I spent the evening of my birthday at the Rockwell Club to catch the special sneak peek of a Rent rehearsal. I was invited to usher for it when Peachy had texted me last week, but I had to decline because my plans for the day was pretty tentative until the day before.

I was planning to just be a mere spectator of the event, so I sat in the very end of the row of chairs while the cast was rehearsing a couple of songs. When the bloggers and press people starting coming in, Jon-Jon then distributed the press kits, and even handed one to me. Ooh, I get a press kit too? Okay, hahaha. It would be fun to blog about it, anyway.

While the cast was still rehearsing as the media people watched, Toots then asked if he could take my chair and if I could transfer and sit next to the bloggers. I willingly obliged, and asked Bek for a pen so I could scribble away.

So Robbie then gave a bit of opening remarks, a brief summary and background of Rent, then introduced the cast.

When one member of the audience asked the theater newbies about their first-time venture into the business, I actually liked what Nicole Asensio had said. Her 3 biggest challenges were commitment [of the actors], support [from the cast], and discipline, which, according to her, has a big difference between performing in theater and in bands (which was her initial forte).

Even more interesting was when Robbie talked about the casting, because most or some of you may have heard news on how casting was made. He had said that it would've been easier to cast veterans for the lead roles, but it's harder to find those at the age that the characters are in. Hence the reason he casted theater veterans in the ensemble, and somewhat fresh people as the leads. It provided opportunities for new people to come out, to be discovered, and to be trained.

Of course, one common question was "What can the audience expect from this production?" When it comes to the staging, Robbie had said that they can't veer away too much from the original, as it might not work if it was modernized. The musical was set in the 1990's, hence it can be considered a "period piece," but more elements will be added in terms of staging. Hmmm... I hope we won't be disappointed then, Rob. =)

Having mentioned that Rent is set in the 90's, there are a lot of people in the cast who never really got to experience what it was really like in the 1990's, as they were possibly still too young to remember. Robbie then mentioned that they have this sort of "immersion of 90's stuff." Fred had also added, "It doesn't have to be a memory... It can be an experience... There are other ways to get into a character... materials and stuff."

And yes, the eternal question... "Why Rent?" Haha, I've been hearing from Peachy that most of them, and yes, including Robbie, was against it from the very beginning, and they admitted it again at the sneak peek. The musical was already gasgas and over-exposed when it was first staged here. And I myself have to admit that it became even more overrated when the film version came out. But Robbie had a good answer. Maybe in our generation, we got tired of it already. But people who were too young will now be able to appreciate it.

Hmmm... interesting. My ears perked up when they had mentioned immersion. Ang masasabi ko lang, please don't just rely on the 90's stuff that's being provided. Get to know the world of the play, like Sir Dennis had told us before. Masaya ang mundo na yan. I loved the 90's, and it's fun to look back and research on. Hahaha, I dunno, I'm still trying to hype myself up "because it's Rent."

By the way, I was amused at the fact that Nicole (who will be playing Mimi) looks so much like Hilary. They could pass of as sisters, hahahaha.

Anyway.

Catch 9 Works Theatrical's production of Rent at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza on all weekends of February 2010. For tickets, call 557-5860 or Ticketworld at 891-9999.

When it comes to my birthday, I always opt for simple celebrations. I never liked parties, eating out with at least 20 nearest dearest friends (so yeah, I can be stingy, hahaha) and all that.

So after hearing mass during the early morning, I had a quiet brunch at home with my parents (where we always rely on take-out if there's someone having a birthday), then off I went to meet Tad in the early afternoon.

We had a late lunch and much-needed quality time at Harbour Square. Haha, he just had to tease me about my having to walk in my shoes, as I haven't worn anything with high heels in ages. Hey, I used to teeter and run around in heels. Minsan lang ako maging girly-girl no, hehehe. Girly-girl, but with my top, I think I resembled a candy cane because of the red and white stripes, hahaha!

Because Tad had an event to attend to in the early evening, I checked my watch and noticed that I still had time to make it to the Rent sneak peek, which Peach had initially asked me to usher. Of course I declined then, but yesterday I figured, hey, maybe I'll check it out anyway.

Off I went to Rockwell Club. By the time I had stepped inside, I immediately asked where the dance studio was, but then I heard someone call my name. Haha, there was Ed and Nico standing by the event's sign. As it turned out, they were the ushers for the night.

