ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Year 39, No. # 35 July 30 - August 6, 2010
Ma-Yi hosts theater workshop
Workshop faciitator Agnes Magtoto (second from right, with papers) leads a discussion on theater with workshop participants.
Ma-Yi Theater Company, in cooperation with the Philippine Forum, sponsored a theater workshop at the Bayanihan Community Center in Queens, N.Y. on July 26-30 aimed at providing theater skills training and experience to community youth.
Facilitated by New York University (NYU) lecturer Agnes Magtoto, the workshop is part of Ma-Yi's outreach program.
Jorge Ortoll, the company's executive director, says Ma-Yi hopes to assist in "building a community theater that is responsive to the needs of the youth in the community."
On the opening day of the workshop, Ortoll and artistic director Ralph Peña invited the participants to observe Ma-Yi's upcoming productions, and offered them volunteer and internship opportunities.
On July 30, the participants performed their short plays to an audience of 60 people at the Bayanihan Community Center.
Founded in 1989, Ma-Yi Theater Company is a Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning, professional, not-for-profit organization whose primary mission is to develop new plays by Asian-American playwrights.
Its numerous acclaimed productions include last season's hit production of "Rescue Me" by Michi Barall.
Other notable shows include "American Hwangap," "Soul Samurai" and "The Romance Of Magno Rubio."
Through successful programs such as its Writers Lab, Ma-Yi emboldens a new generation of Asian-American artists to voice their experiences, while developing a steady stream of quality new works by Asian-American writers for its own performing repertory, according to Ortoll.
Ma-Yi Theater Company productions have earned nine Obie Awards, numerous Henry Hewes Award nominations, a Drama Desk nomination and the Special Drama Desk Award for more than two decades of excellence, and for nurturing Asian-American voices in stylistically varied and engaging theater.
Kris Aquino with son Baby James upon their arrival at the NAIA from their three-week vacation in the U.S. Kris purposely wore a fitting attire to belie rumors that she's pregnant. Below: Baby James with father James Yap during the launch of their Sun Life Financial TV commercial. (Photos by Rudy Santos)
By RICARDO F. LO
Step aside, pretenders. The real newsmaker is back!
"I'm moving on," announced a chirpy Kris Aquino in a one-on-one with this writer barely eight hours after she arrived at past 5 o'clock last Friday morning on a PAL flight from the States where she and her sons Joshua and Baby James took a three-week vacation. "There's no turning back."
Kris and company, including the kids' nannies and Kris' Guy Friday Alvin, left on July 8, two days before what would have been her and estranged husband James Yap's fifth (civil) wedding anniversary. A day after she left for L.A. en route to Orlando, Florida, where she and her entourage took the Disney Wonder Cruise, Kris issued a statement through her lawyers that her marriage was over and her lawyers were working to nullify it.
Showbiz was ho-hum drab while Kris was away, orphaned by a "moving force" whose every word and every move makes headlines.
Sounding re-energized by the trip, Kris unwittingly broke the "vow of silence" that she imposed on herself in deference to President Noynoy "P-Noy" Aquino who, seconded by sisters Ballsy, Viel and Pinky, requested Kris to kinda tone down a bit to avoid getting P-Noy into trouble. That's why Kris quit the ABS-CBN showbiz shows "The Buzz" and "SNN" ("Showbiz News Ngayon"), which she co-hosted with soul mate Boy Abunda, which are susceptible to intrigues and tsismis unlike teleseryes and game shows which are not. Kris returns to one such game show, "Pilipinas Win Na Win" ("PWNW"), which premiered on Saturday on ABS-CBN replacing the "beleaguered" "Wowowee" (which merited a "plug" from Donovan Tea [not Mark Preston as reported earlier] during the duo and Lettermen co-member Tony Butala's show last Wednesday night at the Big Dome).
