Bakit Masarap ang Bawal?

Bored na ba ako. Andami kong requirements na dapat sulatin, pero play lang ang lumalabas sa utak ko. Hindi ko alam kung bakit. Buntis na naman ang utak ko. Kailangang iluwal habang may kaunti pang lakas at oras...

Trying to work on a new play. A sequel or a spin-off of Kapeng Barako Club. I'm not so sure. But so far, here's the conversation that came out of my head on my bed:

Konting background for those who haven't read KBC: Samahan ng mga Bitter, Marlowe is a playwright who owns a coffee shop kung saan tumatambay lagi ang KBC. Nagtuturo din siya ng Creative Writing sa university sa tapat ng kapihan niya. Si Sunshine ay estudyante sa university at nagtatrabahong part-time kay Marlowe bilang barista/waitress.

MARLOWE
Ano’ng ginagawa mo sa klase ko?

SHINE
Bakit? Bawal?

MARLOWE
Nadidistract ako sa’yo.

SHINE
Sorry naman.

MARLOWE
You don’t need to take that class. It’s a creative writing class.

SHINE
Pwede naman akong mag-elective ah.

MARLOWE
I-drop mo na.

SHINE
Ayoko nga. Pakialam mo? Gusto kong matutong magsulat eh.

MARLOWE
Ibabagsak kita.

SHINE
On what basis?

MARLOWE
Hindi ako makakapagturo nang maayos niyan eh!

SHINE
At bakit?

MARLOWE
Hindi ka pa ba kuntento na boss mo ‘ko dito? Boss mo na ako, teacher mo pa. Kulang na lang tatay mo na ako.

SHINE
Ayun! Feeling mo tumatanda ka na! May issue palang ganun.

MARLOWE
Ano ka ba? Wala akong pakialam sa edad ko. Mas virile at mas attractive ang mga lalake pag mas tumatanda.

SHINE
E di wag mo na lang akong pansinin sa classroom. How hard is that to do?

MARLOWE
Namputa naman lima lang kayong estudyante ko, hindi pa kita papansinin.

SHINE
E di pansinin mo ako.

MARLOWE
Ifa-fire kita.

SHINE
On what grounds?

MARLOWE
Insubordination.

SHINE
What about academic freedom? Hindi ba pinaglalaban mo ‘yun nung estudyante ka pa? Tapos ngayon, ite-terrorize mo ako para huwag i-take ang klase mo? Hindi ba dapat ngang ma-flatter ka because I’m wasting my precious time to attend your class? I’m willing to add to my load! Magpapasa ako ng lahat ng requirements mo! I’ll ace your class. I promise you, you will have no choice but to give me a 1.0. Kung ang worry mo ay mapapahiya ka sa akin, promise, I’ll shoot myself kung mangyari yun. I’m running for honors, alam mo ‘yan.

MARLOWE
I don’t doubt what you can do. You probably write better than me.

SHINE
Sobra ka naman.

MARLOWE
As a friend, can you do this as a friend? Can you drop my class, please? I’m asking you as a friend.

SHINE
Friends na pala tayo ngayon? Akala ko ba boss kita?

MARLOWE
Huwag kang Pilosopo.

SHINE
Bakit ba ayaw mo sa akin?

Sandaling katahimikan

MARLOWE
Hindi nga ayaw eh. Gusto nga eh.

SHINE
Huh? Anlabo mo.

MARLOWE
Pag naging estudyante na kita…

Sandaling titigil

MARLOWE
Hindi na kita malalandi.

Sandaling katahimikan. Hindi alam ni Sunshine kung paano magreact.

Ngingiti si Sunshine.

SHINE
Sabi ko nga.

Magiging seryoso ang mukha ni Marlowe

MARLOWE
You’re fired.

Dilim.

