ALT Education, a home school center in Concepcion Grande, Naga City, Camarines Sur, held the second installment of its annual theater showcase at Vista Mall Naga last December 6, 2024. Marqueed as “How Things Came to Be: Ibalong Express”, the production showcased the talents of homeschooled kids in retelling the classic Ibalong epic through a script penned by Isbel Wasan Borja and with an original score by Rammel Custodio Alano. The production also featured the choreography of the internationally acclaimed Camarines Sur National High School Dance Arts Society (CDAS).
The production journey for Ibalong Express was a particularly challenging one. Aside from the usual unwieldy task of coordinating the various moving parts of a theater production from the draft concept to the technical rehearsal, the onset of the parade of typhoons that hit the Bikol Region placed the performance under threats of delay or cancellation. But passion and patience sustained the journey. Creativity is an anchor for resilience. And the final performance was an amazing experience for both the kids, their parents and teachers, and the patrons who made the whole production possible.
The open-ended story of Ibalong, told in three acts that are each highlighted by the lives and feats of the characters Baltog, Handyong, and Baltong is a familiar origin story. Its narrative is framed through the memories of the bard Kadunung who, in turn, tells the passage of events to Iling. But Ibalong is unique in that it leaves open the opportunity to tell more stories. This is articulated by Kadunung who promises that there will be more stories to tell.
Bel Borja’s script is a fresh take on the epic. It is an adaptation that plays to the strengths and sensibilities of the Zoomers and Generation Alpha. Indeed, the challenge was how to make a young generation of kids raised in the time of technology and social media immersed in the stories of the past. Borja adapts the epic to echo the experiences of kids preparing for school–only this time, their opportunity to learn comes in the form of a field trip through time and space, to the land of myths and legends. Kadunung and Iling are reimagined as teachers and tour guides. The train, a once ubiquitous artifact of Bikolnon identity and mobility, is revived as a plot device through which the kids reconnect with a nearly forgotten past. It is through the eyes of these homeschoolers and their mythical guides that we are able to revisit Ibalong and its diverse cast of heroes and creatures.
The three acts of Ibalong are performed with a kinetic pace that is fueled by Alano’s musical score. Alano prepared original songs that embodied the emotional and thematic moments of the presentation.
The kids, ranging from preschoolers to high school students, displayed commitment to their roles. Whatever problems arose due to technical difficulties, venue limitations, and production gaps were filled and overshadowed by the energy of its young performers.
The running time of the entire performance was very satisfactory. There were a few moments that could have been paced better. But these were few enough and did not take away from the overall experience. With the second installment of ALT Education’s “How Things Came to Be” being an obvious improvement over last year’s feature, there is reason to look forward to other stories and legends to retell in the succeeding years to come.
Header image of the cast on stage (credit: ALT Education)
About the Drama Critic:
DENNIS B. GONZAGA: Writer, critic, and academician. Former Humanities faculty at Ateneo de Naga University. Curator of The 416 Art Space in Naga City. Advocate for local culture. AB Political Science graduate, Ateneo de Naga University; MA Asian Studies graduate , University of the Philippines.