Asked why she said in an earlier interview that everything between her and James "is over," Kris said, "For three-and-a-half years, we worked hard to save the marriage but it just didn't work," adding as if addressing James, "alam ko at alam mo na matagal na tayong miserable."
The marriage, said to be doomed from the start because of the yawning socio-economic-cultural gap between Kris and James, was done secretly in Boy Abunda's house, with less than 10 people present. It wasn't officiated by then Quezon City Mayor (now Congressman) Sonny Belmonte, contrary to some reports.
Even during her absence, Kris kept the grapevine alive. Persistent rumors have been linking her to, among others, Sen. Chiz Escudero, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay (a widower), and young actors Gerald Anderson and Coco Martin.
"I've met Chiz only once," clarified Kris, "and that was in June when Noy was proclaimed (15th President of the Philippines) at the Batasan. It was Noy pa nga who told me, ‘Kris, mag-hello ka kay Chiz,' so I said, ‘Hello, Chiz! Thank you for supporting Noy during the campaign.' And we made a joke pa that in 2016 kaming dalawa naman ang magta-tandem at ang magiging slogan naming ay ‘Chizzy Krissy.' Nice, di ba? Hahahahaha! That was the first and last time that I saw Chiz."
Despite the rumor that his own marriage to Tintin Escudero is "troubled" (tsismis lang, the truth is that their marriage is intact and is as strong as ever), Chiz remains unaffected by the rumors linking him to Kris. I requested Bibeth Orteza (who directed Chiz in the Noy-Bi TV plug that reportedly clinched the vice presidency for Jojo Binay) and Bibeth texted this short message: Chiz says that if he says "no comment" parang people will read into it pa. On the other hand daw, he can't talk about what there's nothing to talk about.
"I know who's spreading that rumor. Tita Dolor (Guevarra, talent manager) told me who."
What about Coco Martin?
"Naku, nakakaloka! Good luck to Coco! Kaya sasabihin ko na, nililigawan ni Coco si Erich (Gonzales)."
And Gerald Anderson?
"Gerald and Kim (Chiu, his ‘special friend') are like my younger brother and younger sister. Kim and I are so close. I told Kim na sa lahat ng situwasyon ng buhay niya, I'll always be there to defend her. Kaya tigilan na ‘yang pagli-link sa akin kay Gerald. That really makes no sense."
Who else?
"Si Junjun Binay. Also not true. Ang daming nali-link sa akin. Ang haba-haba ng buhok ko! Hahahahaha!"
So can you say categorically that you are putting your love life "on hold" for the meantime (while the nullity case is pending)?
"You know, nakiusap ang mga kapatid ko, please lang, kung kaya ko raw in the next six years huwag ako mag-boyfriend. Maawa naman daw ako P-Noy."
What did you tell them?
"I said, ‘Bahala na!' Sa track record ko naman, wala talaga sa tadhana ko, di ba? Parang hindi ‘yon ang suwerte ng buhay ko. But thank you for acknowledging that good mommy ako, even if I'm not a good wife. At least nag-enjoy talaga ang mga anak ko. After the cruise, we went to Boston where I showed my kids the house where we lived during my dad's exile."
Incidentally, in fairness to James who has remained tight-lipped up to now, he said that he didn't believe the rumors linking Kris to other men while at the same time denying those linking him to other women, one of them the GMA show "Diz Iz It" co-host Grace Lee who has denied it.
"Hindi ganoon ang asawa ko," insisted James whose present routine revolves around his practice for the ongoing games — you know, from house to practice, then back to the house (he's temporarily staying at a condo in Ortigas Center after he left his and Kris' conjugal home in Makati City).
Asked if she has heard about James being linked to Grace (a Korean who was raised and studied here), Kris was nonchalant.
"I don't really care. N'ung kinuwento sa akin na may Koreanang natsitsismis sa kanya, honest to God, you know what my reaction was? Thank God! At least, we can now all move on. At hindi na ako ‘yung wicked witch!"
As Kris has been saying, there's indeed no turning back!
