Interviewing Jaime del Mundo, stage director of this Philippine original stage musical.
How did Rivalry fall into your hands?
I first worked with the producer and composer Ed Gatchalian about two years ago on a musical celebrating 100 years of Insular Life. We got on like a house on fire. I loved his music and apparently he liked my staging and direction. Before the project was even over, he was sharing with me his ideas for a musical based on the Ateneo – La Salle rivalry. He then asked me to join him on the project, not only as director, but also as the scriptwriter.
You also wrote the play or part of it, right?
First and foremost, the original story ideas are Ed’s. This is more or less his story. It is set in 1968, the period he went to college. (Ed is Atenean). In fact, when he asked me to team up with him he had already written many songs for the characters, though there really was no plot to speak off at the time. Just incidents and ideas. My challenge was to take his different characters and incidents and weave them into a cohesive drama that was interesting, entertaining and worth everyone’s time. So I went off and took his songs, characters and incidents, mixed them all up, threw out characters and songs, changed the remaining characters and songs, added new characters and incidents, proposed new songs, and re ordered and re-structured the entire story into more or less what it is now. Mind you, I was terrified that he would hate what I had done to his story. I then had to read to him my treatment to get his approval. Without it I couldn’t proceed. I didn’t want to send it to him via email, I felt I had to read it out loud or rather, perform it for him. I needed to get his reaction face to face. It actually felt like an audition! Needless to say he liked what I had done with his story and gave me the go-ahead to proceed. THAT was a relief!
This is a very ambitious project. Did you feel the pressure creating it?
At the start, No. The working relationship between Ed, Joel Trinidad (our Lyricist) and myself was quite wonderful. The creative side (writing and composition) and rehearsals flowed with remarkable ease. When audiences started to come, a different pressure emerged. Both schools were very wary about how they were being portrayed, and as we didn’t want to offend anyone, we were constantly making changes. There is enough pressure trying to make a musical work to your satisfaction, the added pressure of being constantly alert to the sensitivities of both schools was something new to me. We actually resorted to counting and comparing the number of La Salle and Ateneo jokes! I like to think we had achieved an ideal balance by the time we closed.
Do you feel in the streets nowadays the same rivalry you talk about in the play?
My co-writers and I set out to write a musical that would “universalize” the rivalry “feeling”. Yes, the Rivalry plotline had specific school and characters in mind but it was also written so that one could see how other forms of Rivalry manifest themselves. I feel that the “experience” of Rivalry was more important than whether one was Blue or Green (Ateneo or La Salle). But then again, that’s me. I’m from U.P.. So to answer your question, am not sure what you mean by “streets”, but yes, I do believe the rivalry we talk about in the play is very real. And not just in the schools. Or the playing fields.
What were you looking for in the auditions?
Tall guys who could sing, act and play basketball! The girls were no problem as they were not expected to play. As it turned out however, some of the girls played better than the guys! But that’s another musical… J
Some funny happening in the run...
The guys not making the baskets they were supposed to! Then again, it wasn’t very funny at the time… J
What's your challenge as a director in this play?
The musical was in a way, written like a screenplay. So many locations. We were constantly hopping from classroom to bedroom, living room to locker rooms, basketball courts to the girl’s bathroom in Maryknoll. The challenge was to get 51 actors to define all these spaces quickly and truthfully, while keeping up the pace, clarifying the story while at the same time singing a challenging score, dancing the intricate steps, and acting with the energy necessary to sustain the interest of an audience. I’m glad I had such a fantastic team to meet those challenges with.
A few words for the visitors of musicalsonline.com...
This is my first time here and I am so glad it exists! Viva el Teatro Filipino!
MUSICALS ON LINE, March 2012.
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