getcha head in the game

And July isn't over yet?

Medyo marami na kasing nangyari sa 'kin just as the month kicked in. One thing lang: 07-07-2007 or 777 is not the luckiest day. Or I guess not for me. Actually, it's one of the crappiest y'know?

This will be the last release of thr3epo.intzer0. And expect this to be a long one... I guess. Lately, everything has been a total mess. (Ynnej, this isn't just about you, don't worry. You're a big deal of it, though. Sabihin mo na naman bitter ako. Bahala ka diyan sa buhangin.) Hehehehe!

Sabi ni Dem, a very close friend at the office, emotional pain could only be felt for 12 seconds. Beyond that, everything else is self-inflicted. I say, pain, in itself, is self-inflicted. Hindi ka naman masasaktan have you made the right decisions. I guess I've learned this lesson the hard way. All of a sudden, I saw everything fall apart in my own two eyes. Work, school, pati nga gym. Dahil lang sa mga pagi-inarte na una, hindi ko naman dapat ginagawa at pangalawa, kasalanan ko rin naman. Choi, minsan talaga ang tanga mo e.

Just yesterday, as if it was really meant as some sort of chapter finale for me, I somehow got away with all my self-inflicted stresses when I watched Stages and Trumpet's "Disney's High School Musical On-Stage." And yeah, you can count that as the gayest thing I've done over the weekend (naks, parang King DJ Logan, Slick Rick, and Tony Tony lang a!). I've watched the whole movie once on a VCD, played some selected scenes again (on VCD ulit), then I learned that it'll have it's own version here in the country.

First things first. Play critique muna bago realizations. Naks! Ang arte namp! Last na nga kasing entry to e. Originally, the idea of having our own HSM on stage is interesting, yet disappointing. Whatever happened to Philippine drama and theater? We've been reviving and remaking everything from the west. Minsan nga, sarili nating gawa, may remake din. Nasaan ang originality? Bakit puro renditions? Another thing, Sam Concepcion will do the lead as Troy Bolton. It should be a pair lead, but it looks like the spotlight is only on Sam. Halata bang asar ako dun sa bata? Hehehehe! Mukha lang siyang mayabang. Hehehe! Galit ako sa mga taong mukhang mayabang, they need not prove me wrong. The fact that they look like one, mayabang na talaga sila. Maging judgmental ba? Hehe! But still, I bought a ticket.

The venue: Meralco Theater. It's my first time to be there. Medyo mahirap hanapin but it's pretty accessible if you're familiar with the place and if you're watch doesn't say it's ten minutes past the stated play time. The venue is appropriate for a production that is expecting quite a crowd. The ushers: astig. They're authorized to confiscate cameras and mobile phones, something I didn't believe until the girl sitting next to me needed to surrender her digicam to one usherette. Pero polite pa rin sila ha, may 'sorry, it's really not allowed.' The play started with a young man holding a book, and a skaterboy coming and throwing the book to his face. Nice establishment of stereotypes, when the crowd is divided into groups (braniacs, jocks, skaters). The audience were all shouting when Sam showed up with the rest of the Wildcats basketball players. What's with this guy? He's skinny. He can sing and act and dance, yeah, pero... Choi stop it! Hindi tuloy napansin si Cheska Ortega, who played Gabriella Montes, the first time she entered the scene. Aside from that, medyo disappointed ako nung una dahil my favorite scene (the karaoke New Year's party) was compressed. Just one stanza of "Start of Something New" and the ball is dropping? And they are exchanging phone pics? Para sa 'kin pa naman isa 'yun sa mga highlight. But actually, bumawi sila kasi it turns out that they have their own version of the song, this time for the whole cast. It's like it is the main theme song they used, not only for the pair, but for the entire crowd. 'Yun na pala bale ang opening number. Nice.

It was also great that they retained some essential lines from the movie, yet the writer incorporated his own ideas. The detention scene, for example, was one of my favorites. And it's different from what's in the movie. They were asked to play any animal they want. Ms. Darbus asked Sharpay to be an ostrich. Tapos, Ryan also acted as an ostrich, because his sister told him so. Character build up, galeng! The version in it's entirety actually gave a closer look at Sharpay and Ryan as compared to the movie. Dun ko nga lang nalaman na Sharpay is named after a dog. Hehehe! Another part of that detention scene is the "ball of noise" wherein they're asked to hold an imaginary ball, do something on it, and pass it to someone, only using noise and gestures. I like how character Troy did it, he dribbled the ball and threw it. Very typical, the group complained. But then the "ball" fell back to him, this time he's holding it at the back like it's heavy. Kamusta naman ang underlying tone and message? Excellent. Another scene which is not in the movie is when Troy showed Gabriella his horticulture hide-out. It was in the movie, and they retained the line "You know how during kindergarten, you meet a kid, and then ten seconds after you're best friends just because you don't have to be anything but yourself? Singing with you felt like that." But in addition to that, Sam and Cheska sang an original (original yata, or ewan, since it's not in the movie) "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." With that specific duet part, napakita how Troy and Gabriella are falling for each other. Ganun yata talaga sa play, capture and expose as much emotions and piece of the story in a few acts.