KAPE at YOSI

Isang eksena mula sa pinakahuli kong naisulat na dula. I'm sure, hindi na naman ito papayagan ng mga prude sa UA&P. Somebody find me a free black box theater, I promise I'll stage it there. Hehe.

Coming this February-March.

IKALAWANG TAGPO: KAPE AT YOSI

Sa kabilang mesa.

STEF
Marlowe, it's not polite to eavesdrop.

MARLOWE
Masi won't mind.

STEF
Kahit na.

Magsisindi ng yosi si Marlowe.

MARLOWE
It's funny.

STEF
What is?

MARLOWE
Tayong lahat. How we are all bound by this place.

STEF
Bakit?

MARLOWE
The irony is almost cliche.

STEF
What do you mean?

MARLOWE
Wait for it. It's my next play.

STEF
Ayan ka na naman. Alam mo, delikado kang maging
kaibigan.

MARLOWE
Most people find it liberating.

STEF
Ang mapanood mo ang sarili mong buhay sa stage? Normal
people find it humiliating.

MARLOWE
And liberating. Deep inside, yun naman ang gusto ng mga
tao: mahanap ang sarili sa pinapanood nila. Kahit gusto
nilang tumakas sa totoong buhay.

STEF
How come you never write about yourself in your plays?

MARLOWE
I don't find myself interesting. I enjoy watching

STEF
Voyeur!

MARLOWE
Humanist.

STEF
Bosero!

MARLOWE
Perceptive.

Papasok si Shine. May dalang dalawang tasang
kapeng barako.

SHINE
Barako, black for Marlowe. Vodka Barako for Stef.

MARLOWE
Salamat.

SHINE
At bawal magyosi dito.

Maglalapag ng ashtray si Sunshine sa mesa.

MARLOWE
Sorry.

STEF
Saka water.

SHINE
Alright.

Lalabas si Shine.

STEF
I don't see it.

MARLOWE
What?

STEF
Imposibleng boring ang buhay mo.

MARLOWE
I never said it was boring. I said it wasn't
interesting.

STEF
Malay mo. Try me.

MARLOWE
Kung napanood mo lahat ng play ko, yun na yon.

STEF
Akala ko ba you dislike writing about yourself?

MARLOWE
Oo. Pero yun na ang kaluluwa ko.

STEF
E di interesting nga.

MARLOWE
If you find my plays interesting, salamat.

STEF
Minsan lang masyadong clinical ang dating.

MARLOWE
Clinical?

STEF
You spend too much time trying to disect a simple
emotion.

MARLOWE
There's no emotion that's simple.

STEF
You know what i mean.

MARLOWE
I'm curious so i explore.

STEF
Delikado kang maging kaibigan.

Tahimik.

STEF
How come you never wrote about me?

MARLOWE
Akala ko ba you find it humiliating?

STEF
Sabi ko, normal people find it humiliating.

MARLOWE
Hindi ka normal?

STEF
You tell me, Mr. Profiler.

MARLOWE
Do you want me to write about you?

STEF
I don't know.

Tahimik.

STEF
I always wondered lang. I mean, I saw all of your plays
and I recognize all of our friends in them. Kaya
minsan, iniisip ko, ano kaya ang tingin sa akin ni
Marlowe?

MARLOWE
You saw all of my plays? I thought you didn't like
plays.

Tataasan ng kilay ni Stef si Marlowe. Papasok si
Sunshine na may dalang tubig. Kukunin niya ang
ashtray.

MARLOWE
Saka double pepperoni.

SHINE
Pepperoni, double. Anything else?

STEF
Croissant. Painit.

SHINE
Croisant. Coming.

Lalabas si Shine. Magsisindi ng yosi si Marlowe.

MARLOWE
Is it bad?

STEF
What is?

MARLOWE
To be clinical?

STEF
Hindi naman. I just find it...fascinating. Naisip ko
minsan na "ganun pala yon!" Hindi mo kasi narerealize
pag sayo nangyayari. So what's this new play about?