Found some of the cast emerge from the elevators, and as it turned out, they were on break until 7pm. Joined them at Jollibee where I was greeted a happy birthday, and seeing them order made me hungry again, so I got something to eat as well. After eating, we all headed back to the dance studio, and they started prepping up for the event. They were rehearsing a couple of songs when the bloggers and press people started trickling in.

(Blog entry about the sneak peek to follow.)

After the preview, I got one of the Rent shirts that were being worn by the cast as well as part of the giveaways for the press. Huwaw, weird female shirt sizes. The size I got was large, but it fit me perfectly, hahaha.

Joined Bek, Ed and Nico up to the poolside where the complimentary food was being served. Yes, I didn't pass and still ate. Man, I've been stuffing myself silly the whole day. Anyway, after all the chika and photo ops, we finally called it a night.

I wasn't really planning to attend the sneak peek, but I was glad I did. It's a pretty good birthday treat. =)

As a Christmas gift, Lawyn bought Mugshots and distributed them to us this past weekend. Ever since I saw this in Kristine's Multiply, I was so curious about those little cakes in a bottle, and was thinking of buying a whole bunch myself. When Lawyn laid out the bottles on the FOH table, I immediately picked out the strawberry flavor, and thought of saving it to eat on my birthday.


My mom was asking for a snack this afternoon, so I decided to make some pasta. Then I thought it might be bitin, so heck, why not make the strawberry Mugshot now?

I was too lazy to make carbonara, so I resorted to Lucky Me's instant Mac and Cheez. Because the cheese sauce was a wee bit salty, I used one pack of cheese sauce for 3 packs of pasta noodles, then I added a different kind of cheese to mix in with the one pack of cheese sauce. Anyway...

I was a bit hesitant to pour out the contents of the Mugshot, because it looked so pretty just sitting there inside its little bottle. Oh well, I just hope it's good as Lawyn had said. I poured out the contents into a mug, then popped it in the microwave.






Curious about Mugshots? Check out The Fundamentals' Multiply account!

A 2-week stint as an usher for the Christmas run of Atlantis' 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is finally over. Because I'm not able to attend the Atlantis Christmas party this very evening, my consolation was a couple of new pairs of shoes as a birthday gift for myself, hahaha. (Naman, pagbigyan niyo na ako. I hardly shop for shoes, as I practically live in my Chuck Taylors.)

What I enjoyed most about just being an usher instead of manning the entire front-of-house is that I'm not tied down at the table, handing out guests' complimentary tickets, and also selling tickets and other merchandise. At least I get to walk around and mingle with the guests while waiting for the celebrity guest spellers to arrive (though some celebrity spellers can stress you out because they're super late). I can be hyper when I want to, and kulang na lang is mag-tumbling ako all over the lobby whenever I'm on a sugar rush, hahaha (like that time Claire gave me the leftover cake that they had in the office). I love it when I see friends watching the show, especially those that you'd never expect.

Just last Friday, I was so thrilled to see Tricia and Dandan watching the same show. I haven't seen these two since the old forum days, and in my excitement to see them, I sent text messages to our common friends. Of course, every time I text Tita Sherbs about seeing our friends, she would always reply, asking for a reunion, hahahaha.

Speaking of reunions, I didn't get to attend DLSZ's alumni homecoming last Saturday because of Spelling Bee. But I don't think it's a big loss, really. I was actually uncertain about attending the homecoming, plus the upcoming 10-year reunion of our batch. And hey, Jericho Rosales was our celebrity speller along with Sarah Meier during the evening show that day, hahaha.

Other than that, Marnie also watched the Bee's Saturday evening show. Some of you may laugh, but I have to say that she was my first musical theater idol, as I've always looked up to her when I was a kid. I was actually starstruck by this Ang TV alumna every time we cross paths in school, and I was content enough that she knew me even as just one of the chorus kids in our school musical production, because the only things we have in common is that she's in the same class as my brother, and we're both into theater (though I hadn't realized it yet at that time).

So when I saw her in the lobby last Saturday, I was inches away from her yet I reverted back to my shy, 7th-grade self until she noticed me (and I was grateful that she still knows me) and we said hi to each other. Haha, ayun, natuwa naman ako when she gave me a hug and agreed to have a picture taken (after a bit of small talk about my brother who lives in Canada).

(Thanks to Lawyn for letting Ceejay and me use her camera to have pics taken with Sarah, Echo and Marnie, hahaha.)

By the way, I heard from Red that a restaging of Summer's Nights, Summer's Dreams might happen. Is this true?

