Jungle Gym is building a workshop for collective inquiry on the intersections of sustainability, ecology, and performing arts. To get a grasp on what conversations, questions, and efforts are currently circulating within the community, we asked the following questions to a varied sample of practitioners:
How do you see the relationship between nature and your craft?
What was a meaningful encounter you had with nature or your local ecology that inspires how you create performances?
How do you envision an “eco-friendly” (i.e. inspired by nature/your local ecology) performance culture?
Here’s how Opaline Santos, Jerom Canlas, Pia Duran, Tata Tuviera, Aina Ramolete, and Jermaine Choa Peck responded.
Photo by Haley Owens from Unsplash
“My relationship with nature and my craft is very shamanic. Aside from being in the theater, I do energy work and healing arts, I channel messages and creative prompts from spirit and put them in my performances. This is also part of my process in crafting INA ALALA, a performance ritual in 2021.
The strong call of our ancestors to go back to our roots, that includes the elements: air, water, fire, and earth.
A lot of my breakthroughs were working with plant medicine and learning the Babaylan system. I tap into the spirit realm to tune in, align to that divinity, then ground back into the 3D realm and transmute through performance-making.
To envision an ‘eco-friendly’ performance culture, honor and commune with nature spirits, make ritual offerings in exchange. It is rooted in our indigenous culture that we ask permission and co-exist—may we remember that everything has consciousness and everything has spirit.
To bring back theater as a sacred ritual, when all forces are involved and present, we will have a soul-deep understanding on how to work with them.”
Opaline Santos
Performance Artist, Healing Arts Practitioner, Teacher
“Kapag ikaw ay isang artibista, hindi maikakaila na sa kaibuturan ng paglikha’t pakikibaka ay ang organikal na relasyon sa kalikasan. Ang proseso ng sining at aktibismo ay nararapat na ekolohikal—kinakailangan ng pandama at pakialam sa lahat ng uri ng buhay.
Kaakibat ng pagkuwento ng danas ng tao ay ang paglalahad din ng komunidad at kalikasan na ginagalawan nito. Ang paglaban para sa maayos na kalikasan ay paglaban para sa makataong lipunan—
– at importanteng bitbit ito ng mga artibista dahil sa simpleng rason na walang makataong lipunan kung walang maayos na kalikasan.
Jerom Canlas working behind the scenes of “Kalel, 15” with cinematographer Carlo Mendoza
Nag-aral ako sa isang espesyal na eskuwelahan para sa mga artists na nasa gitna ng kagubatan ng Bundok Makiling. Kasama ng ibang mga kapuwa iskolar ng bayan para sa sining, nagpakadalubhasa kami na matuto at lumikha sa piling ng kalikasan. Dahil sa apat na taong pagtira at paglaki ko sa lungga ni Aling Maria, hindi ko maikakaila ang impluwensiya nito sa aking sining at pakikibaka hanggang sa kasalukuyan. Ang eskuwelahang pinasukan ko ay isang patunay ng benepisyo ng paghulma at pagkalinga ng kalikasan sa mga lumilikha ng sining. Mas masarap lumikha kapag nasa lilim ng mga puno, langhap ang sariwang hangin, dama ang lupa/tubig, dinig ang tunog ng mga hayop at insekto—payak at payapa.
Ang makakalikasang kultura ng pagtatanghal ay mapagkalinga, mapaghilom, mapagmahal, at mapagpatawad. Liban pa sa pagkakaroon ng pakialam sa kalikasang ginagalawan at pag-alaga rito, ang makakalikasang kultura ay pagkakaroon ng ligtas na mga espasyo upang makalikha at makapagtanghal nang malaya. Isang espasyo kung saan tunay na mahuhulma, lalaki, at lalago ang isang artista—gaya ng patuloy na paglaki at paglago ng kalikasan.”
Jerom Canlas
Artivist
“Yung pag-isip, paggawa, at pagbuo ng craft ay tinitingnan ko bilang isang aspeto ng buhay. Lagi kong naisasapuso na, ang buhay ko at buhay ng mga tao ay laging may koneksyon, laging may interdependence, ‘di lang sa kapwa tao sa nature din.
Malaking chunk ng inspirasyon ko ay nanggagaling sa nature. May mga panahon ako na I feel stuck. Hindi ako makasulat. Walang creativity. […] Then I go surfing. Or magmumuni-muni lang sa harap ng dagat. […] Minsan umuupo lang ako sa labas at pinagmamasdan ang buwan o mga bituin. And then surprisingly, […] may nasusulat na ako na mas makabuluhan. […] I really need those times and spaces for me to create art. Kaya importante siya sa akin.