One of the best scenes for me was when it's building up to climax and closure. If you've watched the movie, the basketball championship, the science decathlon, and the final auditions are happening all at the same time. In the play, the scenes happened literally at the same time. On the left side of the stage, Ryan and Sharpay are doing their number, the basketball court is rowdy at far back, and the science decathlon is at the right side of the stage. Galing! Naaliw talaga ako dun. Towards the end naman, nung humabol si Troy and Gabriella sa auditions, surprisingly, Ryan admitted how Sharpay lied to Ms. Darbus just so the two won't make it. A deserving closure for Ryan that I don't think I saw in the film, correct me if I'm wrong. This time, character Ms. Darbus is not on stage anymore. Nasa baba na siya, near the mini-orchestra. And if you could recall how the braniacs and the jocks and everyone crowded the school auditorium, same thing happened sa play. So nasa may audience din sila, singing and dancing to "Breaking Free." Then towards the end, when they wrapped up with "We're All In This Together" saka sila umakyat sa stage. The curtain call was also groovy, when the entire cast danced to the same parts when they appeared in the play (the thespians, for example, curtsied to the tune of "What I've Been Looking For" like what they sang in their audition on a previous scene).

In the end, I learned that Audie Gemora produced and directed the production. I want to hail the writer more, congratulations to him if he is for an excellent job done. Nagulat na lang ako when they acknowledged the presence of Senator Kiko Pangilinan and Sharon Cuneta and their two kids. Andun lang pala sila sa may gitna. In fairness, mas malapit ang seat na nakuha ko. Mas mayaman ako sa kanila. Hahaha! Also present is Mr. German Moreno who awarded the cast with the Vaudeville Award. Grabe, star-studded!

As a whole, I'd give the entire production four stars and an extra large bucket of popcorn. Kahit pumiyok si Sam, he pulled it off effortlessly. The cast and the "supports" are just evidently disciplined, talented, and it was obvious because of their great performance. Is it just the way my seat is positioned or minsan talaga butas ang stage kahit andun na silang lahat? I'm in the fourth row, feeling ko sobrang lapit ko nga lang. The production design is just appropriate. They also used strong blue lighting as scene dividers - so strong hindi mo mahahalata na they're setting up the props dahil nga nakakasilaw yung ilaw. Isa din sa mga inabangan ko e how they will stage the cafeteria scene for "Stick to the Status Quo." Nagawa naman nila, and it was energetic. My skepticism at the beginning just faded. They did give justice to the film version, and gave it an even interesting revision. Kudos! (By the way, they're extended for two more weekends. Call Ticketworld or Stages and get your tickets. I Just don't have their numbers).

Now as finale... I admit how the HSM experience made me realize a lot of things. 'Yan na, realizations na. Maarte na naman si Choi. Being a great production, it made me realize how cool my chosen path is. While it's true na magastos ang course ko, walang masyadong malinaw na career path after college, pero minsan you just do things out of passion e. Bonus na lang 'yun kumita ka nang malaki. Alam ko pang-mayaman lang ang ideology na 'yun pero performing infront of people, or just by working behind a very successful production is something very fulfilling. I'm thankful na I'm leading into that path with the course I'm taking up right now.

Another thing: while it's true that I'm not getting any older, the fact still remains that I'm young. Sabi ni mama, I've been thinking so much about the future, so much that I forget to focus on the present. Masyado akong nag-iisip sa mga problemang hindi pa naman dumarating. Kaya tuloy, unknowingly, ako na mismo ang gumawa ng problema na 'yun. Sabi nga kay Jessica Sanders (Ali Larter) sa Heroes, "Don't worry about tomorrow's problems today."

Laslty, since I need not worry about the future yet, sabi ko nga, focus on the present. And the task I have to do for now is to focus on my self. Right now, sablay na ako sa New Year's Resolution ko: to love myelf. Mahirap pala. Sabi nila love someone in order to change him, and not change him in order for you to love him. Kailangan ko siguro umpisahan 'yun sa sarili ko. How could I get a woman to love me if I don't love myself? And how could I love myself if I can't accept my own flaws? Hirap 'nun. But I have to deal with it.

With the HSM experience, I realized the need to break free and prove myself. Pero magagaw ko lang 'yun kung naniniwala ako sa sarili kong may dapat at may kaya akong patunayan. It is a process, and I know it'll take time. I just hope I'd get there before it's too late.

Gawd! Ang drama talaga! Would you believe, dahil lang 'yan sa pagiging heart-broken a, kung saan-saan tayo nakarating. Waaaaa...! Tama na 'to chong. Sabi nga sa Love Actually, "Enough... enough now."

I guess now's the time to temporarily sign off. It's time to get my head in the game.