Esmeralda Albis, a 29-year-old and multi-talented playwright from Minalabac, Camarines Sur, has already made a name for herself with her masterpiece titled “Ang Pagbuo ng Baliana” after just a year of venturing into playwriting.
A playwright, known as a mandudula in Filipino, is a noble profession that writes scripts for theater plays. They craft stories for theater productions, and as the curtain falls, the words and concepts they have written create a rollercoaster of emotions for the audience. One great example of this is William Shakespeare, who became the most famous playwright of his time and wrote or co-wrote nearly 40 plays.
Through Albis’s effort and talents, her masterpiece was able to secure the grand prize at the “Young Creatives Challenge,” a competition organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) held last March 21 in Metro Manila.
Albis began her journey with her inaugural play, “Mga Agi-Agi kan Tulong Salampati,” which premiered at the 2023 Pista ni Theatrong Bikolnon in Legazpi City and also graced the stage at the Hablon Fest 2023 in Naga City.
One panel member in one of her competitions advised her that if she didn’t like the characters in the plays she watched, she should try writing characters she could relate to, leading her to find aspects of herself in her writing.
“Ang inspirasyon ko sa pagsusulat ay sarili ko. Kung papansinin sa dalawang dula ko, ang pangalan ng mga protagonists ay Esmeralda. Tumatak ‘yong sabi sa akin ng isang panel member na sinalihan ko, ‘Kung hindi mo gusto ‘yong mga characters sa mga dulang napapanood mo, edi magsulat ka ng characters na gusto mo’,” Albis shared.
Recalling her first experience in the field of theatre, Albis took the stage as an actress and a director in 2017. Because of her many years of exposure to acting and directing, playwriting has become easy for her. She emphasized that writing Rawit Dawit, a form of poetry in the Bicol region, is her true passion. Her poetry focuses on erotic themes, while her short stories often revolve around childhood memories and eerie tales.
“’Yong una kong dula ay natapos ko ng limang araw na walang tulog. Bago ko pa naisulat ang kwento ay nakita ko na sa utak ko—napanood ko na gamit ang imahinasyon ko. Mahalaga rin na mayroon kang maikikwento. Nagkataon lang na ang buhay ko ay punong-puno nito,” Albis said.
Albis draws inspiration from other artists, particularly her favorite playwright, Sari Saysay, a writer and theatre director and one of the founders of Sining Banwa and Taragbo Bikol Theater Network.
Mga Agi-Agi Kan Tulong Salampati has become her favorite as she took on the challenge of being a one-woman production for the play, which she found exciting as it pushed the boundaries of her creativity.
Albis does not pressure herself to write; she simply enjoys the process. Having a different job unrelated to writing helps her, as writing serves as an outlet when she’s stressed. However, Albis believes that writer’s block occurs when you force yourself to write—expressing oneself never runs out of better stories to tell.
“Naglalaan ako ng maraming oras na pinapanood ko sa aking utak ang kwento bago ko pa isulat. Kapag umupo na ako para magtype ay wala nang tigil. Bumubuhos na lamang ang ideya. Sa dula, naiiisip ko na ang musika, ang ilaw, ang set design, ang props, ang blocking ng mga artista, at ang plot ng kwento bago ko pa buoin ang mga dialogues. Laging pahuli sa akin ang pag-ayos ng dialogues. Ito ang pinaka-tricky na parte ng pagsusulat ng dula—ang batohan ng linya,” she added.
Meanwhile, what she finds to be the most challenging part is figuring out how deep a wound from her past she can incorporate into her play. Her winning piece, “Ang Pagbuo ng Baliana,” is somewhat autobiographical and very personal to her.
She didn’t reveal everything, but she is thankful that the alternative she provided turned out well and constantly reminds herself not to deplete or lose herself in her writing, even when the characters share her name.
At present, Albis hopes that Ang Pagbuo ng Baliana will be staged in December 2024. She is waiting for an announcement from the DTI about whether they will receive funding for its production. Some have suggested turning the play into a graphic novel or animation due to its Filipino adaptation of popular animated films like Encanto and Coco, as the play is also a musical with spiritual elements.
Albis plans to write more plays and experiment with screenwriting because several panel members have noted that her descriptive writing style would work well for screenplays. She just needs to study the differences in format between film and theater.
On advice to young playwrights, Albis shared that to venture into playwriting, it would be easier with greater exposure to theater plays through watching, acting, or directing productions. Joining a production is the training she needs. Everyone has stories to write; the real question is how to tell them creatively. I Alliah Jane Babila
Photo courtesy: Young Creatives Challenge (DTI), The Photocurves