MARLOWE
You.

Manlalaki ang mata ni Stef.

MARLOWE
Me. Us. About our friends.

Marerelax ang mukha ni Stef.

STEF
About the irony and the cliche.

MARLOWE
Yup.

STEF
What is ironic?

MARLOWE
How all of us like coffee.

STEF
Masi doesn't.

MARLOWE
Bitter din ang beer.

STEF
Oo nga naman. What's ironic about it?

MARLOWE
Deep inside, all of us believe in true love.

STEF
I don't.

MARLOWE
(ngingiti)
Dig deeper.

Tahimik.

STEF
So what are you saying?

MARLOWE
Masarap ang kape.

STEF
Mapait ang kape.

MARLOWE
Yes.

Tahimik.

STEF
So I'll finally see myself in this play?

MARLOWE
You're always in my plays.

Sandaling katahimikan.

STEF
Well, yeah. I "see" myself in your plays in general. I
meant, as a character.

MARLOWE
You're in all of my plays.

Tahimik. Manlalaki ang mata ni Stef.

STEF
Of course not. You've been writing plays before we met.

MARLOWE
Before we were introduced.

Tahimik.

STEF
What are you saying?

Papasok si Shine dala ang croisant at pizza.

SHINE
Croissant for Stef. Pizza for Marlowe.

MARLOWE
Salamat.

SHINE
And no smoking please.

Papatayin ni Marlowe ang yosi niya sa ashtray ni
Sunshine.

MARLOWE
Sorry.

Lalabas si Shine. Magsisindi ng yosi si Marlowe.
Magtititigan ang dalawa.

Ang Kagilagilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Juan Ekis sa Naga

Highlights ng Adventure ko sa Naga with Dave and Javi

Opportunity cost, di ko napanood ang first two shows ng play ko. I heard it was great. Got rave reviews from J.K. Rowling, Carlo Caparas, and Steven Spielberg. No, seriously, I hope you guys catch it. It's one hell of a ride.

Anyways, I went to Naga with Dave and Javi to look for direk's angles for her upcoming film. Yes, finally, Marilou Diaz-Abaya is cooking up something for the big screen. Unfortunately, I cannot spill the beans yet. But suffice it to say that my adventure with Dave and Javi is all in preparation for that.

It was the feast of the Penafrancia. We were actually a week late. Good thing there still was the fluvial parade to catch over the weekend. We left thursday night and arrived 2 hours early. Yes. Everyone was asleep. We got to the Basilica Minore where we were supposed to reside. Unfortunately, no one was awake to open the doors for us. We had to wait for the priests and the nuns to wake up. When we got in the room, we immediately dozed off.

We woke up after lunch and started to trace the path of the Virgin from the cathedral to the river then back to the Basilica. We were mostly on foot but we took trikes in between the four bridges that the Lady would pass through.

We caught a glimpse of various interesting characters along the way. If we had more time, we probably would've shot a short film. There was this very interesting group of preachers in the plaza at the Centro saying "Lahat kayowng worshippers ng Penafrancia! Mga criminal kayow!" I applaud their courage to preach against idol worship in the middle of the most attended fiesta nationwide. But then again, I believe there are more effective ways to insist on your beliefs and convert people. The following day, someone stood up to them and debated explaining why we don't worship Mary, we revere her.

It was a huge town and we walked most of the time. When I got to Manila, my whole body was aching and my colds got worse. The streets were filled with people. It was unbelievable. More people than what I saw in EDSA 2. Anyways, we went around the bridges and took some photos of the location where direk could possible plant her camera the next time we go there to shoot. I got a glimpse of several kids jumping off the bridge for a nice bath. We never have these things in Manila. We are also losing this in Laguna where I grew up. Too bad my children might not get a chance to do this, much more, witness other kids jumping off bridges to swim.

