Awakenings

Debbie Apsan
IDC-9125

Yesterday, as I was walking in Madisan Square Park, I saw the actor who played Rederico, the younger son, in the play performed by the Asian American Acting Company, “Blind Mouth Singing”. This performance, playing now at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, portrays a conflict in Rederico’s head, trying to choose between his odd family and his friend at the bottom of the well. In addition, he has the challenge of dealing with his troubled mother desperately trying to hold her family together after her husband has abandoned her. I was quite shocked when I saw “Roderico”, and did not run over and say hi, but that vision forced me to remember the play I saw not so long ago. And, the good news is, that it only brought back good memories, because so many of the aspects of the play were phenomenal. (more…)

At first glance, the script of this play is a peculiar one. One can’t be sure if he is being faced with something supernatural or psychological. A play such as this one would be extremely hard to perform theatrically. That point must be kept in mind when attending the performance. (more…)

Tings Dey Happen
Tings Dey Happen was an amazing play. Not only was the plot itself a political masterpiece, but the cast did a remarkable job bringing the script to life. What was not expected was the cast of sixteen characters to be played by a single man.
The plain stage and very simplistically dressed man come as a shock at first. “How good could this possibly be?” people were questioning the potential of the performance they were about to watch. Much to the surprise of everybody, this exuberant actor did a wonderful job of memorizing all of the different accents, facial expressions, and lines of all sixteen characters. (more…)

How do you sit down with a director and tell him that the actors he so carefully chose failed the expectation? For Ruben Polendo, founder of the applauded Theater Mitu, directing and casting is something he is more than fond of, and such a question was too accusatory and might offend him. His most recent work, “Blind Mouth Singing”, a production performed by the National Asian American Theatre Company, opened on Sept. 19 in NYC with much anticipation and admiration, but it left many inexperienced theatre-goers, such as myself, in doubt. (more…)

In every individual’s life, there is a lingering feeling of regret left behind. For Samuel Freedman it was not learning about his mother’s life until after her death. In his attempt to search for the truths about his mother, Samuel Freedman opens his heart and his mind to the stories and accounts of his mother’s through those who were acquainted with her. He compiles all of this in his book Who She Was. (more…)