Shut Your Eyes and Do It

Translations: German / Spanish

Voice by Direk Freddie Santos

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Half a page, that’s how big the press release was for SRO Productions’ first venture into dinner-theatre, Lovers and Other Strangers. The show starred Lotis Key, a pretty popular movie actress at that time, and Gus Aldeguer, brother to dancing sisters Terry and Lally who occasionally worked with us in Repertory.

I was drooling. In-charge as I was of the publicity for Repertory’s productions, best I could ever do was black-and-white photos with two-line captions, and here was this group that I had never heard of occupying a half-page of the broadsheet with their pics in full color! Thank goodness they didn’t have a season, one or two big productions a year and that was it. But the impact of these few shows, treated like big social events they were, felt like a slight slap on the cheeks of “us struggling artists”.

Then in 1981, I left Repertory for good and in 1982, SRO called. Would I be interested to read for a part in their next production? Dinner theatre…for a distinguished thespian like myself? I needed the job, hey let’s go! Where?
“Room 331 at the Hotel Intercontinental.”

What?! Their office is in a hotel?! Who ARE these people? Turns out founder Roxanne Lapus was daughter of top couture designer Nena Lapus and co-founder Roel Salonga was nephew to former Senate President Jovito Salonga. Together with Gus Aldeguer and Marianne Yrezabal (who is this blography’s resident Spanish translator) they were the crux of this company and their personalities brought great style to the world of dinner-theatre.

Best of all, their office was in a hotel, a 5-star hotel, where operators answered your phone calls, housekeeping was 24/7, room service day and night, barber shop and salon a floor below, and it was an address every postal delivery man knew.

Artistic Director Roxanne was always about style and she made sure it was mirrored in every aspect of her work. She loved loads of laughter with her productions…and she was shameless in her choice of plays. Art-shmart, the more sex implied, the more it was applied and in just a few years, she had developed a loyal market of the high-flying adored.

In this particular instance, the chosen work was Shut Your Eyes and Think of England, a British romp through the bedrooms. But because this was being done in the Philippines (greatly disrespectful of international copyright back in 1982), the title was changed to Shut Your Eyes…And Do It! (Special Thanks to Gus Aldeguer for the pictures!)

SRO took me in, more importantly, they paid me lots, most importantly, this was bloody FUN!

As dinner-theatre, the show would be staged at the hotel’s Grand Ballroom complete with plated 4-course dinner, wine and champagne, linens and livery. It was a bit of a throwback to my early days with Manila Theater Guild where every rehearsal was a party of sorts, just with a bit more professional edge and I fell in love with so many of the cast and crew members whom I met for the first time…television actress

Coney Reyes (slightly nervous),

cinema great Rosemarie Gil (often tense),

comedienne Debraliz Valasote (absurdly acrobatic),

scenographer Jay Herrera (absolute genius)

and his sidekick, Debraliz’ brother, Viking (certifiably insane…or should be).

And I became really good friends with Roxanne, Gus and Marianne.

Sure, this was sex comedy, plain and simple. No, it wasn’t great theatre. Yes, it was an excuse for the hoity-toity’s to have a ball. No, it would not shake the rafters with high artistry. But considering the friends I made then are still my friends today and with whom I spend many Sunday afternoons chewing the fat and non-fat, if only at that time in my life, I was dang glad I shut my oh-so-artistic eyes and did it.

Direksions:

1. Have Fun – You take yourself and your work too seriously and you could luck out on possible friendships. Great, great pity.
2. Have Style – Especially if you’re a guy, this helps. I know it could very well be a beer-can life, but hey, you wanna look like a truck driver? Only trucks will follow you. No fun in that.
3. Have Appetite – Look at my picture. Read underneath, I was mighty proud of having lost over 60 lbs. to get to that weight. But in the process, I missed my ideal weight by over 20 lbs. and the biggest things about me in that pic were my nostrils. If you don’t plan to snort the world and his brother, eat. Eat sensibly but EAT