A big reclaim of the crown was made by the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH) after snatching the championship title for the Madulang Sabayang Pagbigkas through a piece inspired by a painting “Hapag ng Pag-asa” in the Literary Night of Intramurals 2024, October 14.
Giving goosebumps to the audience’s perspectives, the piece “Isang Kilong Awa” written by Elrish Jay Felamin and Karen Umadhay made sure that, more than the performance, the message of their piece will reach and be understood by the spectators.
© Katrina Elises
“We really conceptualize kung ano ba talaga ‘yung reason bakit kami nag-join ng SabPag in the first place. That is actually not to win but to send our message to the audiences, to give a purpose, to give voice to the voices. ‘Yan talaga ‘yung point ng SabPag sa CSSH. And now, ‘yung championship, it's just extra na lang ‘yun,” Donnel Pierce Deparine, CSSH Sabayang Pagbigkas core member said.
Deparine even stated that they were having a hard time choosing their concept since it felt like they had already done many concepts in their college.
However, they were able to come up with an idea that is a pervasive issue in society– poverty, such to the extent that the performers utilized real garbage and purposely dressed and smelled bad to authentically portray this reality.
“‘Yung painting na ‘yun, it's like a rendition of Last Supper pero instead of apostles, ‘yung mga bata na sa lansangan. So ‘yun ‘yung concept namin. It's about poverty and kung ano yung sacrifices ng isang mother. Kasi girelate namin si Jesus sa isang mother. Kasi Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins. And sa presentation namin, girelate namin siya sa isang ina na gagawin ang lahat para mapakain lang ‘yung anak niya to the point that she is willing to sacrifice herself,” he explained.
Their concept also showed Filipino resiliency to an extreme because of the concept of a mother’s love, willing to do everything just so her children can eat.
But more than their performance, they faced struggles before the competition such as their conceptualization with the intention to take back the crown and maintain it for the next years.
“Kasi sa amin, kasi sa CSSH, hindi na kami makuntento sa kapag ito yung binigay ng writer, ito ‘yung gawin natin. Ihimay-himayin pa namin ‘yan siya kaya, is this really worth it to perform? Ano ba talaga ‘yung message? So, grabe ’yung time of preparation namin on creating the piece to the point na parang wala na kaming oras to actually practice the piece itself,” Deparine emphasized.
On the other hand, their Creative Director Enrique Toledo expressed that more than the competition, they have a message to convey wherein it is the identity of CSSH.
“It's not just the winning, it's not just the trophy, it's not just the end of the presentation, kasi sana mapanatili yung bulyaw, even after the literary competition,” Toledo stressed.
Although last year’s result was tough for them, he acknowledged that all of the entries improved wherein it is not just a presentation anymore but an advocacy.
“So, I really love seeing that, no, kasi dapat ganun talaga tayo. So, we're so happy that ngayon, na-retain na at naibalik na sa amin, ‘yung kampeonatong dapat sa amin. And isang karangalan ‘yun sa College of Social Sciences and Humanities, na once more, pri-nove namin that this is more than just a Sabayang Pagbigkas,” Toledo remarked.
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