not be overlooked. And this, perhaps, is what the praises are for?the authenticity and innovation that Ma-Yi Theater brings.

Ralph Pena?s artistic direction as well as the amusing performances of veterans Nonie Buencamino, Joel Torre, Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino, Irma Adlawan-Marasigan, along with up-and-coming stage actors JM de Guzman, Nicco Manalo, Nar Cabico and Red Concepcion made the one-night-only affair all the more memorable.

This was all part of the launching of the 400-page book ?Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theater Company,? edited and compiled by Palanca-winning poet and playwright Joi Barrios-Leblanc.

?Savage Stage? is a compilation of nine previously produced Ma-Yi original plays as well as essays that locate the texts within the larger framework of Asian-American theater and Filipino diaspora.

?This book invites the reader to study the plays? and the company?s participation in the discourse on the ?savage? tropes of danger and deceit in plays that at initial reading seem to be merely about domestic dramas; the lure of self-exoticizing in the marketing of theater productions; and the articulation of nationalist struggles in homelands, even as the production site?New York?necessitates a rethinking of both cosmopolitanism and nationalism,? Barrios-Leblanc says.

?The act of publishing the plays, therefore, is also a way for the company to re-evaluate not only the work it has done but also its vision of Asian-American theater in the context of contemporary developments in the world.?

Home

Executive director Jorge Ortoll adds that to be invited back to Manila is to be invited home and that Ma-Yi is looking to exchange collaboration with artists here.

?Collaboration is the name of the game,? Ortoll says. ?I would like to see Filipino artists and New York artists working together on an original piece so as to elevate the consciousness of the Asian-American playwright, director and actor.?

What began as a Filipino-American theater in 1989 has now expanded to being an Asian-American company. Ma-Yi, a name first used by 14th-century Chinese traders in referring to a group of islands now known as the Philippines, is the leading professional incubator of Asian-American plays in the United States. It has received 10 Obie Awards (Off-Broadway?s highest honor); a Drama Desk nomination for Best Play; and several Hewitt Design awards.

According to the Ma-Yi website, the choice of using the name was to recognize the vibrant culture that existed before the Western colonizers came.

?Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theater Company? is available at Solidaridad, Fully Booked, A Different Bookstore, and Power Books.

The staged reading, the company?s third show in the Philippines, was made possible by the generosity and support of the Asian Cultural Council (Philippines and New York). It was billed as part of the Virgin Labfest 4, a festival of new works by Filipino playwrights organized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino, and Writers? Bloc.