Last Thursday, my initial plans were to go with Lara to Marillac but things fell through because of the usual house rules. I was already bummed about not going out that day, and I was still brooding over someone who didn't even try to invite me to some event that was going on that same night. Oh well.

Then I got a text from Lawyn and Claire at the same time, asking if I was free at 8pm that night for the DTR of Lea's concert. Haha, of course, I just had to go. When they said I could bring one friend, I immediately thought of Tin. I asked if she already has a ticket to the concert, and she said that she didn't buy a ticket. So I invited her as my plus one. She was the obvious choice among my hardcore Lea-fanatic friends because the rest can even afford to buy tickets to both concert dates anyway.

Headed to Harbour Square to have dinner before the agreed-upon time of 7:30pm. I was also texting Gino, who had messaged me earlier that morning that he was at CCP for some event. As it turned out, he was still there in the area, along with Vanie and Jobe. Met up with Gino at Jollibee, then followed him and Vanie to Reyes Barbecue where Jobe and their other friend were waiting. Had dinner there until they had to return to CCP the same time I had to meet with Tin (who had just texted that she had just arrived in the area).

It was almost 7:30 when Tin arrived, but she was starving so I accompanied her to Jollibee for a quick bite before we walked to PICC. So many people were already there, but I easily found Claire, Lawyn and Mae outside. They were still waiting for a whole bunch of people which included the Spelling Bee cast, because they were holding their tickets. Waited for the rest in the lobby with Ate Sally, Ate Janine, Kuya Boni and a bunch of others, then we decided to fall in line.

That line was longer than those anaconda-like lines of the MRT stations. It took ages for the line to move, so Tin and I kept chattering away. Minutes later, I even noticed a familiar-looking girl... Marnie? I never got to confirm if that was her, because she suddenly disappeared into the crowd.

The concert began an hour and a half later than scheduled. Well, forgivable, as it's just a technical dress rehearsal. At least Tin and I got to talk the whole time we were waiting. Basta pag si Tin ang kausap, walang quiet moments, hahaha.

I have to say, the show was a blast. I was a little thrown off by the Philippine All-Stars, though. Parang out of place sila. Anyway, the choice of song requests were pretty awesome. As for the contest for getting to sing a duet with Lea, we were treated to watching both winners (one for each concert date), even if it meant hearing the same song twice. I actually liked the first guy better, as the second guy tended to sing like Brad Kane a wee bit too much.

And of course, who wouldn't love having Richard Poon and Ai-Ai De Las Alas as special guests? Panalo si Ai-Ai when she came in as Annie, complete with that balloon dog, hahaha. And the Aegis duet was awesome! It was totally refreshing to hear Lea sing Aegis, plus it reminded me of Mimay.

My favorite guest would have to be the surprise guest in the form of Jett Pangan, hahahaha. I never get sick of hearing "Salamat" over and over again, and when I heard a different voice come out from the speakers and Jett came onstage, I was cheering ever so loudly. Awesome anthem, that "Salamat."

I guess I already sort of expected the song "Defying Gravity" from Wicked to come up along with the rest of the musical theater songs, but it was still pretty good. Hahaha, I was sitting between Tin and Theody and they were both cheering at the edge of their seats, and they were contagious.

Congratulations to Lea! Bobby and Chari too, of course! The show was worth waiting for an hour and a half, and it was a good excuse to hang out with Tin, hahaha! =)

Whenever I take an FX to Quezon City, I always take the route that passes along Espana instead of taking the MRT route. Without fail, every time I pass by UST, I always remember that brief time of independence during that one year of studying there. The memories of boarding houses and dormitories (and moving from one dorm to another), my first experience of budgeting my own money to fit in one to 2 weeks, having no parents or guardians to nag me all the time, plus learning how to discipline myself without guardians.

It was also the time that I was known as Christine (or even Tin-tin). Not Hogi.

In high school, I've been used to being called Hogi by my close friends. When it was time to move to UST, I decided to switch back to being called Christine because it was safe, no one knew me, the name wasn't as common as there were too many people with lots of different names, and of course it will take a long time to explain why I was called Hogi. When I transferred to a new school, I had decided to still keep calling myself Christine, but that lasted for about a minute in the first day of orientation, because a new blockmate happened to be a common friend that I was first introduced to as Hogi. Oh well.

So now, I'm thinking again about switching back to being good old Christine. Weird, isn't it? Sure, Hogi's unique, practically everyone now knows be as that, and I can easily tell if I'm the one being called. But I have to admit, I actually miss being called Christine.