Yung ecologically conscious for me pagdating sa sining at kultura is siguro yung pagtingin sa mga bagay as holistic na walang maiiwan o masasaktan. […] Gusto ko sana na ang craft ko ay towards healing at community o environment care, kasi nakakapagod at exhausting kapag laban lang ng laban, […] Ayaw ko na ng hostile na art, both sa paggawa at sa mga kasamang gumagawa.”
Pia Duran
Filmmaker
‘Gomanan’ — a documentary film about the Bagobo Tagabawa
Written and Directed by Pia Duran
It’s tricky because eco-friendliness and production design don’t typically go together. In other countries where there is a [more] robust entertainment scene, there are rental houses where you can get all your costumes, [but here]
“The process of creating eco-friendly productions needs to start right from the producers, or the production houses that would like to produce something,
Because in some ways this will all boil down to if the production can afford it. If they’re willing to budget the extra time in creating sets that would require a different approach in construction, or devote extra time to teach the builders a more energy efficient way to build sets. Energy efficient might not always mean the most efficient time wise or money wise.”
Tata Tuviera
Production Designer
How do you see the relationship between nature and your craft?
Aina: Marami sa palabas ng Teatrong Mulat ang tungkol sa kalikasan sa karamihan ng mito at alamat. Isa rin sa pangunang adbokasiya ng Mulat ang pangangalaga rito dahil ito ang ating tahanan, kasama ng mga hayop at halaman, at siyang rason kung bakit tayo nabubuhay.
Kung kaya’t hangga’t maaari, sa pagbuo ng produksyon ay pinipili ang mga organic at recycled materials. Ang mga papet (puppet) ay gawa sa kahoy, cardboard o paper mache, at ang mga kasuotan ay mga lumang damit o retasong telang pinagtagpi-tagpi upang mabuo ang damit ng mga papet. Ang set din ay madalas simple lamang, at paminsan ay narereconfigure ang mga piyesa upang magamit pa sa ibang palabas. Sa ganitong paraan ay hindi gaanong karami ang basura na nailalabas.
Sa aking personal na pananaw naman, may kakaibang pakiramdam ang paggamit sa papet na gawa sa kahoy—kahoy na nagmula sa noo’y buhay at humihingang puno. Mas konektado at grounded ako tuwing humahawak ng ganitong uri ng papet—isang matinding pasasalamat para sa buhay na binigay ng kahoy na pinag-ukitan, at ngayon ay mayroon nang sariling buhay sa isang kwento.
A scene from Teatrong Mulat’s ‘Prinsipe Bahaghari,’
Direction and Production Design by Aina Ramolete
What was a meaningful encounter you had with nature or your local ecology that influences how you create performances?
Aina: Ito’y mula sa aking pansariling ekspiryensiya, […] Palagay ko malaking impluwensiya sa fascination ko sa nature ay dahil naninirahan ako sa siyudad. At sa siyudad ay kalkulado ang mga galaw, mabilis ang oras, at parang laging nakakahon ang kilos at pakiramdam ko. Hindi naman din ako hardcore nature enthusiast, ngunit tuwing nag-iisip o sinusubukan kong iexplain ang isang emosyon sa pamamagitan ng galaw, laging ang nagiging biswal na imahe sa akin ay konektado sa kalikasan.
Halimbawa ay sa galaw ng papet na si Sisa na siyang sinusubukang hanapin ang kaniyang mga anak, ang primaryang ideya ko para sa mga galaw niya ay hango sa alon na paulit-ulit niyayakap ang pampang. Minsan naman kapag mabigat ang pakiramdam ng karakter na papet, ang lakad niya ay hinahango ko sa pakiramdam ng paglalakad na nakayapak sa mamasa-masang lupa. O di kaya ang pag-iyak, parang pagpatak ng tubig mula sa dahong naulanan.
Lahat ng biswalisasyon nito ay pinanantili akong grounded at nakakatulong din sa pagpili ng galaw para sa papet.
Nauungkat ang mas malalalim na emosyon mula sa akin dahil natutulungan ako ng galaw ng kalikasan sa paghayag ng pakiramdam na hindi ko masabi gamit mga salita, gaya na lamang ng paghayag ng papet gamit galaw ang mga emosyong di nila masabi.
How do you envision an “ecologically conscious” performance culture?
