Ateneo de Manila University’s Fine Arts Program presents “Authorial Intent,” a postmodern romantic comedy by Itamar Moses, on June 24-26 and July 2-3,
7 p.m., at the Gonzaga Fine Arts Theater, Ateneo de Manila, Q.C. Directing and starring in the play is Missy Maramara, instructor at the Fine Arts Program and English Department of Ateneo.
“Authorial Intent” is about a couple, referred to only as A and B, who have just begun to live together. Three days after moving in, the woman tells the man she doesn’t love him anymore. Suddenly, the play itself undergoes a parallel breakdown, with the two characters speaking their objectives and subtext instead of their dialogue. Finally, the two actors step out of character, to look back and wonder: Is there anything at all behind the artifice?
The comic, metafictive approach of the play invites viewers to consider the complex, often adversarial relationship between the author’s vision, the inner lives of the characters (and the actors embodying them), and the viewpoint of the audience.
Maramara plays Character A, while Carlo Rivera, who lectures at the Ateneo de Manila’s English Department, plays Character B. Alternating with them are Ann Nicole Ong, an AB English Literature senior, and Manuel Jan Molina, a Management Engineering sophomore.