Mike de Leon’s “Batch ’81” was a searing indictment of the violence and the brainwashing that happens behind closed doors in universities, as underground fraternities induct their clueless neophytes. It was also an indirect yet bold attack against the repression that characterized martial law in the Philippines right up to the film’s premiere in 1982.
Thirty-seven years later, playwright and director Guelan Luarca is breathing theatrical life into “Batch ’81.” The outcome, “AKO: Alpha Kappa Omega,” however, has a modern setting and tackles issues facing today’s college kids.
Luarca, son of one of the actors who played one of the gang plebes in the film, says that the student cast of this Tanghalang Ateneo production helped him write the play. Since gang membership is an offense punishable by expulsion at Ateneo de Manila University, it is safe to assume that none of the cast members have joined any campus fraternity.
Immersive sessions
The playwright-director had his ensemble go through an intensive four-day workshop. These immersive sessions did not just give them an awareness of fraternity life, they also opened a mirror into their collective soul.
While violence and the fraternity mind-set remain relevant themes, today’s pressing issues such as sexism, bullying, and mental health are also brought to the fore.
Luarca says of the experience: “The students were writing the script without literally writing it.” Ultimately, what came out was “their understanding of fraternity-led authoritarianism.”
John Sanchez, a marine biology student who plays Sid Lucero (immortalized by Mark Gil in the film), did his own digging to see what made his character tick.
“Sid is motivated by power,” says Sanchez. “He does not feel like he has control of his own life. He is studying a course which his parents chose for him. Sid sees the frat where he can become the master and achieve control.”
Interestingly, Luarca and Sanchez say that their individual and joint research showed that fraternity membership in itself is not a bad thing.
Sanchez maintains that one of the major senior influences in his life, who taught him the values of “nobility, humility and discipline” in his youth, was a frat member.
The sociologists and history experts Luarca spoke with said that frats, like all organizations, are “morally neutral… It’s how we behave within the system that makes it good or bad.”
Luarca gives the play a twist that’s different from the movie. While Lucero remains the main protagonist, another character’s perspective is given equal prominence, that of the lone adult gang neophyte, the university professor Santi Santillan. Stage actor Ron Capinding plays the role that Noel Trinidad portrayed in the film.
This grown-up viewpoint will also allow Luarca to cast light on a national concern, beyond teen angst.
He says: “The play does indict this mafioso-like brand of leadership that says that if you are not for them, you are against them. There is elitism in this thinking. If you look at the profiles of gang members, they are not the basagulero or tambay type, but society’s cream of the crop. Some have been running this country, and the elitism does not trickle down to the masses. And that paves the way for the angry masses to choose an authoritarian leader.”
The play’s title is apt. People who do not own up their issues can be held accountable for the kind of society they create. —CONTRIBUTED
“AKO: Alpha Kappa Omega” is ongoing until April 3 at Rizal Mini Theater, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, QC, with performances on Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. Contact Genny, 09171150520.