Actress plays ‘outsider’ Mabini in steampunk musical

Tanghalang Pilipino, the resident theater company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), will open its 29th season with Nicanor Tiongson’s Mabining Mandirigma, described by its creators as a “steampunk musical” that chronicles the last eventful years of Philippine revolutionary hero Apolinario Mabini’s life and features a young cast, led by an actress who plays the accomplished and brilliant statesman as a political outsider.

At a recent media conference, CCP Vice President and Artistic Director Chris Millado, who is helming the production, said Mabining Mandirigma is being mounted as part of the country’s yearlong commemoration of Mabini’s 150th birth anniversary, which ends later this month.

In his notes, Tiongson said he decided to write Mabining Mandirigma “because the problems [Mabini] encountered in 1898–1899, when he was a leading member of the [Emilio] Aguinaldo government, are exactly the same as the problems our country faces today.”

“These include feudal patronage, which privileges those who are blindly supportive of those in power private armies consisting of army soldiers or private individuals whose loyalty is to the leader, not as commander in chief, but as a personal strongman; the use of violence against officers or officials who are believed to be a threat to the ruling power; men in government who will use their position in the legislature to pass laws that will consolidate their power and assure them of financial gain from government,” he added.

In researching on the Sublime Paralytic’s life and achievements, Tiongson, in a prepared text read by Tanghalang Pilipino Artistic Director Nanding Josef, said he read Mabini’s books—El Verdadero Decalogo, Contestaciones y Consideraciones al Pueblo y Congreso Norte-Americanos, Ordenanzas de la Revolucion, Programa Constitutional de la Republica Filipino and La Revolucion Filipina—as well as his letters and Rafael Palma’s biography of the hero.

The reading of these texts resulted in a script—revised a few times following discussions with Millado—that presents a man whose essence, as dramaturg Manny Pambid put it, is “his great mind.”

Tapped to make the polio-stricken Mabini and his formidable intellect come alive onstage—a daunting task for any actor—is Delphine Buencamino, an actress-dancer-singer whose stage credits include Rody Vera’s Ibalong and Dingdong Novenario’s 2014 Virgin Labfest play Wendy Wants to Be a Housewife. She said she found the role onderfully challenging.

When asked about his reason for casting a young actress like Buencamino as Mabini, Millado—who admitted that he favors unconventional casting—said he did so to make “the hero stand out, to make Mabini’s voice rise [and] stand out from the rest, [and] to stand out from the other male characters.”

One of these characters is Aguinaldo, portrayed by young tenor Arman Ferrer, who spoke of the challenge of playing a man considered as a hero, then as someone confused and finally one regarded by many as a traitor—one that he had never encountered before.

In bringing its setting to life, Mabining Mandirigma is using steampunk, which Tanghalang Pilipino defines as “a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.”

This is going to be reflected in visual artist Toym Imaos set design, which uses a lot of gears; Jed Balsamos songs, including the playful “Nosostros Ilustrados,” the somber “Mahirap Bang Mag-isip Bilang Pilipino” and the soaring “Viva Republica Filipina,” which were sung at the conference and James Reyes metal-infused costumes, among others.

Why steampunk? Millado said adopting steampunk’s aesthetics is a “way of connecting with today’s generation, a way of engaging with the ‘selfie’ generation.” Alvin I. Dacanay

Mabining Mandirigma will open on July 3 and run until July 19 at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater). Performances are at 3 and 8 p.m. Tickets are at P600, P800 and P1,000. For more details, call Tanghalang Pilipino at (632) 832-1125, local 1620/1621, or visit the CCP website.