August 1, 2022
Dr. Anna de los Santos (Jana Isabel La Victoria) was a chemist who heads the nanotechnology laboratory in the Colegio de Salvados. She gained prominence by developing a evaporation suppressant chemical (which townspeople erroneously called a "fertilizer") which enabled the farmers of her town to save their crops from the yearly drought.
However, Dr. Anna owed her present position to two politicians. One is the current Mayor Tito Reyes (Jorge Matba), who was the one who released the funds for her to be able to develop her "miracle" chemical. The other is Vicky Ramos (Lauren Antonio), who owns the factory which mass produces her invention, now currently running for mayor against Tito.
At the height of election fever, Salvados was stricken by an epidemic of cancer. Dr. Anna was being pressured by Tito and Vicky to find the cause and the solution for this alarming disease. Dr. Anna thinks it could be arsenic in the water. Anna and her lab assistant Boy-C (Miggy Lagazon) scramble to find the source of this toxic contaminant.
Dr. Anna also faced pressing issues at home. Her very religious mother Amparing (Kiana Aaliyah Cervantes) wanted her to accept the position of "hermana mayor" for the upcoming fiesta of Virgen de Salvados. Meanwhile, her niece and adopted daughter Girlie (Anika Licudan) was becoming increasingly depressed from traumatic experiences.
Playwright Layeta Bucoy was able to write this and two more full-length plays ("Dance of the Foolies" and "Orgullo Compound") stemming from research on arsenic and nanosilica from rice hull ash of the University of the Philippines Los Baños nanoscience and technology facility and analytical and instrumentation science laboratory. This dissertation of hers for a doctorate degree in Literature in De La Salle University was published last year.
This complex, multi-layered play explored the political ramifications of a scientific discovery that which benefited a town greatly at first, but later may be implicated in its destruction. With her acclaimed writing skills, Bucoy seamlessly merged very disparate elements of nano-chemistry, politics, religion, rape and mental health in a emotionally-heavy, intellectually-disturbing script, yet still managed to be very engaging for its audience.
The young cast of actors was led by Jana Isabel La Victoria in the central role of Doc Anna. La Victoria had to keep up the cold pragmatic veneer of a scientist for most of the play's run time, but the frustration that was boiling up inside of her eventually had to explode in a couple of remarkable breakdown scenes. Her navigation of the jargonish scientific terminology which had to roll off her tongue naturally was particularly convincing.
Standing out among the supporting actors was Kiana Aaliyah Cervantes, whose portrayal of Doc Anna's old fanatical mother became more impressive when you see how she actually looked like without her aging makeup. The Greek chorus of four dancers / townspeople (Alyssa Torres, Sari Labrador, plus Matba and Lagazon doing double duties) was quite entertaining as they trade gossip and speculations and chants.
This production was directed for an online presentation by Tuxqs Rutaquio, who also designed the sets. Jaydee Jasa multi-tasked as cinematographer, editor and camera operator. There were a couple of scenes depicting corpses in coffins which would be difficult to imagine being staged live on stage. The hair and makeup by Carlos Siongco effectively transformed young actors like Cervantes and Matba into convincing senior characters.
Maiba 18 Productions is a production house founded and led by the students of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Theater Arts Batch 118, aiming to empower marginalized communities by staging productions from the diverse perspectives of the youth. This stage production of "Doc Anna ... Let's Kill this Lab," their final academic requirement for their Theater Production 2 class, streams on Ticket2me.net from July 29 to August 12, 2022.
