As I was deleting photos in my camera, I came across a few pictures that brought back memories.
Allow me to narrate to you the long version of how I decided to work for government. That way you get to know me better.
PERFECT SCENARIO
I was then a wide-eyed “probinsiyana” when my plane landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City.
This was my first airplane ride and the trip was paid for by the Commission on Population (POPCOM); so was my food, accommodation and shuttle service for the entire week.
My Manila adventure was made possible with the cooperation of the Dulaang Kabataang Barangay (DKB) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
I arrived in the big city along with other Cebuano students from various universities who were chosen to be actors, musicians and production staff. From the airport we went straight to the dormitory for lunch before proceeding to the CCP complex.
The whole package was my prize for writing one of the best scripts for one-act plays at the regional level in a contest organized by POPCOM.
Coming to Manila, I still had to compete at the national level and stage the play on the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino Little Theater at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
We were told by POPCOM that we will be working for a week with multi-awarded stage director and University of the Philippines (UP) professor for theater arts Antonio “Tony ” Mabesa. We were also told through word of mouth that he had a mercurial temper, especially if he had a bad day with students at the UP Diliman.
The prize winning one-act plays staged at CCP during that time in the order of the playbill poster were: Bakit Nagkaganito, Bakit Nagkaganoon (DKB Catanduanes ); Hinubog sa Bagyo (DKB National Capital Region); Sobra Na, Tama Na (DKB Olongapo City); Isang Umagang Lumubog ang Araw (DKB Davao City); Ang Plano sa Barrio Kampupot (DKB Cebu City).
As you may have noticed from the titles of the 5 stage plays, ours was the only stage play written in Cebuano. What made it even more challenging was that it was a musical. And we had student actors who weren’t really professional singers.
THEATRE ARTS PROFESSOR
Hija ! This was how Tony Mabesa would usually call me since he always forgets my name. He gestured to me to sit beside him as he looked pensively at my script.
“How can you make the audience understand the message you are trying to convey when most of them don’t understand Bisaya?”, he pointed out.
Tony and I were sitting in the middle of the tiered seats of the cavernous theater hall watching actors rehearsing their positions.
“With due respect, Sir, there are other ways to communicate to people other than using words,” I reasoned out, “Besides, I am not conversant in Tagalog.” I was hoping my nervousness wasn’t too obvious.
“Tell me, Hija, ” Tony continued while cocking his head to the side, “what form of communication are we talking here exactly?”
The CCP Little Theater was fully airconditioned but I was sweating.
To give you an idea of how I was feeling at that time, imagine a kid who never expected that her script, which she wrote on the fly to combat boredom, would win an award; which eventually lead her to Metro Manila for the first time; have her work with an acclaimed stage director ; and with the fate of a stage production on her shoulders.
A lot of changes and huge responsibility in a short period of time for an “accidental” playwriter.
So when Tony called me, my heart pounded and my legs shook. I was worried I may not be able to make him understand what I had in mind.
Being surrounded by production staff waiting for our decision made me even more uneasy. I didn’t want to look like I didn’t know what I was doing. Talking with a stupid person was the highest form of insult to Tony.
Tony’s critique focused on how I treated my story line: a female barangay captain having a meeting with her councilors to solve the biggest problem of the barangay — overpopulation. The council members also needed to figure out how to convince the locals on the negative consequences to the community of irresponsible sexual behaviour.
Finally, I said let us combine Cebuano words with physical acting, dance and mime. (This is the theatrical technique of suggesting action, character, or emotion without words, using only gesture, expression, and movement.)
For a few seconds, there was awkward silence before Tony finally said , “mmmm…maybe that will work. However, I just have one concern, Hija. You are taking part in the POPCOM national competition. Its all about birth control and the consequences of unplanned sex. We definitely can’t do mime for that. We will get banned from the stage for the rest of our existence.”
“For that part, since this is a surreal play, I said, we can use the powerpoint presentation from POPCOM and combine it with sounds …. percussion…”
What sounds?!… sexual moaning?!!…his face now looking incredulous; sexual moaning ?! , he repeats while he looks at me with his eyes widened in disbelief. By this time, I am sitting on my hands to minimize the tremors and feeling like an imposter.
He suddenly stands up, pumps the air with his fists, claps his hands and bursts out laughing. I like your spunk, Hija, he said animatedly. ” I like that you go for the unexpected, quite mischievous actually but within the bounds of propriety” as he lets out a loud guffaw which reverberated throughout the hall, making heads turn to where we sat. This is going to be an interesting play, Hija, he chuckles.
I proceeded to tell him about an experiment I did with another Cebuano play “Lawa-lawa sa Alimpatakan” (Cobwebs in the Mind). This is a psychological thriller I wrote for the Saint Theresa’s College drama competition as part of my course requirement.
The psycho-thriller I was referring to was set against a backdrop of murder inside a mental hospital. We used a combination of radio sound effects, huge electric fans and strobe lights to engage the senses and allow the audience to experience what the protagonist felt.
