Monday, July 28, 2014

Bye, Dani Girl! Thank you!

Last Sunday, July 27 The Sandbox Collective's Dani Girl's last night to stage. It was a wonderful experience being able to usher for most of their shows. On my last blog post titled Dani Girl in Manila, I 'reviewed' Dani Girl. Now, I will just post the perks I had for ushering for Dani Girl.

Congratulations to all the cast and crew of Dani Girl!

Meet the everyone who made Dani Girl possible
Anna Santamaria, Ejay Yatco, Mitzie Lao, Luigi Quesada, Kayla Teodoro, Rebecca Coates, Toff De Venecia, Reb Atadero, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Pamela Imperial, Maronne Cruz, Kuya Marcel, Khal, Bym Buhain (not in the photo)
  
Meet the cast of Dani Girl


 
Rebecca Coastes as Danica Lyons
Mitzie Lao as Danica Lyons
Shiela Valderrama-Martinez as the Mother
Pamela Imperial as the Mother
Luigi Quesada as Marty
Reb Atadero as Raph and Marty
Loy Martinez as Raph
Mr. Fritz
Celebrity Sightings!
Audie Gemora
Nikki Valdez
Shamaine Buencamino
Nonie Buencamino
Aicell Santos
Benjamin Alves
Micah Muñoz
Aga Muhlach
Charlene Gonzales
Cris Villonco

Carla La Forteza

Christine Bersola-Babao

And...
Lea Salonga


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Dani Girl in Manila





My wonderful exposure in theater during my internship last summer at 9 Works Theatrical brought me to a yet another wonderful theater experience this month - ushering for The Sandbox Collective's Dani Girl: A Musical Good for the Soul.

The Sandbox Collective is a Manila-based performing arts theater collective. It is also 9 Works Theatricals's sister company. And for its first project, The Sandbox Collective staged the off-Broadway musical Dani Girl: A Musical Good for the Soul as pert of their RE:Imagined program, directed by Toff De Venecia.

Dani Girl is about 9-year old girl named Danica Lyons who is battling leukemia. Throughout the play, Dani finds different ways to answer the question "Why is cancer?" in order for her to get her hair back, with the help of her friend, who is also a cancer patient Marty, her guardian angel Raph, and her beloved teddy bear called Mr. Fritz.

Having watched the show since the Press Preview (I only missed 2 shows, so that is 11 shows seen in total), I can say that I am now able to critique (in some way) the performance. Well, in all honesty, there is nothing to critique and there are a lot of things to commend. Take the set for example, it is superb. The stage were divided into three strategic levels, symbolizing the reality and the imagination of Dani, only to be separated by a small space. I think this somehow shows that there is only a fine line that separates the reality and the imagination, and it is up to you to decide which side you will live by. There is of course, the glass surrounding most of the stage. For me, its purpose is to show that everything is visible, but that does not mean everything is at our hand's reach. For me, it somehow presents the cliche "so near, yet so far". And who can forget the dragon? In totality, the set, specifically the imagination part of the set were conceptualized so creatively that I would not have imagined the story of Dani as such. It is super impressive.

Then there is the music of Ejay Yatco, originally made by Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond. The songs transported the viewers into places no one has ever imagined. They also made the audience laugh as Pablo gives his rap, but is also made us cry when God sings Requiem. Dani Girl really is indeed a musical good for the soul.

And lastly, the actors. I am no expert but I can say that they are super duper great. Rebecca and Mitzie's performances as Dani were so great that I sometimes think that they really are Dani. Luigi and Reb as Marty made the audience laugh as he show how movie geek he is. But I think everyone agrees that the life and soul of the party is Reb and Sir Loy as Raph who has 13 incarnations throughout the shows. For me, the best characters of Raph is Tommy the Schoolboy and Pablo the... well, you must watch Dani Girl to find out who Pablo is. And there is of course the compassionate Mother of Dani. Both Ms. Shiela and Ms. Pamela tore my heart as she bids Dani goodbye. And it quite irritates me that even though I already seen Dani Girl 10 times, never has it failed to make me sport a big bunch of wet tissue after each show.

