A FAILED wedding, particularly for a marriage years in the making, may feel like total defeat on one’s part. But through ABye, those who yearn are reminded that, perhaps, self-love is the most authentic appreciation that one can receive.
For its 44th Junior’s Theater Literacy production, Artistang Artlets, the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters’ official theatre guild, left the Benavides Auditorium brimming with emotions with its play, ABye, last Feb. 22.
Written by Communication junior Kyle Villanueva, the play initially presents itself as a heartbreak story that later reveals deeper aspects of the main character’s life as it follows the long-awaited wedding of a couple.
Directed and led by Communication juniors Parpati Chelsea Derla and Erah Laurice Alcaraz, ABye begins with a makeshift wedding that places 27-year-old Madison, or “Mads” (Louise Estrada, Communication sophomore), at the center of delivering a romantic monologue about her marriage with her long-time boyfriend, Aris.
As Mads walks down the aisle (rather, the low stairs of the Benavides Auditorium), she recalls fleeting moments of being in love with Aris. Once faced with the visibly troubled groom, Mads’ dreamy recollection draws to a halt as Aris confesses his exhaustion from their relationship.
Aris further amplifies Mads’ shock by ultimately calling off the wedding and breaking up with her. At the end of this scene, love, the main idea of the story, conceived—but not in a romantic sense.
According to Darla, the play used the “Stanislavski acting method,” which reeled the audience into Mads’ mind by showcasing her thoughts and memories with the storyline, an attempt to have both timelines interact with each other.
The story exhibited this major part of the play as the present Mads interacts with the young Mads (Raeanndrei Cruz, Communication junior). She first makes fun of the young Mads’ romantic idealization of young Aris (Ariel Villanueva, Jr., Political Science sophomore), before she eventually battles with her inner self.
ABye also explored the concepts of ambition and dreams; however, it delved deeper into self-love.
Mads is seen to be “stuck in the past” and is portrayed as someone with hidden personal issues, such as lack of parental love, which would lead her to hold onto the only familiar idea of love. This visibly manifested in her difficulties in moving on from her supposed wedding with Aris and her eventual stagnancy in life.
The stage design contributed to the organized display of narratives despite the complicated idea of Mada communicating with her past self. It occasionally shifted to showcase the exchange of point of view, such as how the present Mads would peek at her memories and interact with the young Mads, as if she was desperately talking to herself.
The technical aspects played a minor role in the play but were still vital to its execution. Throughout the production, colorful fluorescent lights shone over the stage until the story reached its concluding part. This signaled the message of Mads breaking free from the cycle of self-doubt and hopeless love and transitioning to a state of hope and renewal.
The most notable aspect of the play is the actors themselves. Though there were several very minor dialogue slip-ups, the actors consistently delivered for the most part.
Overall, Artistang Artlets’ ABye served as an eye-opener for those whose idea of love is rooted in finding it in other people. From the play’s compelling theatricals to its execution and to its very core, which is its narrative, ABye has solidified the guild’s simple yet thought-provoking intention that reached the hearts of its audience.
ABye is a story that presents itself as a common love and loss story that later unveils a story of personal growth. It tells the audience that no other love is greater than loving one’s self. One should love oneself simply because they do—not because they want to prove that they are worthy of love. F
