In search for power, people go berserk. In search for love, people become ugly. In search for freedom, people turn wild. The overflowing determination to grasp power, the obsession to possess another, and the late realization of the true meaning of the word freedom are the main ingredients in Balagtas’ Orosman at Zafira. Using the archaic language that had been picked up in the 1800’s when women wore baro at saya and men, barong tagalog, Balagtas offered his generation’s readers the chance to recognize that not only them see the society with two eyes and hear people’s cries with two ears. He offered our generation’s readers the insight to what had happened and what could have happened without the constant change that occurs to a certain place, thanks to time. Through reading his works, the people from before and people from today heard the characters cried, sighed, whined, whispered, growled, grunted, yelled and groaned.
Dexter Santos challenged himself by putting those already effective words into actions that penetrated deeply into the viewers’ souls. Pushing the limits of narration, he developed ways in order to show the events rather than tell. Jumping to more than a hundred years after one of Balagtas’ masterpieces was written, people now derive pleasure, not from written texts but from the sacredness of which the characters moved.
I congratulate the cast and staff of this play for winning against other distracting stimuli in the first scene. They were able to hold our breaths captive through distinct choreography and artistic costumes and made escape almost impossible when the characters started singing and delivering lines with almost a religious fervor.
The audience was able to assess the roles of the characters on stage long before they started forming words. The choreography on the first scene was both magnificent and transparent. Magnificent because the three kingdoms danced different movements, everybody graceful and great that it was almost impossible to decide which one to focus on. Transparent, because each movement depicted each of the kingdom’s roles. To how it was made possible, Dexter Santos only knows.
The first group, the Marueccos, displayed the typical sultan of the ancients, a powerful man with a beautiful woman for a partner and beautiful women for servants. It was not hard to tell which of the ladies possessed the sultan’s hearts. Gulnara, played by Jean Judith Javier, was adorned with the most beautiful clothes and the most stylish ornaments. She danced intimately with the sultan who looked at her with eyes that bore every ounce of love which that man might have possessed during that very presentation. The main character, Zafira (Maita Ponce) was one of the Marueccos. She had been a very effective actress and a very pleasant singer. She delivered lines with varying emotions and she sang with such flexibility as to be expected from someone who acts for the University of the Philippines. If we talk about facial expressions, hers stood out. She had to wear different fronts for different scenes and everybody would agree that she did very well, indeed. When she knew of her father’s death, a daughter’s heart grieved all-out. When she led the war against Tedenst, every inch of her beautiful face pictured bravery. When she was being wooed by one of the men of Tedenst, her face exhibited utmost hatred. When she found out that her lover Orosman was a Tedenst, she wore the mask of greatest disappointment.
The second group, the Tedenst showcased different men. It was very obvious who the leader was. I could point him out from the group that danced with him. Aside from his intimidating stares and majestic movements, the other men from the group cooperated and became the ones who emphasized the actor’s role. It was very much seen that he was respected by his heirs, and feared by his inferiors. Speaking of heirs, one could tell that during the first scene, although they knelt down to Boulasem (the sultan) quite often, they were of higher and nobler ranks than the others. The viewers could tell from the way they stood and the way they acted. They moved with precision. Every action trained for. Every facial expression mastered. The audience, more specifically the girls, could never miss out on Orosman’s (Jay Gonzaga) great physical appearance. His well-defined muscles spoke of strength. His beautiful face spoke of majesty. His posture spoke of confidence. Unfortunately, good looks alone could not win my concentration. In this kingdom, I adore Boulasem. For me, his varying tones were artistic. His speech, mastered with tactics of men who spoke of honey, but whose voices were of poison. It is poisonous in a way that the actor could deliver a plan so devious and yet with deadly sweetness. The varying tones made the difference. That is his best asset.
The third kingdom, the Duquela, was composed of the best dancers and the best actors. During the first scene, their angry movements and all-out screams took me breathless. Even without the description of the narrator, the choreography displayed them as warriors who fought countless battles and won numerous times. The red hair and black attires showed rebellion. Their leader walked with head held higher than normal, as though saying I am undefeated. All the members of this kingdom were so into the play although they didn’t have that many lines. Their facial expressions and bodily movements were enough to drive the audience mad. That made them best among the three kingdoms, in my opinion.
The battle scenes were splendid. Everybody’s favorite scene, no doubt. We were not shown the art of murder, but we were made to feel the adrenaline delivered by war in silver platter. We were made to feel the intensity of each weapons swayed and each punches thrown. We were made to feel terror. Just seeing the weapons used can tell us loads. Witnessing the props used to hold the characters captive made me feel the desperation to be freed. The scene between Zafira and Abdalap (one of the men of Tedenst) comes a close second to my favorites. When Abdalap was preventing Zafira from escaping through a rope, I was struck by the same yet not identical emotions emanating from both characters --- desperation of Abdalap to own Zafira and desperation of Zafira to leave Abdalap. Aside from desperation, some acts illustrated passion felt by the characters. I was always shocked whenever Gulnara kissed with men. She was more feminine during kissing scenes than during graceful step designs.
It was very creative of them to use the same props for different scenes. The movable walis-tingting antics were used to picture a garden, or to be part of a feast, or simply just to divide the stage. The day and night were shown through the adjustments in lightings. That simple action confined the audience’s awareness. It was uncomplicated but very effective.
Watching the play gave the viewers a very exhilarating experience. We were moved to tears because of the characters’ unique way of expressing themselves. Our hearts jumped because of the excitement the battle scenes brought. Finally, our judgment with regard to the three things mentioned at the start of this reaction paper was challenged.
Personally, I learned that different individuals have different limitations when it comes to grasping power. Ambitions aren’t poisonous unless you brewed them so. If, like Abdalap, you are willing to kill your own relatives in order to obtain your desires, then you have a lot of self-reflection to do.
When it comes to love, people become selfish, yes, but it also depends upon the situation. Orosman was selfish enough to fall in love with Zafira knowing the conflict between their tribes. But Orosman’s selfishness was still very different from Abdalap’s.
And finally, freedom. Freedom to choose whom a person can love. Freedom to follow your heart’s desires without trampling others’. Freedom to accept that you cannot have everything you want, just enough that you need.
Once again, I would like to congratulate the cast and crew of Orosman at Zafira for introducing to us the other side of Balagtas’ obra, the more magical, exciting and invigorating side.
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