Dani Girl is starred by Rebecca Coates as Dani, Mitzie Lao also as Dani on selected performances, Luigi Quesada as Marty, Reb Atadero as Raph and also as Marty on selected shows, Loy Martinez as Raph on selected performances, Shiela Valderrama as the Mother, and Pamela Imperial also as the Mother on some shows. Dani Girl: A Musical Good for the Soul still has two shows left (tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night), so buy your tickets now! It is a show worth watching.


  





Last Friday's cast (from Left to Right): Reb Atadero, Rebecca Coates, Loy Martinez, and Pamela Imperial
with Mitzie Lao, the other actress playing Dani

with Shiela Valderrama who also plays the Mother
with Luigi Quesada, the other Marty
with Pamela Imperial who plays the Mother
with Rebecca Coates, the actress playing Dani
with Reb Atadero, who plays Raph and Marty


I also would like to congratulate in advance all the cast and crew of Dani Girl: A Musical Good for the Soul for having a magnificent run! Until your next show!

By the way, I would like to thank Ms. Camille and Ate Gabby for giving me this wonderful opportunity of ushering for Dani Girl. I am once again smitten by theater and each night, the happiest memory would be having the chance to have the autographs and pictures of known people in the industry and of course having been able to watch a super great show. I just love the theater!

Monday, July 7, 2014

A Journey Home

This post will be different from my other posts. This will be a bit religous, but not so much.

On my way home, I was riding this jeepney which unfortunately stalled in the middle of the high way where there is no easy access for the passengers to get another ride. Instead of getting pissed off like the other passengers, I just silently prayed. Prayed that we'll get another ride, prayed that we'll all be safe, prayed that the driver will be able to get back his lost salary for the day, and prayed that I will still be able to get home before 8:40 so I can still catch My Destiny :) Kidding aside, when we finally get to ride a jeepney, whose driver was a bit but not quite reluctant to let us ride his vehicle because we were not going his official route, I felt deeply sorry for the jeepney driver whose vehicle stalled. I honestly almost cried. I mean, because of what happened, his take home pay will be smaller. According to the driver who gave us a lift, the jeepney's clutch was ruined and that costs much for a driver. And with a small take home pay, what will happen to his family? His hungry children?

I now remember the time, about two years ago, when almost all of the gasoline of the jeepney I was riding was wasted because his tank leaked. The poor driver even got his whole shirt soaked with gas because he attempted to stop the leaking of his tank. I remember not bothering to get back my fare so he could at least have a little more money. I know 15 pesos is not much, but it was something.

Come to think of it, I now feel guilty of wanting and getting my fare back. I now remember the look of the poor driver when I asked him if he will return our payment, he smiled somewhat sadly and said that he will personally give the new driver our fare because the money he has were whole bills. I know it is my right to get back my money, but comparing myself with the driver, I was more fortunate. His sad smile haunts my conscience.

Lord, may you bless the poor driver. May he still be able to feed his family, despite what happened tonight. Please also bless the gallant driver for the kindness he showed. And lastly, Lord, may there be more kind-hearted people around to help the less fortunate.

Realization: patience is a virtue. Why be mad because you were late on your way home, when someone just lost his pay for the day, which may mean hunger for his family? Remember, it is not always 'I' that matters.


Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Are you beautiful? What is the basis of beauty? Who decides if you are beautiful?

There are so many commercials that 'dictate' what beauty is - there are whitening products that show the 'before look' of a girl who has dark complexion with the girl looking sad and the same girl looking so happy when she now have a whiter complexion; there are also commercials of lotions that promote 'instant whitening', commercials of beauty salons giving 'remedy' to a girl's 'dilemma' also known as kinky hair.

