ARTISTANG Artlets, the official theater guild of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, has once again unleashed another production that has left a mark on its viewers. If you thought that this would be another typical stage play, then you thought wrong. “Eidolon” is an interactive play set within the fenced area in the Education building.
You wouldn’t exactly know what to expect as part of the audience since, rather than sitting down and being too comfortable inside a theatre, you would be directed to enter different scenarios and experience the story up close and personal with the actors.
Eidolon showcased the past lives of six familiar characters that became toys as a consequence of committing one of the seven deadly sins. Each of their stories were somewhat interrelated, leading them all to the possession of three doll makers who were consumed with greed. The toys had no escape and solely belonged to them.
The first characters were Adam and Eve. Their story was about Eve desperately wanting to go back to the garden and eat the apple while Adam would just accompany her thus getting blinded by pride. Their story was followed by the Big Fat Toy who showed gluttony by eating everything edible to the point of even consuming herself.
Lust revolved around Barbie and Ken who were each other’s “play thing” until love got in the way. Two clowns stood out and were so envious of this girl who got everything she wanted and longed to experience what it’s like to have feelings.
The three soldiers in a battlefield with outbursts of anger towards one of their own. Lastly, a ballerina narrates how she would always have no one to play with since the nutcracker would always be too lazy and was a sloth.
The idea of this production showed how it really is to think outside the box which was really intriguing for their viewers. They utilized the space they had for each scene wherein you would really feel the atmosphere and aura of wherever the characters were. Although they divided the audience into two groups, both would clash in the middle and get overcrowded making it hard to go back and forth while switching scene locations. Those who would end up at the back wouldn’t be able to see or hear anymore what was going on.
Despite this, the audience was thrilled with the interactive activities such as the games and even the live toys handing out candies to the crowd. It may be something different for the Artistang Artlets but in their case, being different is what they exemplify at.
By Ma. Concepcion D. De los Santos
