Shock Value

“Shock Value” (SH) is Dulaang UP’s second play this (school) year. This play is written by Palanca playwright-winner Floy Quintos and directed by Alex Cortez. This play is part of the ‘Return Engagement” theme of the theater group. Prior to SH, they re-staged Dexter Santos’ “Orosman at Zafira.”

The play gives the audience a splice-of life on what’s behind the boob-tube programming. The play exposes how stars are created, the unending battle for ratings, the merging of serious news and chika entertainment and many more.

Floy Quinto, being in the showbiz industry for quite a while now (he directs Star Talk), also depicted and mimicked countless local media personalities in his play --- you decipher for yourself who’s the REAL person behind each character. It was sort of doing a blind-item portion with some very obvious clues.

The showbiz feel was also translated by orienting the theater audience as ala-Eat Bulaga tv-studio audience at the start of the play: teaching them how to applause with every cue.  The big flat screen television (monitors), dancing colorful lights, as well as the ala-ShowTime production / intermission numbers made the whole play a studio-taping experience. Having artistas on-stage, as well as on the gallery added to the ‘showbiz atmosphere.’

The play is indeed entertaining. But shocking (as its title would suggest) is totally misleading. Concocting stories like ‘Dating Adik,” “Ms. Something Nagpa-abort,” (etc) to make headlines is not novel. Zoom-ing the camera to a confession or to an on-air apology (with the piano as back ground music) is not new-fangled. The truth, there is nothing shocking about the lies, manipulations and facades of the television industry; it’s an open secret to most, if not all.