There are also television shows that display how 'ugly' women are condemn in the neighborhood, schools, and the professional world. These programs show that these discriminated women attempt to attain 'beauty' by having plastic surgeries and shaving their excess hair or some other drastic stuff. These tv characters are even pelted with eggs and tomatoes just because they are so-called ugly.

Because of these shows and commercials, many people are feeling the need to be 'beautiful' that comes to a point of exessive collagen and botox, apalling plastic surgeries, and getting pulled in all direction. But is there really a need to be physically beautiful? Because of the 'basis' of beauty and ugliness, many people are discriminated and somehow condemned.

Why is beauty such an issue? What is the purpose of beauty if your attitude is crude? What is the purpose of promoting beauty? They say being beautiful promotes confidence. But isn't it the other way around? Isn't it, providing the ideal beauty promotes discrimination and insecurity, hence creating the illusion of being beautiful is equivalent to confidence? Beauty is not a virtue, humility is. Why invest on beauty and vanity when at the end of the day, a person's beauty will turn into ashes.

Isn't it  quite frustrating if a person is only remembered by his or her beauty? Don't you want to be remembered to be more than just a pretty face?

Be beautiful inside, and it will reflect on the outside. Stop having comparison of beautiful and 'ugly' people, because the Lord never creates ugly, in fact the word never existed to the Lord!

To say someone is ugly is discrimination. So if you are against racism, then do not consider other people to be ugly.

Believe that you are beautiful, because YOU ARE.



Click the hyperlink to see What people do to become 'beautiful'.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Anjelica Huston, please?????

Dear Ms. Huston,

Hi! I am Justinne Punsalang from the Philippines. I am one of your BIGGEST fans. Please, please, please, please, have a book signing and book launching of your books A Story Lately Told and Watch Me here in Manila. I, as well as other fans here, am dying to meet you in person. Please consider this!

And when you come here, we have wonderful tourist destinations that you will surely enjoy. =)

PLEASE come to the Philippines!!!

Sincerely yours,
Mary Justinne Punsalang


To those who still haven't read Anjelica Huston's memoir part 1, order now on Amazon. You can actually order from Fully Booked, but you have to go to their stores personally. 

Anjelica's memoir is a wonderful book. It is highly descriptive that you feel as if you are there with Anjelica when she was experiencing those happy and melancholic events.


And coming out this November is the second part of Anjel's memoir titled Watch Me. It will be about her Hollywood life, her relationship with Jack Nicholson, and her wonderful marriage with her late husband, Robert Graham. I assume that it is as wonderful as A Story Lately Told.

Pre-order now on Amazon!

Friday, April 18, 2014

FRITH (Frasier and Lilith) Together Again

Whenever I feel like doing so, I create fanfictions. Most of the time they are about my favorite fictional couple, Morticia and Gomez Addams. But there is one fanfiction that is about Dr. Frasier Crane and Dr. Lilith Sternin from the television series Cheers, and I am going to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it!

Dr. Frasier Crane with then wife, Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane (c) http://manbehindthecurtain.ie/
"Mom, are you sure Dad knows about my recital on Friday?" Frederick, now 14 years old, very handsome – a split of his mother, Dr. Lilith Sternin and father, Dr. Frasier Crane, asked his mother.

"For the hundredth time, Freddy, yes," replied Dr. Lilith Sternin with a smile. "I called your father's home, Nile's home, and your father's office reminding him for the hundred and second time that there will be a recital on your school."

"But does he know that I will be performing?" Frederick asked.

"Yes," Lilith replied.

That day was Wednesday, two days away until Frederick's performs on stage for the first time. Lilith and Frasier were very excited and proud of their son.

You might be wondering why Frederick's parents have different last names and seem to live in two different places (in fact, they do, Lilith and Frederick live in Boston as Frasier lives in Seattle). It is because they are divorced. And today, Lilith is preparing to fetch his ex- husband from the airport in a few hours.

The phone rang and Lilith took it.

"Hello," she said.

