The Rise to Rent: Taking Charge as Musical Director
The Ateneo Blue Repertory (BlueREP) is Ateneo de Manila University’s premier collegiate musical theater organization. Now in its 26th season, BlueREP has decided to focus on the theme of love in difficult times—beginning with Stages of Love, a series of interconnecting love stories, showcasing the different forms love can take and evolve into. The theater organization has decided to end its season with Rent, exploring the lives of yet another group of friends living through New York’s AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.
BlueREP has done other internationally successful shows, such as Once on This Island, Spring Awakening, and In The Heights. Rent is no new challenge to the organization, but the obstacle of standing out from other adaptations provides a challenge for new members. In an interview, the two assistant musical directors (MD for short), Kyra Soriano and Peter Romero, have provided their insights on how the cast and crew are preparing for the feat of tackling this intimidating show. Kyra and Peter played the roles of Carmen Diaz and Schlomo Metzenbaum, respectively, in their past production of Fame. Despite being mere freshmen in Ateneo (Kyra a BFA Theater Arts student, Peter a BS Management), they gained confidence in taking on the role of MD thanks to the tutelage of their own MD, Abi Sulit.
The MD is in charge of teaching the songs in a musical to the cast. This job is usually divided among the MD’s depending on both their availability and musical skill. Aside from proper technique, Kyra and Peter are also in charge of ensuring how the emotional aspect of performing a song must be executed—for example, deciding whether one should hold back their vocal power or break out into vocal runs during a given song.
Peter’s theater experience began back in high school as the tenor voice head of their high school church choir. Despite taking solo voice lessons just the summer before the start of his college life, he says he is ready to challenge himself teaching others how to sing. His experience in playing the piano in the second grade has also come in handy when performers require accompaniment. He readily steps in and plays for the cast whenever Abi is unavailable.
Despite never receiving formal voice training, Kyra possesses natural talent in singing—probably a result of being born into a musically inclined family. Prior to entering college, the most theater experience Kyra had was being an audience member. In preparation for her role as MD, Kyra took it upon herself to learn how to read sheet music in a week. Chorale singing is more of her forte, having had experience with the genre since the seventh grade.
Teaching songs is but the start of the responsibilities of a MD. The MD’s presence is also crucial in scrutinizing choreography and acting. As Peter explains, dancing can affect the singing technique of the cast members, so the MD’s must be present in order to remind them of proper placement. Kyra and Peter also monitor the actors for any unnecessary voicings they may sing. They relay everything to Abi as she has the final say on what voicings or dynamics to retain in the performance. Despite her title, Abi prefers not to use her experience to intimidate the newbies of BlueREP. She remains patient with the two MD’s, as observed during BlueREP’s rehearsals—most especially in helping Kyra and Peter learn the ropes of teaching others how to sing.
Both assistant MD’s agree that rehearsals can be tiring. As singing marks the start of rehearsals, Kyra and Peter are the non-cast members who have probably attended the most rehearsals. Despite their tiresome schedule, motivation isn’t lost on their five-to-nine grind. The cast and crew are full of passionate people who take care of each other and bring fun to the job.
As Rent is set in New York City, it begs the question of how the cast plans to adapt the storyline to a Philippine setting. Kyra and Peter indicated that there would be no alterations in the script or song lyrics for the sake of contextualizing the performance. Despite this, Kyra assures potential audiences that the cast plans to internalize their characters according to a Philippine context. It was mentioned that the AIDS epidemic could be likened to the issue of extrajudicial killings in the country, though no further explanation on this was offered. According to Kyra, Rent’s cast emphasizes the musical’s overarching theme of love as opposed to social injustice. It certainly is intriguing to wonder how BlueREP’s Rent will be executed—all the more reason to witness the show firsthand.
BlueREP’s Rent begins on April 4 and ends April 21, held in the Rizal Mini Theater.
Photo by Christopher Cancio of Ateneo Blue Repertory