Ron
Capinding’s award-winning Shakespeare rap musical goes
to the Star Theater in Pasay
What
could be more interesting than introducing William Shakespeare through rap
rhythm and hip-hop beats?
As
the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s “William” raps back on stage,
this time at the Star Theater in Pasay
City
The
play’s characters represent usual High School stereotypes: a shy boy in class,
a not-so-smart pretty lass, a bad boy athlete, an eager student leader, and an
honor student.
As
much as these students are part of different cliques, all of them struggle to
understand Shakespeare and his works – some find his poetry difficult to
understand, others are simply bored with the subject and most simply don’t find
meaning in studying Shakespeare.
Punished
due to their “insolence to Shakespeare,” they are required by their teacher to
present a scene of a Shakespearean play, which allows them to rediscover how
Shakespeare characters and stories are parallel to their life situations.
Since
it was first staged in 2010, PETA’s rap musical “William” has managed to
capture the interest of students and local theatergoers, even earning nods from
a British news agency.
PETA’s
2014 offering will bring “William” to the dazzling Star Theater in Pasay City
William
Shakespeare, the brilliant bard from Stratford
on Avon may no longer be relevant to many
young people, but a rap musical about teenagers being forced to learn about him
has given him a new life.
A
video report by Marek Pruszewics of BBC News described the play as a “modern
twist on Shakespeare” that “aims to help young people understand the
playwright.”
Reminiscent
of today’s popular TV musicals such as Glee and High School Musical, “William”
is set in a high school in Metro Manila, where five young students are forced
to study Shakespeare by their terror class adviser, Ms. Lutgarda Martinez.
In
the process of studying, these students not only realize the beauty of
Shakespeare’s works but also re-discover themselves through Shakespeare’s
characters.
The
musical written by Ron Capinding touches on themes of adolescence, parents’
unconditional love and friendship and promotes respect for teachers and
classmates, and advocates love for reading and appreciating
literature—Shakespeare or not.
“William”
features 10 original rap songs composed by Jeff Hernandez. Songs such as “Pucha
Bro”, “Nosebleed”, “O Shakespeare”, “What’s In A Name” are fusions of various
music genres, like rock, soul, funk, RnB and hip-hop. “William” also utilizes
an emerging form of rap, FlipTop, which is becoming more popular among
today’s youth. These rap numbers, choreographed by John Tan (from Urban Dance
Crew), are performed along with various hip-hop forms, such as: crumping,
breakdance, ballroom and jazz hip-hop.
“William”
at the Star Theater will run on January 31, February 1 and 2, February 4 to 7,
and February 14 to 16.
No comments:
Post a Comment