Workshops for the artists
Another night in quarantine, lying in the comfort of the signature Netflix logo and ready to sleep away to the background show binge. Or, pulling on a pair of earphones while getting ready to escape in the rhythm of a freshly released song.
The solace we find in screen-captured landscapes and beats has been a support system for us as we continue to languish throughout the pandemic. However, behind these comforts comes a whole set of cameras, makeup artists, actors and production management.
Although schools and businesses have adapted to fully online or hybrid-paced work hours, our local performance industry still awaits hope of an in-person return as the “first to close and last to reopen” amidst the pandemic. So, how can we give back to our local artists?
Young STAR spoke with two passionate performance arts activists — Sam Sewell, head of GMG Productions, and Toff de Venecia, Philstage vice president — to find out more about fundraising efforts and support.
GMG Production and Open House’s collaborative workshop fundraiser is here to make real change for the country’s performing arts community.
Both Sam and Toff are experienced members of the Filipino arts community. Their light and playful demeanor showed just how closely the two had bonded over their years performing onstage, with their theater-born friendship radiating throughout our interview session.
Together, we discussed the lead-up to GMG Production and Open House’s collaborative workshop fundraiser for the benefit of locally displaced artists. Hosted by GMG’s own internationally touring cast, which has performed in productions like Mamma Mia! and Cats, it’s a series of workshops that harness creative talent and potential to make real change for our Filipino community.
The workshops will be held three times a week during the months of June and July while participants dance their way through varying levels of difficulty and Broadway song.
All money raised will return back to displaced workers while also providing scholarships as part of Open House’s artist welfare initiative. “There are no true restrictions for the workshops. We just want to offer something that is unique to us that will also get people moving,” says Sam.
YOUNG STAR: How did you come across the idea to hold this fundraiser?
SAM SEWELL: Like any other company in the live performance industry, we twiddled our thumbs to think of what resources we have access to. We realized our international network in the industry could be translated to something in the Philippines, despite how much we lost by not being able to meet in person. For every international crewmember, there is a Filipino stage holder, orchestra member, makeup artist. Our work is incredibly inclusive so we knew we had to do something.
TOFF DE VENECIA: Open House started as a response to the initial lockdown and we have been able to raise over P1 million to offer support checks to 650 performance arts workers since last March. Although these are incremental amounts of money, we hope that this latest partnership with GMG will offer a more sustainable source of income. We want to hold these workshops regularly so they may significantly contribute to our fundraising efforts — it will be a while before live performances return back to normal.
How has performance art changed during the pandemic?
SAM: Of course, things change on the daily and we have to remain — sorry if it’s overused — resilient. Kailangan gumawa ng paraan. Rehearsals take place via Zoom and nothing has brought us on more equal terms in this dynamic community.
TOFF: I’ve been so surprised to see many theater companies coming out of retirement to raise funds in order to bring our community together. However, we have faced many challenges including donor fatigue, which is why these workshops will serve a more long-term and sustainable purpose. Aside from illegal piracy, which has served as a major issue in the monetization of online property, it is difficult to gauge our online market without enough studies being done. It is a huge challenge to Filipinos’ rich cultural arts heritage.
Who will benefit from the fundraiser?
TOFF: The Artist Welfare Process Inc. is one of the members of Open House, which sorts out basic requirements before applicants —displaced performance arts workers — are able to receive cash assistance.
SAM: It is a small industry so it was simple: we all needed to work together to help these familiar faces and names that have been so crucial to all our live productions.
What do you hope to achieve from this event?
TOFF: We want to showcase the talents of our international performers as we make the arts more accessible to Filipinos.
SAM: Performers are always the face of concert fundraisers and entertainment charities. We have always been the mouthpiece for other big organizations in their money-raising effort. Now, we need your help.
Any workshops you are particularly excited about?
SAM: All of them! We want to keep the spirit of theater alive and we can only do that by coming together to revive our artistic community. Now we have the ability to contribute and give back.
What kind of support has the performance arts industry been receiving?
TOFF: Unlike the government-supported theater models like in Germany where performance tickets are subsidized by over 60 percent, the Filipino performance arts industry receives no subsidy from the government. Let’s not get started on the United Kingdom where they live and breathe theater — it’s basically innate for them!
SAM: Our shift online, though, makes performance arts much more accessible. Look at Ang Huling el Bimbo, for example: it was viewed over two million times (online)! The production, which ran at Resorts World, could not have accommodated that many people, you know?
How can we — who are not performers ourselves — support performance artists?
SAM: Support is free and goes a long way. Let us support local and support the joy that brings everyone together. We must support our creative industries that lack government support.
TOFF: Sharing is caring! Spread the word, especially on Instagram. Help us fill up these slots.
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Our performance arts have played such a crucial role in both shaping and capturing our rich cultural history. Notable for our ability to stay close to our emotions, art acts as a powerful mechanism for our self-expression. As Sam said, “This is our chance to mold ourselves into history — finally, we have art that is our own to make.”
Throughout the pandemic, performance arts and creatives, an industry so vital to our Filipino spirit, have arguably taken the largest hit while receiving no government funding. So let us work together in support for our artists. Sign up to join a workshop and share with a friend! Like in the theater industry, our collective effort is what makes us stronger.