“Company Caaaaaall!”

“Tableau”

“Freeze”

“Blockings”

If you are a theater-person, these terminologies might sound familiar. These are some of the terms frequently used in theater that still echoes in my head every time I close my eyes and reminisce the good old days of my college life.

I can still remember the first few days of my first year in college at Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba. Being a freshman (a newbie on a new chapter of her school life), I must find a group where I must belong: a group in which I will meet new friends who share the same interests.

It was the Recruitment Week of all the Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) of Letran. Obviously, this event is organized for the different organizations to introduce, invite, and recruit new members. While walking in the hallway occupied by the booths from different RSOs, my friend (from high school who’s also taking the same course as me) and I bumped into tadaaaa~~

Samu’t Sari. This is the official theater organization of CSJLC. As the preamble states, the organization presents theater productions not just for entertainment purposes, but also to give public awareness about the relevant issues happening today.

Anyway, during that time, I wasn’t really a theater person. Since I love drawing and the visual arts, I wanted to join the Society of Letran Artists (SoLAr). Of course, being a teenager who cannot do things on her own and must always be accompanied by a friend, I asked my friend to join Solar. Actually, this friend of mine was the theater-person, and she insisted that she’ll join Solar if I join Samu’t Sari too. So, the rest is history.

The first production that I was able to act into was Letranayt 5: Nang Mapadpad si Inggo sa Makiling. It was the very first time that I experienced the stage. I’m not really a performer and I have stage fright. At first I was really hesitant if I can act. But after months of rehearsals, I was able to do it. Yay! I’m glad that I was able to try something new in my life, and I discovered a new talent. My mom is very proud of me, I can tell. She would always brag about it to her friends, officemates, and our other family members. It’s kinda embarrassing, but in a way I’m glad that my mom is supporting me and that I make her proud.

It was in 2009 when the highlight of my Samu’t Sari experience took place. We hosted the Ikatlong Tanghal! Tanghal is a week-long theater festival which gathers the different theater groups from universities and colleges from all over the archipelago. I was nervous at first because we were given the task of being liaison officers all throughout the week. I handled the groups from Southern Luzon, FYI (hello nga pala sa mga alaga ko, CVSU, LSPU, and SLU (kahit proxi lang ako ni Meysi) hohhoho~). We would also present as major production for the festival, so we were really stressed and haggard during the event. It was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (I can’t express the feeling properly, sorry haha) experience for me. Even though it was energy-draining, it was fulfilling. We were able to showcase our talents, meet new friends, experience different cultures, and of course, learn more about Philippine art and culture.

That was also the last time I acted on stage. I participated with the succeeding productions, but it’s more on the stage and props committee. I also became busy, as thesis and OJT came simultaneously.  

Today marks the 11^th anniversary of my beloved organization. In Samu’t Sari, I learned to appreciate the beauty of our own culture, leadership, being responsible, and time management (haha).~~~~~~

 

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