‘We Aren’t Kids Anymore’ navigates the realities of adulthood
It’s a different kind of musical. “We Aren’t Kids Anymore” by Drew Gasparini is about five people navigating messy realities, connected by a common theme. There is no dialogue and the director is given free hand on how to stage it.
The song cycle features orchestration and vocal arrangements by Justin Goldner and Gasparini. The Manila production will be mounted by Barefoot Theatre Collaborative, whose last offering was the musical hit “Bar Boys.”
The five performers are Gab Pangilinan, Maronne Cruz, Gia Gahol, Luigi Quesada, and Myke Salomon. Each actor stands before the mic emoting and singing, and pouring out his or her troubles, problems, frustrations. An indication of what is to come may be glimpsed in the brief online video showing Pangilinan performing the song “On the Edge:” “I think I think too much. I never needed anyone to help me and to keep going. I’m living on the brink. I’m tripping over and hanging on a ledge…”
Rem Zamora directs, with Salomon and Farley Asuncion as musical directors.
“The challenge is how to thread the songs and make a clear narrative without it looking like a concert,” Zamora said in an interview. “It wasn’t easy.”
He added, “With plays and musicals with a clear narrative and arc, I am usually able to use my first instincts. Any initial instincts with ‘Waka’ (“We Are Not Kids Anymore”) were thrown out the window. I am fortunate to have a wonderfully collaborative creative team and amazing actors that I can bounce ideas off, and challenge me to explore and create.”
Drawing from experience
The actor-singers drew a lot from their own experiences. “Each actor brings to the table his or her unique take on the character that you will see,” Zamora said. “Though they play a ‘character,’ it’s their souls they bare on that stage. All I asked for was for them to really dig. As a group, we were able to create a safe space, but a brave one.”
The themes of the musical play are “definitely universal,” according to the director: “…growing up, parents, siblings, finding and questioning your purpose, dealing with fear and failure, lost or toxic relationships…”
And the collection of songs is autobiographical: “We are privy to the composer (Gasparini) at different stages and events in his life until we get to where he is today. I like to think of it as unfinished because he is still in the process of creating, struggling, living. What propels the story are the very relatable experiences of the composer. The actors are drawing from their own similar experiences to propel the story further along.”
Gasparini himself has this to say about his work: “No matter how we are talking, it is not enough. And as the human race continues on, it gets less and less. So my hope is that when they see the humanness, they leave the theater and the first thought they have is ‘I gotta call my mom or my dad or my brother or my sister or my friend’ or whatever, so they feel that they can stay connected. That’s what this is really all about.”
For Zamora, these words were even more painful because his mother just passed away. “So yes, if we are able to bring out the humanness of this show, I hope people feel like they need to make a connection,” he said. “Yes, call your mom.”
“We Aren’t Kids Anymore” will run May 2-25 at PowerMac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater, Circuit, Makati.