"Lilith?" the voice on the other end said. "It's me, Frasier."

"Oh, hello Frasier," she said. Frederick, hearing his father's name, smiled with sparkling eyes. "Why are you calling?"

"I phoned to say that I am about to board the connecting plane to Boston," Frasier said. "And I'd like to speak with Freddy."

"Of course!" she turned to her eager son and handed him the phone. "He wants to talk to you."

The father and son talked for a few minutes before they said goodbye.

Lilith smiled at Frederick and said nothing but, "See?"

Both Frasier and Lilith had been asking Frederick about the recital. But he won't say anything except, "Wait and you will see."

As it turned out, he has a very right to keep it as a secret – the recital, which is a project in his Character Education subject, is about divorce. They will perform a musical with Frederick as the main character – the son of the divorced couple.

The recital touched everybody's hearts. Even the cold and stoic Lilith Sternin wiped a few tears from her eyes. But she showed no sign of tears when the recital was over and Frederick came to see them.

"It was marvelous, Freddy!" she exclaimed hugging him.

"Very well, son!" added Frasier. "So, do you want to dine out?"

"Of course he doesn't," Lilith interjected, even with Frederick in the midst of saying "Yes."

"He wants to eat at home –"

"But Lilith, he was about to say –" cut in Frasier but was interrupted by her again.

"Mommy is going to cook something special for Freddy," she said. "How does spaghetti sounds like?"

"I guess," Frederick replied looking at his feet.

"Great!" she cheered. "And home we go!"

Frasier looked at his son and said nothing. "Uh, Lilith?" he cautiously asked.

"Yes?"

"Can I be the one to drive back?"

She whirled around and stared at him. She handed him the car keys and said, "Alright."

On their way down the stair of the school, Lilith accidentally slipped and was about to fall. Fortunately, 

Frasier caught her. But then, as their eyes locked at each other, he lost his balance and fell. They locked their arms embracing each other as they roll down the stairs and had their eyes only for each other.

There was a big commotion when they reached the ground. That is when they realized how they were positioned. Lilith's eyes widened and immediately broke away from him.

He slowly sat on the ground as she fixed her hair, which was let down by the force of their fall. She looked at him and saw that his shoulder was bleeding.

She knelt in front of him and rummaged inside her bag for cotton and a bottle of povidone- iodine. She opened his shirt and poured some of the red liquid onto the cotton. Slowly and carefully, she dabbed the cotton on his wounded shoulder.

He hissed in pain. "You didn't change Lilith. You never leave the house without first aid."

"Well, you never know when they will be needed," she replied. She took his arm and dabbed the cotton on his yet another wound.

Because she was in a hurry while fixing her hair, some strands came to loose and fall on her face as she rummages inside her bag for a gauze and surgical tape. She tear the gauze using a cutter and folded it.

Frasier absently put her hair behind her ear. Lilith felt it and narrowed her eyes. Then she placed the gauze in his wound and sealed it with strips of surgical tape forcefully. Then she poured a generous amount of alcohol on it. He winced visibly in pain followed by a hiss.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Well," she began as she continues tending his wounds. "You shouldn't have tried to catch me –" she applied pressure on his wound. "If you didn't, you would not have lost your balance and hurt yourself." She finished by spraying an antibacterial solution on the wounds, making it sting with pain.

"Thank you, Lilith," he said looking at his tended yet stinging wounds. "And you're welcome."

She narrowed her eyes on him as she stood up, fixing her hair.

"Are you alright, Dad?" Frederick asked as he helped his father to stand.

"Yes, your mother's expertise is first aid is very… er – comforting," he replied. "Now shall we return home?"

On their drive home, Frasier was on the driver's seat, Lilith on the seat next to him and Frederick on the backseat.

Our house played on the radio and Lilith and Frasier looked at each other with smile on their faces. Frederick did not miss it. He gleefully smiled.

Few moments passed and they sang. Frederick smiled even more.

