Ateneo ENTABLADO: Enriching the Storytelling Experience
Last February 28, 2018, Ateneo de Manila University’s premier sociopolitical theatre organization, Ateneo ENTABLADO (Enterteynment para sa Tao, Bayan, Lansangan, at Diyos), held a production of Ang Pitong Gunggong, a play by Christine Bellen and Tyron Casumpang. The play follows the story of seven intellectually challenged young men and women who attempt to navigate their way through the political landscape of their rural town under the oppressive rule of Kapitan Papa D and his cronies, serving as an allegory for the current state of the Philippines. The story draws quite obvious parallels between its characters and the real-life people they are based on, exaggerating them into ridiculous caricatures that do not seem so far from reality upon further inspection.
Ang Pitong Gunggong is a colorful show, in terms of visuals, plot, and even language. Equally colorful are the incidental music and original songs by Maynard de Guzman that retain a distinctly Filipino feel to them without compromising the genre of musical theatre. The opening music, for example, employs the use of piano and a stringed instrument that could be guitar or a rondalla. Additionally, it is in triple time. These all seem to be distinguishing characteristics of Filipino folk music, thus befitting of the provincial scene the play is set in.
At times, the music serves as a device to convey and highlight certain aspects of the characters on stage. When the titular gunggong characters are being introduced to the audience, the music is upbeat due to the added use of a percussive instrument playing at a quick tempo. There is also the use of a brass instrument (which may simply be a synthesizer producing a brasslike sound) that adds more color to the music owing to its bright timbre. These elements match well with the characters as they may be described as carefree and happy, thus the lively music makes their antics even more enjoyable. During their extended dialogue, the music dials down to a simple ragtime-esque tune played on the piano in order to retain the same lively mood without interfering with the audience’s capability to understand what is occurring on stage. In contrast, darker music plays when the antagonists, Papa D’s cronies, are introduced. This clues in the audience to be suspicious of these characters, as a sense of foreboding is produce by the dark cello timbre.
In the performing arts, music has an exceedingly large influence over the mood of a scene, thus controlling how the audience will receive or interpret any certain event. During the introduction of Bokal (a character based on Director General of the Philippine National Police, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa), he starts juggling and the music changes accordingly to another ragtime-esque tune, ultimately lightening the mood briefly to one of humor. As the next antagonist is introduced, the music turns back to dark and foreboding, then repeats the change to the lighter tune as they act in an absurd manner, repeatedly painting comical caricatures of well-known political figures. Likewise, in another scene where the sacred image of the Santa Iluminada is about to be stolen, the incidental music uses a mischievous-sounding piece played pizzicato on strings, emphasizing the sneaky movements of the thieves. Another instance is when a quick-paced sequence by some string instruments mark the end of the first act, giving off a sense of urgency as the audience is left with a cliffhanger, uncertain what is to follow.
It is also interesting to note how music was used to illustrate conflict. When Papa D and his cronies are attempting to brainwash their newly recruited volunteers, the seven gunggong, the young men and women unexpectedly resist, and the cronies declare they want to settle the dispute with a fandango. Appropriately enough, the “battle” is set to music of Spanish influence, complete with aggressive guitar strumming, rhythmic piano-playing, provocative percussion, and hand-clapping. Likewise, when the rebellious gunggong are to be punished for their misdemeanor, Papa D asks his constituents what should be done with them, and intense tremolo playing on string instruments is heard, producing a suspenseful atmosphere.
As important as music is in stage productions, it is just as important to know when to make use of silence instead. In scenes where dialogue is almost chaotic (such as when the seven gunggong take one of Papa D’s idioms too literally and end up almost cutting him open), music ceases to play so as not to overwhelm the audience by adding even more sonic information to process than is necessary. In cases such as these it is necessary to note when less is indeed more.
Ang Pitong Gunggong’s music is an excellent display of Filipino culture by means of composition; however, it could have been sufficiently improved had the instrumentation utilized other native instruments such as the Jew’s harp or the kulintang. Live instrumentalists were present, yet they did not perform a majority of the incidental music nor the songs used in the play. They did make use of instruments similar to the rondalla and dabakan, though these were not prominently employed elements in any of the play’s music. Despite these shortcomings, the way in which de Guzman’s compositions enriched the storytelling remains admirable.
The shows of Ang Pitong Gunggong will be running until March 17, 2018.
Photo by Geela Garcia of Ateneo ENTABLADO