Playwright's Notes

1. A few days ago Tanya Lopez messaged me that Sacred Heart Seminary of Bacolod wants my permission for them to stage two of my one-act plays, "Sacraments of The Dead" and "The Wayside Cafe", as a back-to-back production for their theater class. According to Tanya "They chose your plays over the other scripts presented to them because of the themes which they were easily able to relate to. The rector wishes the class to stage plays written in English as part of their training and I've been encouraging them to work on scripts by Filipino playwrights. Your plays are a good marriage of both requirements." I, of course, granted them permission. I recall that the last educational institution that produced both plays was University of Asia and the Pacific, in Pasig.

It comes as a surprise to many that "Sacraments of the Dead" and "The Wayside Cafe" (in Pagbabaguntao Sa Berbanya, Volume 2 of my series of collected works) are the most Catholic and the most religiously canonical Filipino plays in English at the present time. And it is quite ironic that I--yes, I--wrote them.

I never go to the premieres, naturally. Everyone expects a priestly, Religious Studies major to walk in, and I would like to spare the congregation the culture shock.

2. Some time last week Walter Ang also messaged me to send him the synopses of my trilogy of plays Indakan Ng Mga Puso (Oktubre, Noong Tayo'y Nagmamahalan Pa; Nobyembre, Noong Akala Ko'y Mahal Kita; and Saan Ba Tayo Ihahahatid Ng Disymbre?) because it was being entered in the list of "significant plays" in the Cultural Center of the Philippines's Encyclopedia of the Arts.

Five years ago, when I was not yet retired, I would have jumped up and served them what they were asking for, and on a silver platter. This time around I recalled walking through the cemetery after Ivy's burial last year and being astonished at the number of tombstones with faceless names, under which countless Filipinos were buried--Filipinos who lived simply and happily and with no desire for fame.

I did not deliver.

Last night, a week past the deadline I was given, Walter messaged me, "hi sir tony, just wanted to let you know there's no more need to provide the synopses of your trilogy, they were able to find old souvenir programmes to use as reference. = ) thanks so much!"