PHASES 2010: CKSC Unleashes Thespian Skills In St. Paul Pasig

- October 29, 2010, Friday

- Chosen students from my alma mater, Chiang Kai Shek College, were asked to participate in a one-act play competition, organized by St. Paul Pasig's Teatro Paulino entitled "Phases," with the theme of "teenage morality." Most members were from the Moving Actors' Society of Chiang Kai Shek (College,) or fondly known as "MASCKS" - the club I grew up in. The contestants were handled by Mrs. Ong, one of the English teachers in CKSC. I initially had nothing to do with the contest, although they knew that I would support them no matter what, and no matter how I would show my support.

- A few weeks ago, Mrs. Ong asked me to assist her in directing the students, along with Mrs. Villaver, the loving adviser of MASCKS, and Mr. Villaverde, another great English teacher in school. Since the students had only two to three weeks to practice, I tried as much as I can to attend practices, and help them out.

- Today, I went to CKSC early in the morning, excited, and joined the cast in the viewing room of CKSC. They were preparing their hair and make-up, and finalizing things before the competition. Robina's mom, my nursery teacher, also bought breakfast for all of us from Jollibee. *Thank you very much!!* As we rode the minibus to St. Paul - which by the way was the second time I've ridden the "new" CKSC minibus - we tried to calm ourselves by running through some slightly unpolished lines in the play, and listening to Sir Villaverde sing random songs in his infamous falcetto. Haha.

- This afternoon, many schools, seven in all, were gathered in the St. Paul auditorium to compete against each other. Before the teachers and I, as well as some of the crew, sat on our seats, we all joined the cast for retouches and whatnots at the backstage dressing room. We were also joined by Miks, a senior high school student in St. Paul, who was assigned to usher and escort us throughout the whole day. Miks was really nice, and she really made us feel at home. The cast bonded with her more as the other schools performed (the cast and crew weren't allowed to watch other entries,) and I think our crew found her "cute."

- My companions and I (teachers, and some people from the crew) felt that our school had a chance to win, although we did feel that some schools performed really well (even better.) However, there were also entries that assured us that CKSC indeed would have a really good chance of winning.

- In the end, CKSC didn't win, but we bagged the Best Actor Award. The recipient was none other than Henry Morco, a gifted child, and an amazing friend. We didn't feel bad since the winners, especially Miriam College High School who won first, did give justice to their one-act play. Their minimalist set was given color by the simple-yet-unforgettable characters, who delivered their lines clearly, and didn't make the story dragging.

- After the winners were announced, we packed out things quickly, since it was already around six-thirty, and headed for the bus. We all said our goodbyes to Miks, and headed toward CKSC. All of us who were able to be part of the audience narrated to the cast and crew how the other entries went; it was also a way to lighten up those who might have been a bit down from not winning. We also told them that we might have been in the top three, but CKSC was most likely in the fourth place. True enough, Miks texted Mrs. Ong, thanking all of us for the great time she had with the cast and crew, and revealed to us that we were indeed in the fourth place. "See? We told you, we weren't lying!! We know how to evaluate," Mr. Villaverde emphasized, after Mrs. Ong read Miks' text message.

- We all had a safe trip to school, stopping at random points to drop off some people, and best of all, we arrived at CKSC smiling, laughing, and still amazed at Henry's award. Well, CKSC hadn't joined in contests like these, for some reason, and it was a good experience nonetheless. That's why we kept telling ourselves that fourth place was already good. We knew where we lacked, and we knew where to improve ourselves. Hopefully, CKSC will let these students joined in next year's Phases.