Media celebrity G Töngi, newly appointed Artistic Director
of Upstart Productions, spearheads Upstart
Soundstage, a series of bi-weekly dramatic readings presented by Metrobank
Card Corporation at Century City Mall at 7:00 pm on Sunday, June 15, 2014. Upstart Soundstage will present a different full-length drama, comedy, or
musical every two weeks, each show featuring well-known theater personalities
and stage directors. No props, no sets, no costumes—just pure performance.
“Readings like this are very popular in L.A and New York,”
declares Töngi, who has timed her birthday celebration to coincide with the
first play in the series. “We want to do the same thing over here.” To that
end, Upstart has lined up an impressive array of actors for the project: noted
stage and screen personalities Audie Gemora, Noel Trinidad (one of Upstart’s
board members), and Töngi herself, along with renowned directors like Anton Juan
and Bobby Garcia.
But will Manila audiences take to the concept of stage shows
without any staging? Apparently, they already have: Töngi and her partners have
conducted quite a few informal readings of this type, and they’ve all been very
well-received. Upstart founder Joel Trinidad, Noel’s son, is not at all
surprised. “I’ve always loved dramatic readings, “ he shares. “When you take
away the sounds and lights and costumes, you force people to really pay
attention.” Upstart Managing Director Onyl Torres, who doubles as the company’s
Musical Director and Composer, likens the medium to a radio play. “You get the
same emotions, the same human drama,” he says. “It’s very powerful.” Töngi
concurs: “In our last few readings, people were in tears—the actors and the audience.”
Upstart Soundstage
kicks off with Töngi’s birthday celebration: a reading of Jane Anderson’s The Baby Dance, an emotionally charged
drama about a suburban couple adopting the unborn baby of a poor couple. Other
proposed shows in the series—which will run continuously, every two weeks, in
three-month blocks—include Pippin by
Stephen Schwartz, Glengarry Glen Ross
by David Mamet, The Seagull by Anton
Chekov, Les Liaisons Dangereuses by
Christopher Hampton, and many others. “A different show every two weeks, at a
fraction of the cost of a regular show,” notes Töngi. “Where else can you
experience that?”
Upstart Soundstage:
The Dramatic Readings. Starting Sunday, June 15, at 7:00 pm at the event space
on the 5th floor of Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati, and
playing continuously every other Sunday from then on. Show schedule may change
based on availability of performance rights and other factors. Tickets at P300
each, available at the door. Presented by Metrobank Card Corporation in
cooperation with Century City Mall. From Upstart Productions.
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