HIROMI ASAI jacket, GIRLSMUSTHAVE Star button-up, SOMBRE pants. Photographed by Harold Julian and styled by Nico Sese for the October 2024 Issue of Vogue Philippines
Stage director Bobby Garcia talks about working with Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon and using theater as an escape from the real world, if only for a brief moment.
Bobby Garcia, founder of Atlantis Productions in Manila, one of Asia’s most successful theater companies, is now based in Vancouver, having moved to Canada at the start of the pandemic.
“I’m very cautious to self-identify as an OFW because I know their plight and I recognize my privilege,” he says. “OFWs sacrifice so much to be apart from family without knowing when they will see them again, and they make these sacrifices and go through sometimes unfathomable hardships because it ultimately means they are able to support themselves and family in the Philippines.”
“The voices of many OFWs are unheard. Just the fact that I’m doing an interview with Vogue shows that I have access to my voice being heard,” says Bobby. “Our OFWs are our everyday heroes. I have privilege and I don’t lead much of a heroic life, especially compared to them.”
Bobby says he instead identifies as a Filipino immigrant working in Canada.
“I face the same prejudices most immigrants face across the world such as a narrow and inconsistent pipeline to get work, microaggressions at work and in life, and sometimes, even overt racism both at the workplace and in everyday life,” Bobby says. “I’ve seen bad behavior rewarded so the cycle continues.”
Bobby says the shared experience of most immigrants is the feeling of loneliness and isolation, which is so much a part of what Request sa Radyo, the play he’s directing starring alternates Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon, is all about.
“I think every immigrant has felt isolated and lonely at one point or another,” says Bobby. “We all deal with it differently. In my case, I dive into my work to escape all of it. That’s the beauty of theater. It provides both audiences and practitioners a chance to escape from the real world for a brief moment.”
“I think Manila audiences are always ready for an exciting theatrical adventure. Especially one that is non-traditional.”
Bobby considers himself fortunate to have found consistent work as a director with various theater companies since he moved to Canada in 2020. Next year, he’ll be part of the Stratford Festival in Ontario, considered perhaps as Canada’s most prestigious theater festival, recognized worldwide for the quality of their work.
“I’m thrilled to be joining them. I just finished a week of auditions at Stratford and that team really has their A-game going. I’m very excited for next year,” says Bobby, who will be directing one of their musicals.
But this year, he is excitedly looking forward to directing Request sa Radyo.
“While we were working on Here Lies Love together in New York, Clint [Ramos, Request sa Radyo producer] sent me a copy of the script, which I had not come across before. I got very excited about doing it because it played with theatrical form and was about something so relevant at the moment,” says Bobby, one of Clint’s co-producers for the Broadway musical. “We knew immediately that we wanted Lea and Dolly to alternate in the lead role and we pursued it from there. Not only is Clint an artist I admire but he has become a good friend over the last few years. I’m thrilled he gets to go back to Manila and we can all celebrate him.”
Bobby is looking forward to working with both women as well.
“I have not worked with Dolly in the past. But I have seen her on stage and of course in ‘Triangle of Sadness.’ She is genius,” he says. “I am really looking forward to spending time with her in the rehearsal room.”
“Meanwhile, Lea and I have a creative collaboration that spans about 25 years. So, we trust each other. Full stop,” he says. “She is one of the most creative, intelligent, and professional actors I have ever worked with. We’ve taken on big challenges together in the past so I am excited to take this one on with her.”
Bobby says a lot of the work will come in when they start rehearsals in New York, which at the time of this writing, was in September.
“I love to listen and play with the ideas the actors bring into the room. Their rehearsals will be separate, mostly because I want to make sure that they find their own individual approach to the play,” says Bobby. “They’re very different from each other and that’s what makes it even more exciting. You get to see two unique shows depending on whom you catch. I am sure somewhere during tech week they will be around to see each other, but their initial rehearsals will be separate.”
The week Bobby left for Vancouver in 2020 was the week when Atlantis had been scheduled to open The Band’s Visit, which was canceled due to the pandemic.
“Ironically, The Band’s Visit was a musical about loneliness, isolation, and the need for a community,” Bobby shares. “Many of these themes we tackle in Request sa Radyo.”
He says he is grateful that in its 21 years, Atlantis produced over 60 plays and musicals. Many of them were international premieres and several of them traveled to other parts of Asia.
“I love the Manila audiences and they were there for all our shows through the years. We had a very loyal audience base which I am so grateful for. I am excited to re-engage with them again,” Bobby says.
And he’s excited to introduce theater goers here to Request sa Radyo. “I think Manila audiences are always ready for an exciting theatrical adventure. Especially one that is non-traditional,” Bobby says. “I also think it’s our obligation to keep giving audiences something new that shows how limitless theater is.”
For Vogue Philippines’ October 2024 cover story, the creative forces behind the new stage production Request sa Radyo talk about isolation and loneliness, the need for community, and what it means to feel seen. See the stories of Lea Salonga, Dolly de Leon, and Clint Ramos below.
By YVETTE FERNANDEZ. Photographs by HAROLD JULIAN. Stylist: Nico Sese. Hair and Makeup: Mayone Bakunawa-Balbarin. Producer: Anz Hizon, Sandro Lorenzo. Special thanks to Ceazar Cabreros.