"You're back???" Miss Bernice had asked when I was the one who greeted her at the door at Atlantis' 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee's preview show.

Nope, I'm not back with Atlantis. I'm just ushering for this run of Spelling Bee. Charo, the usual head usher, had gone to the US, so Lawyn's sister Johanna and I took her place, alternately briefing the celebrity and audience guest spellers for each show.

I have to say, it's been a while since I've been with ushers from Blue Rep, but every batch is equally quirky, and I get pretty amused just watching them.

And so far, I have to say that last night's show was pretty eventful. First of all, there were no pasaway guest spellers unlike the previous ones since preview, hahaha. (Oh, the horror of those spellers from adult night.) Nikki had already been briefed the night before while I was chatting with Geli on YM. And Jinky? She followed everything to the letter, but she was laughing so hard while she was onstage that she was practically in tears, hahaha! Nice to know that she hadn't changed a bit after years of not seeing her.

Other than that, there's one special moment that made last night's show very memorable. Joel had proposed to Emy in front of the entire Spelling Bee audience! Woohoo!

But let me backtrack a bit.

Sometime last week, before one of Spelling Bee's preview shows, Lawyn and I were sitting in the audience just hanging around and waiting. Joel was talking in hushed tones with Bobby and Chari several rows in front of us. I accidentally overheard something that Bobby had said and tried to tune it out. I suddenly remembered this one guy who had also proposed to his girlfriend at Spelling Bee's previous run. Interesting.

Then another time, Joel approached the front-of-house and asked Ate Sally if he could let her accommodate a couple of his friends who just want to watch the curtain call of one show. The hushed conversation I accidentally saw slipped my mind, and just assumed that these friends probably just wanted to see the Christmas medley that the cast performs for this run, hahaha.

(Maybe I'm just rationalizing, but I can't help but include this. The night before the proposal, I had a dream that I was being proposed to also. Weirdness.)

Anyway. I found myself slipping inside the theater during mic check before Sunday's evening show (to look for Lawyn, I think). I saw Joel, Bobby and Chari talking again in hushed tones, and this time with Cathy. I slipped back out of the theater so as not to be rude, but I was suddenly thinking, could this be the day? My question was answered when Bobby and Chari handed cameras to Lawyn to cover the show's curtain call. Lawyn's look confirmed what was going to happen. Hahaha, it was all super secretive, that even the cast (save for Cathy, of course) didn't know. Lawyn was even looking over a seat plan to find which seats were vacant so she could position herself there with the cameras. Because Lawyn was tasked to take photos and video, she handed me the video recorder so she won't harass herself doing both.

Before the show was about to end, Chari instructed us to cover the Christmas medley as well so we won't miss a single moment of the whole thing. So during the final song, Lawyn and I positioned ourselves into 2 vacant orchestra seats that had a decent view of everything. My gahd, funny thing was that my hands were getting clammy. Hahahaha, pati ako kinabahan kasi baka shaky ang pagkuha ko ng video.

Anyway, so after the Christmas medley, I was still recording and Lawyn was still snapping away. Cathy (still in character as Miss Peretti) then made an announcement concerning an audience member about some confiscated item, and called Emy up onstage. Murmurs and whispers filled the air, and once Joel had assisted Emy to center stage and went down on one knee, even the cast members' jaws dropped to the floor! Despite my giddiness, I'm still hoping right now that the video I recorded of the proposal wasn't too shaky, ahahaha.

Of course, because this was Joel, there had to be a classic Joel Trinidad moment. When he was about to slip the ring on Emy's finger, he had no idea which hand, hahaha! "It's my first time to do this." HAHAHAHAHA!

Congratulations to Joel Trinidad and Emerita Alcid! We're all so happy for you! And we're also glad to witness this awesome moment with you.

After the show, that's when I started thinking again about that dream I had. I once had a dream that I was pregnant, and it turned out that someone I knew was also pregnant. And strangely enough, I had a recurring dream of childbirth, but unfortunately, the same friend suddenly had a miscarriage. And now, I had a dream of a marriage proposal, and someone I know proposes to his girlfriend.

I was pondering over it with Nicco last night and he said na may powers daw ang dreams ko, hahaha. Labo. Hehe, sige, doncha worry, bro. If I dream of Glee's Jenna Ushkowitz, I'll be sure to let you know, hahahaha!