"Freddy, would you mind helping your father with the ingredients?" Lilith asked when they returned home. She put down her bag and started to remove her coat. Frasier rushed to her and took the coat by the shoulder and she shrugged it off.

"Thank you, Frasier," she affectionately said.

Frederick's eyes widened at the tone of her voice. He happily replied to his mother, "Of course!" Then he hurriedly ran off to leave his parents alone.

Lilith took her and Frasier's coat and hanged it on the hall closet. When she turned around, she somehow stumbled and started to fall bumping him hard and they both fell on the floor with the she on top of him. They stared at each other for a long time. Her usually cold eyes melted and felt warm – as if it was whenever they were together years ago, when they were still happily married.

He touched her face adoringly. She slowly smiled and leaned towards him. Losing himself with her smile and warm eyes, Frasier pulled himself up and they kissed – as if like yesterday.

Then somehow, the two probably realized their current relationship and broke away from each other feeling guilty. Lilith slid away from atop him and wiped her lips. Frasier sat up and rubbed his hands.

"I'm sorry, Lilith," he said. "I shouldn't have …"

"No," insisted her. Her eyes now cold again. "It's my fault. Sorry." Then she stood up to cook for dinner, leaving him embarrassed.

Frederick, who turned out to be behind the kitchen wall grunted in disbelief, before hurriedly running to the backyard.

Lilith, Frasier, and Frederick cooked dinner quietly. However, during the dinner, Frasier and Lilith started to talk again, as if nothing happened.

Frederick stared at his parents disbelievingly – first, they kissed, then gotten cold, and now, they are talking normally! Not to mention that they were very close during the recital and on their way home.

After dinner, the three cleaned up the table and washed the dishes together, like what most families do. Right after that, Frederick requested his parents to put him to sleep.

Normally, Lilith, and so would Frasier, would wonder why he asked to be sent to bed. Nowadays, he would not even allow Lilith see his room. But then his parents are acting abnormal, neither asked why. In fact, they both were happy about the arrangement.

"Dad, how did you and Mom meet?" Frederick asked.

"Well, we were in this seminar and I found your mother deeply… well, fascinating –" began Frasier.

"Really," interrupted Lilith.

Frasier smiled and continued, "Well, I find her… interesting. And so I asked her out. We went to Cheers …and –"

"Shh!" Lilith interrupted. "He's already asleep."

Frasier looked at his son. He bent forward to kiss his forehead.

"Oh, Frasier! You are bleeding again! Come over to my room, I have the first aid kit there."

And so, they went to the room. It was very neat, of course, and the room was in a light shade of yellow with hints of rose. On the night table sat two pictures, the first one was the picture of Lilith, Frasier, and Frederick, taken after his first birthday; the second was another picture of them, when Frederick was 13 years old.

Frasier sat on the bed and took a better look on the pictured, just as Lilith was returning with the kit in hand. She saw him looking at the pictures and blushed a little.

"We were happy during this picture," he said. She was not sure if he was asking or saying, so she said nothing and removed the dressing of the wound on his shoulder then started to clean it.

"This was after Freddy's birthday. Ah! I remember when Freddy splattered the cake you baked."

"Yes, and it took you how many hours was that? To clean him?" she replied with a smile. She carefully put an ointment on his wound.

He winced in pain. "It was only an hour! Oh, I remember the day Freddy was born."

"You weren't there."

"Yes, I know. How I dread that day. I shouldn't have helped that woman." He looked down on the picture. "Do you remember when Freddy started pre-school? When we enrolled him?"

"Yes. And the day he was christened. Sam Malone really never goes to a place without knowing and seeing a woman there. Even the church helper!"

"I suddenly remembered when you told me that you were pregnant."

"We have Carla to thank! Her crazy tactics!"

"And there's of course, our wedding –"

Lilith ignored his last comment. "Having a family really is fun. So many good memories."

"I miss my family," Frasier said looking at the pictures again.

