CHARACTER STUDIES

First day of class

Just days before the second batch of the Acting 101 for Adults workshop was scheduled to begin, we still had no enrollees. We were already considering postponing it when, almost all at once, three people signed up after we adjusted the schedule to accommodate their circumstances: Scott, an expat now living in Baguio; Rachel, a cultural worker with a wide range of creative interests; and Buhay, a fairly newly minted adult whose thirst for learning seems insatiable.

My first thought was practical: how was I going to stage their culminating showcase? The first batch had consisted of four women, making it relatively easy to build a story around a shared set of characters. This time, the dynamics were entirely different.

From top left: Buhay, Rachel and Scott executing a sense memory exercise.

Directing Buhay

The first session began much like the previous batch. After all, I was working from the same syllabus. But it didn't take long for me to realize that a workshop outline is only a starting point. Every class brings together different personalities, different experiences, different aspirations, and different reasons for wanting to act. A curriculum cannot be carved in stone; it has to respond to the people in the room.

One thing, however, remained constant. The culminating showcase would include both filmed work and a live performance. This is Acting 101, after all—not strictly a theater course—and I wanted the students to experience the unique demands of both the camera and the stage.

For this batch, we devised an original monologue for each student, created an improvisational piece built around excerpts from classic plays, and worked on three two-character scenes so that each student had the opportunity to perform with both of the others. The result was a showcase that felt less like a recital and more like a conversation—between actors, between forms, and between three very different artistic journeys.

Perhaps that's the lesson this second batch reminded me of most. Acting can be taught, but no two classes can be taught in exactly the same way. Every group writes its own workshop. My role is simply to help them discover the performance that only they can create.

Below are some scenes from "Character Studies," the culminating showcase of the Acting 101 for Adults Class Batch 2. 

In the beginning, three actors, neutral, a stool down stage center with a watch on it.

Scott Provençal did a reading of the famour "No, Thank You" speech from Cyrano de Bergerac

Scott Provençal and Rachel Cobcobo in a scene from "Routine Check-up"

Scott Provençal and Buhay Romawac in a scene from "First Day"

Buhay performed an excerpt from "Pepe," Malou Jacob's monologue on Jose Rizal 

Workshop photos by Mai Fianza-Sarmiento

Performance photos by Ferdie Balanag