The following day, more people came in from all walks of life and from all parts of the country. Artistas and politikos filled the place. Banners of congratulations from congressmen who weren't from there were littering the skyline announcing that they are about to run for the senate. On the TV, most presidentiables had paid advertisements greeting the Bicolanos for their 300th anniversary of the Penafrancia.

On saturday afternoon, the three of us went to the cathedral to witness the embarkasyon, where the virgin is taken from the cathedral and brought to the pagoda in the river. It was an ecstatic experience. I always doubted the faith of the people celebrating fiestas and always felt that there were still remnants of our pagan past haunting our celebrations. But when the virgin was about to be put on her Andas, I saw people kneeling, crying, waving, and shouting "Viva La Virgen!" Never in my life have I seen such overflowing faith. It definitely is not idol workship. It is the love and reverence we give to the mother of God. No politician has commanded this kind of following. No celebrity had this kind of charisma oozing out of a representation, an ideal of the perfect example on how to be like her son.

Going home was a pain. Mas okay pa sa EDSA 2, you had room to move and walk around. Since we lived at the convent behind the Basilica, to get home means to swim through the sea of people. Dito, hindi ka makakasingit. Makakagalaw ka lang if the sea decides to move you. Thank God, I think it took us around an hour or two to get home from outside the Basilica. When I got home, I immediately crashed and fell asleep. Di na ako nakasama kina Javi at Dave mag-inuman.

Final destination on sunday was the hotsprings. Commute lang kami nila Javi and Dave. We had a hard time getting there and a harder time getting home we almost did not make it to the bus station on time. Sa bubong ng jeep kami sumakay papunta dun. And then we had to rid a motorcycle. Long hike, mga 20 minute hike siguro from the entrance to the hotsprings. Worse pauwi kasi paakyat. Shet ang sakit ng buong katawan ko. Sa sobrang sakit hanggang pag-uwi ko masakit katawan ko at napatagalog ako sa blog ko ngayon. Shet.

We almost didn't make it to the bus station, like I said. We had to wait for a jeep from the hotsprings for an hour. After an hour of waiting, walang dumadaan. Apparently, rare ang jeep doon. Good thing there was this kind-hearted family who let us hitch in their jeep.

We got to the basilica 30minutes before our bus left. Quick shower. Quick pack-up. Then ran out to get a pedicab. After the pedicab, no trike would take us to the station. Finally found one but traffic was not on our side. 5 minutes to 7pm (our bus leaves at seven) I told Javi "paano kung di tayo umabot?" The driver asked me, "Ano'ng oras biyahe ninyo?" "In 5 minutes" sabi ko. He immediately left the long queue of jeeps and trikes and moved around the bituka-eskinitas of Naga City and brought us at exactly 7pm at the bus station. The bus hadn't left so I bought the first bunch of pili nuts I saw for pasalubong without even thinking to whom they were for. It was one hell of an adventure. Sulit ang 8 hour bus trip. Shit, can't feel my ass.

Hindi ako sinungaling. Mahal Kita.

Sa mga sumusubaybay sa mga play namin, lalo na ang huli--twenty questions--eto na ang follow-up!

Sorry, hindi pa sequel. Next year pa yon.

Pero mas malupit ito.

Mula sa henyong utak ni Tony Perez.

at sa malupit na direksiyon ni Juan Ekis.

Inihahandog ng ACASIA at A.S.T.I.G. ang

"SA NORTH DIVERSION ROAD"

kasama sina Frankie Pascua at Martin dela Paz

Sa 6 Underground, Pearl Drive, Ortigas.

OPENING THIS SEPTEMBER 18, FRIDAY

For more information visit northdiversionroad.blogspot.com

para sa ticket, hanapin nyo si paris

sa mga gustong magdonate sa ACASIA para makapagsulat at makapagstage pa kami ng mga bagong plays, hanapin ninyo si JUAN EKIS

NLEX sa 6UG

kung gusto ninyo ng ticket, hanapin ninyo si paris.