Aina: Mula sa obserbasyon ko sa kung bakit isa sa mga main themes ng Mulat ay pag-alaga sa kalikasan, ay dahil sa pagmamahal ni Prof. Lapeña-Bonifacio (founder ng TMP) para sa mga bata. Sinasabi niya pirmi dati na gusto niyang makita ng mga bata kung gaano kaganda ang mga isda sa dagat, ang mga paru-paro sa bulaklak, ang mga nagkakantahang ibon at iba’t ibang hayop na naninirahan sa mundo kasama natin. Ngunit dahil sa patuloy na pagsira rito, ang susunod na henerasyon ang mas makadarama ng epekto ng climate change at global warming kung hindi mapipigilan.
‘Di man ganoon kalaki, ngunit may pag-aaral na nagsasabing malaki rin ang naiaambag ng arts community sa basura ng mundo dahil sa iba’t ibang materyales na ginagamit, at ito na rin ay dahil sa kani-kaniyang art style na mayroon ang bawat artist. Ngunit, palagay ko lamang, sa hinaharap,
Sana ay maging kasing bigat na aspeto sa pagbuo ng produksyong ay ang environmental impact nito. Sustainable ba? Magagamit ba ulit? Ang materyales, kapag ginamit ba ay hindi makaka-harm as much sa kalikasan?
Dahil sa pagiging conscious sa ganitong decision, ay may pagpapahalaga rin sa mga susunod na henerasyon na mamumuhay sa mundong ito matapos natin lumipas. So I guess di lang pagmamahal sa craft ang iisipin in the future? Pagmamahal din sa environment at pagmamahal sa future beings na maninirahan dito.
(This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.)
Aina Ramolete
Puppeteer
Photo by Nate Bosano
How do you see the relationship between nature and your craft?
Jermaine: Whenever I need [to] think or just be with myself, I look for nature and I immediately feel like I’m home. It’s like a grounding force, [a] nice reminder of the beauty of life. Like, whenever I’m in the ocean watching the sunset, or even just listening to the waves and looking at how vast everything is—the ocean, the mountains… there’s so much power. They give us so much. Every little thing [is] like a sign that you can draw inspiration from.
When I surf and paddle out to the water, […] when I’m just floating, paddling, waiting for a wave, there’s music that comes to me and I hum it. I sing it. It’s not for other people. It’s my offering to the ocean. This is what the ocean makes me feel, this is the sound that comes from my body, so now I offer it. That’s kind of how I see [my] relationship with nature. Nature inspires me and I give back to it.
What was a meaningful encounter you had with nature or your local ecology that inspires how you create performances?
Jermaine: A lot of [the encounter] is energy. Being in nature energizes you. It literally gives you energy—like if you go to a waterfall, the power of the water produces negative ions and that literally heals us. The waves of the ocean are also energy. I feel the same way when I’m performing—I see it as an energy exchange with the people who are present. My friend recently asked me how I sustain my energy on stage, and it’s really because I see all these people watching and enjoying themselves. It’s like a surge of energy that comes to me, and it makes me want to give back.
Photo by Susan Larsson
Another inspiring encounter I had was when I went to Bukidnon and visited the Talaandig tribe. Tribes in the Philippines are in tune with nature, […] They make their instruments out of whatever they have in their environment. They use the earth for their craft, their music. So I draw inspiration from these encounters—nature, and the people I meet in nature. It’s a collective of stories that you bring wherever you go, in whatever you create.
How do you envision an “eco-friendly” performance culture?
Jermaine: I [recently] helped out with an embodiment retreat, led by a Filipina-Indian teacher. We did a cacao ceremony—a celebration of the seed and how we can be more mindful when drinking it. So we talked about going back to our roots and ancestors [as] Asian countries, [na] medyo magkatulad tayo ng mga ancestral traumas [at] pare-pareho tayo ng practices as healers.
I also work with Aetas in Zambales. We really try to preserve their culture, kasi maraming na ang elders who pass on to their next lives without passing on their practices first. But as more people visit them, want to get to know them, [mas] nabubuhayan sila to preserve their culture, their relationship with food, and everything else we can learn from them.
We have to be more inclusive without exploiting them. When we work with communities, hindi kami nago-overstep. Wala kaming binabago sa ways nila. Kapag may guests, may precautions yan lahat. We’re here to immerse ourselves and get to know people; it’s a gathering. Dahil doon, ang ganda ng lumalabas na collaborations between tribes and people visiting. They make music and dance together, and it’s just so beautiful to see.
(This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.)
Jermaine Choa Peck
Musician (The Ransom Collective), Actress
These are all rich and valuable insights that can guide our artistic practice to new and exciting directions. Thus, we want to keep the conversation going! If you have additional wisdom nuggets, stories, or burning wishes about our local performing arts culture, we welcome them anywhere you’d like to leave them.
Let’s leave a trail of kindness and inspiration for the next person who’ll come along.
