In Transit . . . . Stuck in an Airport

In Transit (The Poster)

The Ticket for our play - $5 each

A candid shot of me when I was delivering my piece. "Why Am I in Saipan." This picture was published in Maharlika. A magazine about Pinoys in the Marianas.

I want to share with you the first few paragraphs of my monologue.

Imagine this, it's 2 a.m. I've woken up again in the middle of the night. It's raining outside and the endless patter provides a melancholic music to my sadness.

I reach out for the other side of my bed like an instinct, hoping to find a loved-one beside me. But my arms land not on a warm body. It lands on a soft and cold pillow.

I stare at the ceiling. I close my eyes. Wishing for sleep to come. Wishing for dreams to bring me back to my bed in Manila. Nothing happens. I open my eyes. Stare at the ceiling once again until I get bored. I lose the staring match.

I reach for my phone and start to send text messages to my best friend in Manila. But, it's probably midnight there and another text message in the middle of the night would be answered back tomorrow at 10 when she wakes up. My loneliness cannot wait that long.

So, I try to connect with another lonely soul. My fellow contract worker who's been a constant lunch date for months. But, he's probably out there in some bar meeting other people and maybe he has found a temporary shelter in the arms of yet, another stranger. Still, I text him. He replies. He replies in gibberish. I realize the futility of my effort and chose to just go back to sleep.

But like Lady Macbeth, sleep escapes me. My mind is in overdrive thinking of that decision that brought me here in Saipan. Alone and lonely at 2am, on a rainy Saturday, I start blaming the weather for this crippling melancholy.

etc. etc...........

It all started in September of 2006 when I read about the Marianas Monologues in the newspaper. A group of writers wanted articles about other people's experiences of their life in Saipan.

I've been writing essays all my life, so I submitted one essay I wrote in August. It was about being homesick and alone in Saipan. My struggles as I try to adjust to the rhythm of life in the island. My experiences with fellow Filipinos and the failures and triumphs of my first 6 months in Saipan.

I wrote a 3-page essay in which I described my musings and random thoughts at 2 a.m. on that rainy Saturday in August. After a few revisions here and there, my essay turned into a monologue and made it to the final selection of the monologues to be included in the theater play called, "In Transit.....Stuck in an Airport."

Meetings, Readings, Rehearsals followed. I was happy to be part of the group composed mostly of Americans, Chinese and Chamorros. It was a multi-cultural group bound together by the same passion for the arts. Although I was the only Pinoy in the group, I felt at home right away because these people have the same interest as I do. Writing, Theater, Literature. Finally, I met people who speaks the language of my heart.

(In my apartment, I have to warn my landlady that when she hears me talking to myself, she doesn't have to worry. No, I am not going crazy. It's just me, memorizing my lines. )

Our first playdate was January 20, 2007. The theater was full. The show was by invitation only because we didn't have tickets on that date. The audience loved our show and they started to tell their friends about it.

Main show was held on January 26 and January 27, 2007.

It was an SRO crowd on the 26th and 27th! 95% of the audience were Caucasians. A handful of Asians and very few Pinoys. Now I know what theater actors feel before the show. The anxiety and the battle with stage fright. And the joy after the show, specifically during curtain calls when the audience gives you a standing ovation!

The play dealt on many issues about life in this island. How a vegetarian copes up with the choice of vegetables in Saipan. The experiences of a Chinese teacher who is torn whether to stay in Saipan or to go back to China. My experiences as a Filipino contract worker. A local guy's view about his "bitter times". A gay guy's experience growing up in this culture where there are only 2 roles - that of a male and that of a female. A woman's experience in panic attack. Another woman shared her experience of Saipan as an island where you are forced to look deep inside yourself. Cultural differences, struggles about life, about relationships. Indeed, everyone has baggage.

We blazed a trail for original theater in Saipan. The island is ready for it and although I am leaving soon, my heart will always be with my "In Transit" friends and acquaintances. In such a short time, we have become good friends and members of the mutual admiration society. I wish all my co-members in Voices of the Marianas, "Break a leg!"