Playwright Vincent de Jesus looks forward to the highly anticipated comeback on stage of his Carlos Palanca Award-winning play, ATENG. The play will be performed at the Rampa Drag Club in Tomas Morato Extension, Quezon City, from November 14 until December 7 (every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). ATENG is produced by Boy Abunda and RS Francisco and presented by Infinite Monkeys, Boy So of La Carmela de Boracay and Rampa. McDonalds is a sponsor.
Boy hopes that ATENG can inspire relevant and active discussions on issues of consequence to the LGBTQIA+ community. “I invite people to watch ATENG. It is not just a one-act play about three ordinary individuals. ATENG empowers. It dares the audience to dig deeper into its real message beneath the humor.”
De Jesus is a two-time recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. His plays, ATENG (2005) and Changing Partners (2017), won in the country’s most prestigious literary competition, both under the Dulang May Isang Yugto category.
As one of the most accomplished artists in the country, de Jesus has written the libretto and music for Changing Partners, Zsazsa Zaturnnah The Musical, Ang Babae sa Septic Tank, Care Divas, Tabing Ilog The Musical, Himala Isang Musikal, Skin Deep, and Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady.
He shared on the Writer’s Notes, “I wrote ATENG back in 2005 for The Writer’s Bloc Inc., an independent organization of established and promising playwrights which aims to encourage Filipino writers to create new works and define new perspectives in contemporary Philippine drama. That same year, ATENG was produced by CCP and Tanghalang Pilipino as an entry to the very first Virgin Labfest. Performed at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute, the play had a weekend run to SRO audiences.”
ATENG is about Juicy, a young gay impersonator, who spends his electric bill money on his boyfriend, Onyx. His older brother, Kiwi, a parlorista, tries to ask Onyx to immediately return the money before their electricity is cut off. Kiwi becomes entirely aware during his negotiation with Onyx that he can utilize beauty parlor items, such as a hairdryer, as powerful weapons to petrify men who flaunt machismo recklessly.
ATENG is more than just a comedy that elicits laughter from the audience. Its message reverberates loudly and challenges everyone to take a closer look at how prejudice and abuse toward members of the LGBTQIA+ community prevail in today’s society. ATENG was written in 2005, yet the same bleak scenarios still happen even after two decades.
According to Rem Zamora on his Director’s Notes, “I first encountered this script in 2016, when Vince and I were talking – very loosely – about staging it. Sitting with it again, years later, I was reminded why this play is still relevant – and why, twenty years after it was written and staged at the very first Virgin Labfest, a new audience needs to see it now.” Zamora and de Jesus have previously collaborated in the latter’s Palanca award-winning play, Changing Partners.
ATENG stars Kokoy de Santos, Dyas Adarlo, Jason Barcial, Io Balanon, Vincent de Jesus, and Thou Reyes. Shows begin at 7PM. Tickets are available at www.ticket2me.net and at the gate of Rampa Drag Club. The ticket price is at P1,000. Use the hashtag #MayRampaSiAteng for posts related to the play.
The following are the specific schedules and the performers: SHOW 1 – November 14, Friday, 7PM (Thou, Jason, Kokoy); SHOW 2 – November 16, Sunday, 7PM (Thou, Io, Dyas); SHOW 3 – November 21, Friday, 7PM (Vince, Jason, Kokoy); SHOW 4 – November 22, Saturday, 7PM (Vince, Jason, Dyas); SHOW 5 – November 23, Sunday, 7PM (Vince, Io, Kokoy); SHOW 6 – November 28, Friday, 7PM (Thou, Io, Dyas); SHOW 7 Matinee – November 30, Sunday, 3PM (Thou, Jason, Kokoy); SHOW 8 – November 30, Sunday, 7PM (Thou, Jason, Kokoy); SHOW 9 – December 5, Friday, 7PM (Thou, Jason, Dyas); SHOW 10 – December 6, Saturday, 7PM (Thou, Io, Dyas); SHOW 11 Matinee – December 7, Sunday, 3PM (Thou, Io, Dyas); and SHOW 12 – December 7, Sunday, 7PM (Thou, Io, Kokoy).
ATENG is presented by Infinite Monkeys, Boy So of La Carmela de Boracay, and Rampa, with McDonald’s as the primary sponsor.
