Rated:PG | Play Review (Group 2)

rated:pg PP LL AA YY RR EE VV II EE WW (De Lemos, Ganayo, Lakampuenga, Noleal)



Rated:PG De Lemos, J. M., Ganayo, J., Lakampuenga, C. D., Noleal, R. Philippine Educational Theater Association's Rated: PG was performed on the 10th day of May at the PETA Theatre Center, 5 Eymard Drive New Manila, Quezon City. It is a musical that distinguishes storytelling on having to discipline the younger generation, without having to experience or accomplish harsh or violent actions between a parent’s and child’s life. It is a play that shows the two different perspectives of both sides, which serves as the bridge to obtain a good development and understanding of a child. The story follows Joselle (Stella Canete-Mendoza), a good-hearted, multitasking mother who is about to make a life-changing decision that will impact her family. She’s thinking about whether or not to take a job abroad, which would satisfy their financial needs without forcing her to work multiple jobs to pay the bills. Her issues occur as she considers her youngest son, Tonton (Arthur Castro) who is just six years old, wondering where she would leave him. Of course, her family will be the perfect option, but she is uncomfortable with their attitudes. Romy (Gilbert Onida) is too preoccupied with his own job to be concerned with raising a son; Rosalie (Joan Bugcat), their oldest child, is still an inexperienced teenager on the edge of adolescence; and her own mother employs scare tactics as a disciplinary tool. The musical alternates with light scenes with heavier, dramatic episodes, interspersed with music and lyrics by Vince De Jesus, choreography by Batche Tan, playwright by Liza Magtoto, and directed by Mae Quesada-Medina. The play ends with a happy and heartwarming production number from the casts. 1



Rated: PG, a play where we find Joselle (Stella Canete-Mendoza), a mother to whom a lot of parent’s especially mothers can relate. On the contrary, the story is simple and yet familiar, the story encircles a major life decision of Joselle on working abroad to meet their family’s financial needs and secure their family’s good future. And as she is determined to do everything for them, she began training her kids, specifically her eldest daughter to do responsibilities just so they can handle things well when Joselle’s not around and she doesn’t have to worry that much about them. But it seemed like things aren’t going her way when she cannot seem to find time to finalize the documents she needs along with prioritizing her family. In her mind, the opportunity of having to work abroad is a once lifetime but she cannot just leave her family like that. Her thoughts started to arise in a situation where her mind and her heart are in contrast. She’d earn better abroad but could she or her family handle being miles away from each other? 2



PERFORMANCE Stella Canete-Mendoza A great stage actress who played Joselle in the play “Rated: PG”. Her overall performance made the play lively and enjoyable for the audience to watch. She brought all the energy that served as the path to complete the stage play successfully. She portrayed all out with her emotions that gave the play an impact on the viewers right from a mother’s point of view. From the intonation of her voice, her gestures, and the sentiment that comes with it, overall it was an amazing act. Given her professionalism and experience in the field of acting occupied the play with amazing performance. As you watch her act, you can truly feel and see that she understands and learns the character she is playing. Where her actions really fit the role that she needs to play. 3



Joan Bugcat A young lady full of talents on stage play-acting, she had the chance to play the character role of Rosalie in the play. As you can notice with her young age, it is surprisingly amazing that she can deliver and act all the heavy emotions from the play. You can say that she can be a good role model for the aspiring stage actors since she has the characteristics of being a flexible actress due to the fact that she can bring up and differentiate the actions and emotions from being a daughter down to being a sister. Thus, her singing and dancing had a huge impact on making the audience entertained. She represented the life of a teenager who’s been wanting to feel that she’s been looked out by her parents and wholeheartedly poured every bit of emotion she can offer which made the play turn out amazing. 4



DD EE SS II GG NN EE LL EE MM EE NN TT SS The lights that are used for the musical are used accordingly with the time of day when the scenes are performed. Different special light effects are also used for heavy and light scenes during the play. Moreover, a spotlight is used when the actors have an emotional scene from the act. The sound and choice of songs complimented the act of the play very well. Their vocal sounds are clear and understandable that made it easy for the audience to watch the play without experiencing any errors. The production chose the right amount of beat for the various types of scenes in the musical that helped the audience distinguish what kind of emotion to feel about the act. The costume fits what the characters are portraying which adds to the factors that made everything interesting and entertaining. It is on point and it is really connected to their roles and the effort is present on making up the wardrobe of choice. But somehow, one thing that is quite noticeable is that their costumes were always on a match on what kind of setting is being shown. The props used are also an accurate representation of a typical family and its neighborhood which made the play realistic and helped the whole plot of the story. It helped the viewers understand where the story took place and bring the story’s settings to life. Overall, everyone can say that the production and all of the members that played a part in making up this play had a huge teamwork and cooperation with each other making them pull off the play smoothly until the end. 5



reAcTIoNs Rated: PG amazed the audience with its full stage play, but one thing similar and good to be compared with this, is the play entitled “Ang Huling El Bimbo”. These two different sets of play both have wonderful and talented actors in keeping their characters and roles throughout the act. Thus, their plots and storylines can be applied and relatable in real- life situations and both serve as a lesson to their audience. Of course, these plays have their characteristics and differences since these stage acts are unique. Everyone knows that “Rated: PG” has a storyline that is focused on the practice of discipline to kids while “Ang Huling El Bimbo” is primarily focused on the life journey of Joy, and compared to this, “Ang Huling El Bimbo” definitely has something more going on regarding the plots and themes. One thing that is also noticeable is that the song of choice of “Ang Huling El Bimbo” is very familiar due to the influence of Eraser Heads rather than the newly introduced songs from “Rated: PG”. Mostly the genre of “Rated: PG” is more on drama scene related, while “Ang Huling El Bimbo” is standing more on being a lively and joyful act. In addition to that, the ending of their stage acts is quite different from each other since the ending scene of “Ang Huling El Bimbo” served satisfaction to the audience more than “Rated: PG”. 6



theme Parents have the right to discipline their children for them to be able to make them realize that their actions equate to consequences. But in order to do that, they should be doing it in an appropriate way. Sometimes, a child’s actions reflect the environment they are in, the family they belong to, and especially how they are being treated. Also, some parents tend to apply sanctions based on what they went through thinking that since these and that happened to them, the same goes for their children which is not really healthy. Every person’s experiences are different and the only way for them to understand each other is that they should be communicating in the calmest manner possible and that includes acknowledging mistakes and shortcomings which applies to both parents and their children. Both parties should be considering each others’ flaws resulting in misunderstandings and look into one another's perspectives to work together as one because that’s what family is for. It doesn’t have to come to the point where they will point fingers on who is to blame or whose fault is it, add that violence is never an option. Though family fights are inevitable, as a child grows, they are being entitled to have their own opinions based on their perceptions and for them to establish responsibilities in their minds, parents are the ones who’ll guide them to which things are right and wrong and what are the possibilities that may occur for every action done without guidance. Discipline isn't determined by a child's level of pain. It is measured by a child’s self-control to certain situations and their behavior which will contribute to their growth and development as time goes by. 7