"You have Niles and everyone back in Seattle."

"No, I mean, my own family. A wife and a child."

"You'll have –" she stopped, analyzing his statement. "What do you mean by 'child'? Don't you want a bigger family?"

"I do not think my wife will agree."

"As if you have a wife, Frasier,"

"I used to."

"Well then –" she stopped again, realizing what he meant. Before she could say anything, Frasier slipped his hand over hers. She stared at it for a moment before looking back at him with questioning look.

He stood up and kissed her on the cheek before bidding her good night. He left the room and went to the guestroom.

This is not one of my best write up, so feel free to comment on my work =)

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Teddy Bear


My baby nephew Eidan Terrence P. Celones (aka Ted, Teddy, Dudong) was born last February 4, 2014 and somehow, it is only now that I felt like writing a blog entry about him.

My older sister, Ate Jam, was actually hesitant to divulge her pregnancy. It was only because of my mother's persistent questioning as to whether she was pregnant that caused my sister to finally admit that she was few weeks pregnant. When she was nearing her second month, Ate Jam experienced spotting so she took a two-week leave from her work in a BPO. Weeks later, she has to take a three-week leave because she got sick and had a yet another spotting. We thought that after that, her pregnancy will be fine, but as the cliche goes, "But wait, there's more!" On her 29th week of pregnancy, Ate Jam experienced pre-term labor which caused her to be confined for more than a week, take a leave from work for the rest of her pregnancy, and have a complete bed rest. We thought that Ted (whom I used to call 'Dudong' because Ate Jam and her husband Kuya Abel do not want to give the name of their baby) will be born prematurely, but thank goodness, Ted reached his full term, YEY!

Ate Jam in her 37th week of pregnancy
The night before Ted was born, Ate Jam, Momma, and I had a night out. I actually took a photo of her and posted it in my Instagram account (@ABA_JustinneP) which was of course linked to my Facebook and Twitter account (@ABA_JustinneP), not knowing that the next day, Ted will say hello to the world.

My sister was wearing my mom's dress, amazing!
Here's the story of how Ted came to the world. At around 4 in the morning, I was awaken by Ate's groans of labor pains and Momma's comforting words. Since I have a class by 7:30, I got out of bed to help my mom prepare my sister's stuff. If my sister was not experiencing labor, their conversation would have been funny (well, for me it was funny):

ATE JAM: Ma, masakit...
MOMMA: Saglit na lang, tinext ko na si Abel, malapit na daw siya.
ATE JAM: Stop telling me that! Wala pa si Abel, wala, wala! Stop telling me he's here, because he's not!

By 5 AM, they were already off to the hospital. I really wanted to come with them and see Dudong, but Momma won't allow me. Having no choice, I prepared for school and left the house at 5:30. 7:30 came and go, and my professor was still not in class. By 8 AM, the class received a message saying that he (our professor) will be coming in late. I was a bit mad, because my sister gave birth to Ted at 6:15 and I could have been with them. The whole day, I was itching to cut class and see my baby nephew, but of course, I can't (or I won't?). After class, I practically flew to the hospital.

Ted was still in the nursery when I arrived so together with my sister, I went to see him. He was (and still is) sooooooooooo cute, he was still small and his cheeks were pudgy.

Now, Ted is two and half months, he's quite a handful, actually. It takes three people to give him a bath and two people to change his diaper when he poops. I really want to have my OJT done in a site in Baguio, but I can't because, "Wala namang Ted dun, eh."  =)

Eidan Terrence P. Celones aka Ted, previously Dudong
Hi Dudong!
Celones Family!
Happy 1st month Ted! :*
"2 Month na si Teddy Boo!!" a grammatically incorrect message written by the staff of a famous bake shop
Ted and Teddy sleeping together =)
Ted's smiles are frequent but fade fast, to capture one is actually a happy moment. :)
Teddy Bear and Aling Jai (yes, that is what Ted will call me =))