Whenever I watch a theater play, I often wonder how the magic I see on the stage unfolds. How does one produce a seamless production? What’s happening behind the stage curtain?
A lot, apparently. Just like what I’ve seen in the documentary film Backstage Pass: Life Behind the Curtains directed by Joseph Mangat. The short film, which premiered recently at the CCP Main Theater, gives a glimpse of the back-of-house activities of the CCP Theater Crew, or the Men in Black as we call them. You can watch the film on the official CCP Facebook Page.
Since I’m curious about the backstage work, I asked theater veteran Dennis Marasigan and light director/technical director Barbara Tan-Tiongco about it. They generously shared a quick rundown of jobs happening backstage, which includes production management, stage management, technical direction, lighting design, sound design, electrical, fly, and set design, among others.
“Anything that has to do with the mounting of a theater production or any work in the performing arts has a commensurate responsibility backstage. For every show put up on any of the CCP stages, there would be anywhere from five to fifty people working unseen by the audience,” Marasigan enthused.
I met Marasigan years ago when I was still a newbie reporter covering the art and culture beat, while I remember meeting Tan-Tiongco during the recent workshop with light designer Jennifer Tipton before the pandemic.
Before he became VP Ezekiel Lopez in GMA 7’s First Lady, Marasigan used to work as assistant technical director of the CCP Theater Operations Department, under Monino Duque, his lighting design teacher in UP Diliman.
After the first EDSA revolution, there was a reorganization in the CCP and a number of new positions were opened. Duque invited him to join the newly-created department.
“By that time, I already had 10 years of experience doing practically every technical job backstage/offstage, [as well as] lighting and sound designing for a number of productions with different theater companies in various venues,” shared Marasigan.
He started his training in technical in his freshman year at UP, under the late Edgardo “Egay” Avila and Audie San Juan who were then senior pre-med students doing lighting and technical direction for Dulaang UP. He even did his undergraduate thesis on direction and lighting design.
Meanwhile, Tan-Tiongco started when she was still a student in UP Visayas in Iloilo City. She was a member of Teatro Amakan, the UPV performing group for Hiligaynon Theater. She worked on the local and international tours with the CCP Outreach, and trained with PETA’s Al Santos and Jojo Atienza.
“Since we had to perform on stage and do all backstage work, I realized I can be good in the technical aspects of theater, particularly production and stage management,” shared Tan-Tiongco.
We continued the conversation with a quick Q&A:
Glazing Life (GL): How important is the backstage crew to bring to life a theater production?
Marasigan (M): They are critical in the creation of the magic that the audience sees. While it is still possible to have one-man shows, the work is made easier and more pleasurable by the efficient and effective work done by the backstage staff.
GL: What skills and knowledge do people need to succeed backstage?
M: I have always believed that any job in the theater requires skill, passion, and intellect. Patience, perseverance, and thoroughness are also required of anyone working backstage.
GL: How do you apply the fundamentals you’ve learned to every facet of your life?
M: One of the first things you learn in theater (and even more so in technical theatre) is attention to detail. And then there is time management as well. And maybe even more importantly, learning to work as part of a team.
GL: How is technology changing technical theater?
Tan-Tiongco (T): Theater is very adaptable and it has embraced technological changes. The method of doing and building, I believe, stays the same with the use of more gadgets, computerized methods of recording cues, and software that save time and manpower. Although personally, I am traditional so using hand drawing, writing notes in a notebook, personal exchanges of ideas, and discourse are my thing.
GL: What satisfaction do you get from working as a backstage hand?
M: The feeling of accomplishment that you have done your part in making an experience memorable to everyone, from the performers to the audience.
T: I think it is more of love of what you do but there’s good decent pay if you demand for it and if you deliver a good job.
GL: What advice do you have for people, especially young ones, who want to take this path?
M: Try it out and see if you have the qualities needed for you to survive in this business. Not everyone is made out for work backstage, but it can be very satisfying, and I might add, even financially. After all, the best is always sought out in any business, and you just might happen to be one of the best.
T: I won’t talk about love for the work because it’s there if one is working in the field. Punctuality, efficiency, read more, write notes, research more and deliver a good job neatly and professionally.