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Music and Bloodshed

A day after watching Sipat Lawins Battalia Royale, I was reluctantly dragged to watch the University of Santo Tomas (UST) 28th Sampung Mga Daliri Atbp., a 10-Piano Concert. Memories from Battalia Royale (BR) were still fresh and to my surprise, almost halfway through the concert, connections between the two shows began making itself known. I never thought that one can connect a formal concert to a play full of bloodshed, but the concert had factors that highlighted details from the play. The play and the concert certainly complimented each other through the setting, the characters, and other minor details. The concert was held in the Cultural Center of the Philippines so it is no surprise that the ticket that we received would be formal which told me the concert has a possibility of being boring, as opposed to the ticket from BR that gave a sense of foreboding. The ticket stated warnings like the actors can push the audience, but they cant push back, the audience had to push, flirt, or do whatever it takes to get a nice view of whats happening. After receiving the ticket, people certainly grew worried about whats going to happen during the play and decided that it was a must to stay together. Aside from the setting, the BR ticket certainly played a part in setting the mood for the show. During the UST concert, we were fortunate enough to get seats in the orchestra which would mean being closer to the musicians, being intimate with them and their piece, which would not give the same effect if one is seating in the balcony. Just like in BR, there is a different feeling when one is close to the actors acting, and if one were to stay at the back. Being in front gives a more thrilling experience there is a fear of being splattered by blood, or being hit by the mobile actors who really utilized their big stage. I am not sure if its just me, but I am more engrossed in

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the play while seating in front, which is so different from staying at the back. Yes, one still paid attention, but there was no thrill being far from the actors, and one can get easily distracted from the play - either by their friends, audience, cellular phones, or other actors roaming about. In the 10-piano concert, almost every performance was guided by the conductor. Being a non-Music major, I didnt really know why conductors played a huge role when the musicians should have the instructions on their respective sheets (pp, ff, cresc, etc). After an explanation from a Music major, to put it simply for a noob like me, conductors checked if everything was going right, if the different instruments played their role well and the like. So my fresh-from-BR brain suddenly connected the conductor to the Game Master of the play. The Game Master made sure that the victims played his game seriously, and no rules were being bended. He was the one in charge of the introduction, and the mini-intermissions in between. He was truly an important and vital character for the play, even from the start when he was seating on the stairs where people going in the school could see him. Before the UST concert started, there were already mentions of this certain Polish pianist, Lech Napierala, who is apparently an important person due to his skills. He, with his very talented fingers and dashing look, certainly didnt disappoint. In Batallia Royale, although it wasnt mentioned explicitly, there was a character who seemed important even before the whole play started. During the game where people had to kill and be killed, there was this certain girl wearing a uniform, obviously an actor, who seemed quite special. She held a sense of importance she stood out from the rest, something that I didnt sense from the other actors that were with us that time. As the play ended, she was someone who had a major role the one who survived the bloodshed and emerged winner of the whole game.

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In every performance, there is always a group of minor characters. For the Sampung Mga Daliri, it was the group of people hitting the drums. They werent the highlight, but for me, their minority proved to be important for the whole concert. They stayed at the background but every time I hear the drums, it gives the listeners a sense of urgency, adrenaline, and a want to pay attention. Similarly, those in BR wearing camouflage had the same role. They shouted at people where to go, sit, and be alert. They woke up the audience from the trance they were in from being too absorbed in a certain scene so that we can move to another scene efficiently and be able to absorb the details that can be absorbed in the play. In the concert, there were different ensembles that are parallel to the different cliques and characters in the BR play. Each ensemble gave a different feel or flavor to the listeners. Piano ensembles felt chaotic, in a good way, because of the different pieces they played. Their performances ranged from being nostalgic to giving a sense of chasing or being chased. Jazz ensembles gave a feel-good aura; something that one would actually hear in coffee shops while taking a breather, and the wind ensembles gave a sense of being in-flight. Just like the different ensembles, the feel for different cliques varied there were light-hearted ones, sensual, gloomy, deadly, and more. The performers attire also played a part in setting the mood. The hot Polish guy wearing the tux commanded respect (and adoration), while the USTeMundo with their colorful shirts gave a care-free mood to their performance. Likewise, the characters in BR, with their clothes, and even minor accessories, brought about specific sensations. The scene with the girl wearing only her skirt and a sports bra was obviously a sensual part. Add the hormonal actor, and it was a recipe for an awkward scene indeed. An actor not wearing his uniform properly, with the shades and all that, also gave an impression of rebellion. True to his clothes, he was one of the bad-guys in the play.

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Both Sampung Mga Daliri, Atbp. and Batallia Royale are annual shows, albeit the UST concert has been staging the show longer than BR. They had different methods of performing and gave different feels for each obviously since one had songs while the other had carnage, so it was hard to finally realize the similarities. They had a varied type of audience the concert had foreigners, nuns, and priests which forced one to behave, while the play had a lot of students and gays so the atmosphere wasnt all that suffocating. Their differences and similarities each highlighted factors from the other. They had different kinds of performers, props, but still all details fell into place. But no matter how different their stories may be, both presentations stayed true to what performances should and that is to entertain.