When I was 13....

What were you when you were 13?

It's contagious alright. The cast of Blue Rep's 13 the Musical. Photo courtesy of Blue Rep's facebook account.

That was the question I read via twitter as I was scanning my timeline. In the new musical 13 by Ateneo's Blue Repertory, a boy name Evan comes to term with turning to a man. As a Jewish, he has to go through the process of bar mitzvah, which is a term for circumcision or coming out of manhood. Moving to Indiana from New York, making friends, peer pressure, the musical explores how Evan copes up with the changes around him and finally realizes who really cares for him.

As a theater buff, I'm always on the look out for musical plays and straight plays to watch. Since it was the long weekend, I decided to drop by Ateneo this afternoon to catch the matinee performance (a prelude to watching Phantom and The King and I this September and a treat for myself as part of my 30th birthday next week) and I was not disappointed at all.

While I commend the lead actors, my vote goes to the ensemble cast especially the side kicks of the popular guy Brett who provided the comedy in the play. I also love the character of Lucy, the scheming best friend of Kendra because as one person quoted on twitter, "there's a Lucy in all of us."

I also give my thumbs up to Christopher "Toff" de Venecia, the director of the show. I met Toff last year while watching the preview of Rivalry (which unfortunately I wasn't able to catch in full because of  commitments then). His face was very familiar since I saw him in television as a child actor. I did not know that he decided to focus his energy on theater so it was really a revelation to me that he has been backing the industry for a long time.

The play also somehow made me yearn for the stage again. I was very active in college with the Miriam Liturgical Choir and I did some theater acting back in Grade School  which included being part of the Ateneo Children's Theater "Mga Prinsipe ng Dagat." I also did "Little Shop of Horrors," as a culminating activity for a workshop in Trumpets and I can tell you, nothing is surreal when being on stage.

Anyhow, I found the play very funny and fresh because it dwells into the minds of 13-year-olds. I wish more new plays would be stage by theater groups for the young generation to be aware of and I'm just simply glad that Ateneo's Blue Rep is doing their part. I know that Dulaang Ateneo focuses on the Filipino productions and I'm so looking forward to more productions in the future to watch. I'm definitely going to attend more productions to write about. :)

So you're probably wondering what was I when I was 13? I can tell you that at 13, I discovered my passion for writing and love of theater, books and boys and even growing up. I was 13 when I know that theater and journalism will always be a part of my life.

Alexa