Ben however uses this opportunity to investigate and hopefully expose a history of abuse he has long suspected about his late father. At a jazz bar, Ben seeks out his childhood friend, Lex—also his father’s former music student—to uncover the truth.
Welcome Back to the Theater
Fermata, starring Basti Artadi and Xander Soriano, was the third play of The Virgin Labfest 17’s Set D: Life Choices, Hay Buhay…: Hanggang May Ihihinga Trilogy, written by Dustin Celestino (Mga Eksena sa Buhay ng Kontrabida, Utopia), and directed by Guelan Luarca (Batang Mujahideen, AKO: Alpha Kappa Omega). It was also chosen to be revisited for next year’s run of the festival.
The Virgin Labfest is an annual festival of new, unpublished, and unstaged works by Filipino playwrights–this year finally making its way back to the Cultural Center of the Philippines after being held virtually for the last two years. But while Fermata was indeed unstaged, Celestino recounts in an interview that the story isn’t entirely new.
”One of the things I’m always happy to discuss regarding Fermata is the love, labor, and patience it taught me over five years,” Dustin Celestino tells Esquire Philippines.
“The first-ever manuscript of Fermata was written as a short story in English for the 2017 Carlos Palanca Awards. Even then, I felt like it was better as a play,” Celestino reveals. “The story was about a man who returns from the US to write his famous father’s biography. However, during a visit with a former flame, he learns sinister secrets about his father. That short story did not do so well.
Ben, the Estranged Only-Child of a Music Icon
“So, in the next two years, I made several changes... As recent as 2019, my Fermata draft had two female characters. After a few workshops with Writers Bloc, I was told that the play needed work.
“In 2020, I decided to write closer to ‘home,’ and write what I know; so, I turned both characters into men. The rest, as they say, is history.
“The blood, sweat, and tears I invested in this material over that span of five years taught me that some stories need time to ferment to increase their potency.”
Casting musicians
It was through a common friend that Luarca and Celestino were able to invite musician and painter Basti Artadi to read for the role of Lex.
“I kind of fixated on the fact that the characters had to be actual musicians,” Luarca tells Esquire Philippines. “When I was reading the script, I was imagining the level of performance, the kind of acting I needed from the actors… I can’t pinpoint it, but there’s just something that regular theater actors won't be able to pull off if they aren’t musicians also.
Alex, a Former Student of a Music Icon
“Because Basti is a singer, he lives and breathes that culture, that world of gigs and concerts, and composing songs and creating new music. With Xander, lucky ako, because first, he was already a friend. Next, he is a stage actor, and lastly, he is a musician–I’ve worked with him as a music designer also.”
Luarca reveals that from the first reading, held on Zoom, the two actors instantly built a rapport that sealed the casting choice for the creative team.
“Basti was such a natural. Kilala ko kasi si Xander, from years of working with him… His quirks, his very intelligent way of going about the process, very analytical… Basti, to me, was a revelation.”
The timing was also perfect, as Artadi was really looking for something new to dedicate his time and artistic sensibilities to. “Throughout my career I have always made it a point to challenge myself artistically and be open to projects I felt were interesting,” Artadi tells Esquire Philippines. “In 2020 I told myself I would take on new and different projects and then the world shut down. Ha ha! This just strengthened my resolve to do new things as soon as everything started opening up again.“
Performing live onstage as an actor isn’t entirely new to Artadi, having been cast in musicals American Idiot and Jesus Christ Superstar before, but it appears Fermata has been his most challenging undertaking yet.
“This is my first straight play and it's a heavy drama, so I was a bit worried about being able to do the story and the character justice, and play the role right,” Artadi says. “Aside from that, I went into it headstrong, willing, and open.”
Some artists shy away from tackling sensitive and heavy subject matters like trauma and abuse onstage–and rightfully so. As we’ve seen in many films and television shows over the years, there’s always a risk of romanticizing violence, downplaying or disregarding trauma, or misrepresenting the issue. But in the hands of the right team, a team willing to put in the work, practice empathy, and almost exhaustively break down the different layers of a very haunting and deep-rooted cultural problem, a theater production goes beyond narration and truly engages and connects with its audience–ultimately playing a part in helping viewers make sense of–or at least, reflect on–certain realities that have also plagued their lives. “What was important to us was truth, sincerity, intention… the same stuff that all plays kind of have to work hard to achieve,” Luarca concludes.
Tackling machismo and toxic masculinity onstage and off
Perhaps the reason Fermata was so effective in landing its key message was because the core team behind the production tried to practice what they preached–by ensuring safety in one another, showing up and providing support for each other, and creating a rehearsal space that allowed them to meaningfully explore the play’s themes–leaving their egos at the door, and being open to any kind of change that would serve the play’s true purpose.
“Guelan and Dustin had a clear idea of the material and the type of story they wanted to tell. But that being said, as we went forward developing it, they were both open to input from Xander and myself to help with character and story development–always keeping in mind the topic we were dealing with and being sure to be as respectful to it as possible,” says Artadi.
“If someone would bring an issue up, we would sit facing each other and just talk through the situation and take into consideration the many possible ways a character would react and how that scene would develop,” Artadi adds. “I can't say enough good things about them (Luarca and Celestino), and Xander as well who made sure that I was comfortable in this new role and helped me every step of the way from A to Z.”
The collaboration clearly paid off, seeing Soriano and Artadi banter convincingly like long standing friends despite having only met during the play’s first reading.
“It was challenging to find the right balance of lightness and gravitas, confrontation and compassion in the interaction between Lex and Ben,” Soriano says. “Laging nino-note ni Guelan that the play is ultimately about listening, so we really have to actively listen and pay attention to each other onstage... And guess what, mahirap palang makinig, as in really listen,” Soriano says with a laugh.
“Guelan and I sometimes tease Xander that we went for him because we couldn't afford Rico Blanco, but to be honest, since his first reading of Fermata, I already knew I found my "Ben." I don't know if any actor would be as brave and charismatic to stand toe-to-toe, scene-by-scene, and line-by-line with a local rock legend,” says Celestino.
In Artadi’s and Soriano’s performances, the silences resonated just as strongly as the lines. “Many of the long silences and pauses in the play were on actors’ cue,” says Celestino. “The performers were encouraged to decide when they’re ready to move forward.” (Though he does credit Luarca for those extended silences, “allowing our actors to have their own fermata cues.”)
“Simulan na natin magkwento”
“Ang dulang ‘Fermata’ ay sinulat ko para ipakita sa lahat ang delubyo ng kulturang machismo sa mga biktima ng abuso,” Celestino writes in his playwright’s note. “Maraming buhay na ang isinakripisyo ng machismo sa altar ng katahimikan. Simulan na natin magkwento.”
Throughout the play, the conversations between Lex and Ben challenge, discuss, and reflect on the many ways people overcome trauma and go about being an ally, raising concerns on the role people should play in the healing and protection of victims. While Fermata may or may not offer a solution to its audience, it does reiterate the importance of questioning ourselves, and our approach to issues that directly affect the people around us.
Is the quest to find justice worth reopening old wounds? Is it worth forcing victims to relive their pain over and over again in order to right a wrong? There won’t always be a clear answer. But what Fermata reminds us, is that while justice is crucial to change, perhaps, even more so, are love, compassion, and atonement.
Fermata is streaming on Ticket2Me until July 10.