That play was a hit among the students. It had all the elements they wanted: intellectual puzzle, mystery, suspense, immersive experience.
A key take-away lesson during the staging of that play is that audience imagination is stronger and better than any special effects we can bring forth. And if we are able to stimulate their imagination, we can manipulate their emotions.
It was memorable enough that the College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Cebu Chapter replayed it at the University of San Carlos Cultural Center.
You see I also learned early in life that, in writing competitions, judges always notice the divergent entry, the one that is beautifully different, or gorgeously unexpected that it sticks in their memory.
THE NATIONAL COMPETITION
The CCP actors in the Cebu group weren’t happy about the fact that I refused to have the script translated to Tagalog. They were constantly harping on their illusory lost opportunity for fame and fortune. The provincial technical staff were also pressuring me for the same request since there were awards for acting and technical merit.
“Uuughhh…why do I have to deal with these ambitious little devils? Did I really sign up for this?, I kept asking myself.
What’s the point in having me here if you merely want me to be like everyone else?, I countered. Finally, I begged them to stop badgering me because I already had more than enough mental and emotional stress as it is.
The play synopsis in the official program given to the audience didn’t help to clarify our entry either.
SYNOPSIS : ANG PLANO SA BARRIO KAMPUPOT
“Isang dulaang musikal na sinaliwan ng sayaw.
Ang “Barrio Kampupot” ay representasyon ng buong Pilipinas. Ang paniniwalang (mali man o tama) ugali at pamamaraan ng kabuhayan ng bansa ay inilahad ng dula sa makakaaliw na pamamaraan. Hindi man diretsahan, ay ibinigay ng materyal ang maling paniniwala ng Pilipino ukol sa sex at pagplano ng pamilya at dito’y may kinalaman ang lahat. Mula magulang, kapatid, guro, medisina at simbahan.
Good thing that the POPCOM sided with me. That gave me a good idea of how much government values protocol : “Whatever the scriptwriter wants to do with her script is her prerogative … whether it be in Tagalog or Cebuano. The script will be judged according to its merits.”
On the last day of rehearsal, I was tired not just with the rehearsals but with the usual intrigues that come with any competition and just wanted to go to sleep since it was past 7 pm. I went inside the actor’s dressing room and laid down the sofa.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see a DKB representative with a harried looking POPCOM rep beside him.
“Get dressed. You are going to the awards ceremony,” the Cebu DKB rep said.
Standing with bleary eyes from lack of sleep, I hesitated.
“I didn’t bring any clothes for the awards night,” I revealed sheepishly. As a matter of fact, I don’t have any formal clothes in my wardrobe.
The DKB rep turned towards the door, stepped outside the dressing room and looked around. He saw groups of well-dressed students milling outside; he recognized someone and called her to come inside.
“You are both of the same body size? ” , he looked me over then settled his eyes on her. “Right, take off your clothes and shoes”, he tells the girl. “Lend it to her (pointing to me).
She objected. You can wear your extra t-shirt and pants”, he stoically adds.
Shocked, I protested, what are you doing?! I can’t just wear her clothes?!
She isn’t going to awards night, you are, the DKB rep calmly retorted.
I tried again, “She can be my proxy. I am not really interested in attending the awards night.” At this point I was fed up with people desperate to win at any cost.
“There’s really is no time for discussion. You are attending the awards ceremony”, DKB rep coolly gave his instruction, “you will be part of the photo op with the official.”
“Do you mean to say that we won?”, I asked.
“It’s not for me to say. I will see you at the theater hall in a few minutes”, he replied. Turned to the POPCOM rep and said in an audible whisper “make sure she comes with you.”
POPCOM rep told me to hurry and get dressed since the festival of plays is about to begin.
That night, another play won the award for best play as written. But there was one special award which wasn’t in the original list of awards prepared by the POPCOM:
THE BEST ONE-ACT PLAY AS STAGED. This was the play which Tony Mabesa insisted to POPCOM should be given to the group that effectively interpreted the script onstage — DKB Cebu City.
Indeed, I had the photo opportunity with the official (I think it was current Senate representative Imee Marcos) who gave me the award in behalf of the DKB Cebu City.
After that stint with POPCOM and DKB, I became more open to working with government and welcomed opportunities for collaboration. This was how I ended up with the Philippine Information Agency as a contractual employee and, eventually, at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on a permanent basis.
I come from a family of accountants; so naturally the DTI , an agency filled mostly with commerce, engineering and business management graduates, would feel like family to me.
Other than that, the agency’s major come-on is its culture which values critical thinking, emotional stability and reliability. These 3 qualities are so important to the department that they contracted the services of a private psychological testing center to give exams to all applicants vying for regular positions at the agency.
So on top of passing the Civil Service Professional Exam, applicants have to surmount the agency’s psychological exam in order to be included in the list for consideration by a board of interviewers.
Somehow, everything effortlessly fell into place for me. Maybe I was meant to be where I currently am working.
How about you ? What is your career story?
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