Maria Maridel B Aurelio

2013-19729

Comm 3 WFQ-1
6 March 2015

Falling In and Out of Love: A Bilanggo ng Pag-ibig Reaction Paper

After my economics class last February 14, I arrived outside the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero
Theater expecting to watch a play about love. I havent read anything about Jean Genet and his
book, which the play was about so I was excited to see Dulaang UPs interpretation and
adoptation of his life and work.
Watching DUP productions live on stage has always been an odd but exhilirating experience
for me, because of how the stage is designed. From what I have observed, stage props were
minimal and often multifunctional so that the audience would focus more on how the actors act.
The laudable acting of the cast made every scene griping and interesting with effective
expression of emotion and some comedic lines. However, I found it challenging at first to go
with the pace of the play especially because most of the scenes were flashbacks and memories of
the Genet.
The title Bilanggo ng Pag-ibig (Prisoner of Love) fits perfectly with the scenes that show the
best and worst manifestations of love and desire. To love may mean having to sacrificing
yourself to someone you have deeply fallen in love with just like how Leila, Abdallah the
tightrope walker, and Jacky the race car driver pushed themselves in their professions to please
and tend to Genet even if it meant putting their lives in danger. Ironically, the scenes about the

Shatila massacre depicted the non-existence of love, of being locked behing bars and watching
love from afar.
The theme is very relevant to what is happening in the society today--being locked out of
love, wars and a lot of bloodshed. It is sad how extreme belief and love of God has resulted to
unending religious wars and thousands of lost lives. I have a very pessimistic view of love, and I
have always questioned the notion that love is a good thing. Love, for me, is a strong force that
can bring people together and an even stronger one when it comes to bringing people apart.
Some may say that money is the root of all evil, but I beg to disagree. I see love as the root of all
evil. I believe that people are good until they fall in love. The presence of love--love for another
person, money, God, ones ideology--can bring out the worst in everyone and thus result to hate,
the absence of love.
One important theme in the play that grabbed my attention is something that still remains a
taboo--same sex love. Prior to watching the play, I havent asked anyone what to expect from it,
so I was totally surprised to see explicit sexual scenes live. Whats more, I was in the second row
so I was see the actions clearly. In my 16 living years, I honestly havent seen men kiss and make
love to each other prior to watching the play so I was completely shocked after the first half of
the play. However, when I reflected on it during the break I realized that the purpose of showing
those scenes in the play is more of artistic rather than erotic. It was not meant to arouse the
audience, rather by means of acting it was a creative take to present another form of love that
most people tend to ignore or disagree to.
The most important lesson that I learned from watching the play is on how to effectively
communicate to an audience and keep their attention. A script is only as good as how the speaker
conveys it message. I observed that the primary element of effective communication is

confidence. I have a huge problem with stage fright, and the idea of public speaking has always
terrified me more than anything else. Watching the actors act out difficult scenes somehow eased
my fear and taught me to live in the moment and not worry about my audience judging me. The
play also opened my mind to the existence of various situations that other people refuse to accept
and talk about.
Overall, watching Bilanggo ng Pag-ibig is both a learning and entertaining experience for
me. As a person who rarely watches Philippine theatrical productions, I began to appreciate
Philippine theater even more.