in february of 2011, the university of the east drama company staged a student production of nick pichay’s “uyayi ng ulan,” a coming of age story of this lazy boy who ventures and meets different characters, opening his eyes to realities in the world.  this musical version was directed by erick castro and they had carlo tabije do the costumes and makeup. carlo has worked with the uedc years ago and this was a welcome break from doing tv commercials all the time.  of course the budget for this production is rather low and i am impressed how carlo worked around this without compromising vision.

the challenge was to dress up actors as animals without covering their faces with masks. the animals need not be literal so carlo resorted to face paints as well as appropriating costumes to the intention. for example, the mother hen was dressed in a fully printed dress and shawl to push a more nanay look and the layered skirts copied the chicken’s heavily feathered bottom.

the sensual lady musang sported a fully painted body reminiscent to the tattooed women of benguet in the mountain province.

the dugong (sea cow) below

the pawikan (sea turtle) with his woven native knapsack

particularly enjoyed the makeup and costumes for the monkeys  🙂

the agila (philippine eagle)

boyboy gets back home and sadly tells his rooster father and mother hen the harsh realities of the world

but there is always hope

the production ran only a few shows and did a series of campus tours.  check this facebook page for more photos and credits.  you may get additional information by contacting the university of the east drama company (uedc) through their facebook.  “uyayi ng ulan” written by nick pichay, directed by erick r. castro. original music by wendell alinea, randy padua, albert liwanag and ashamir balangue, musical director alshamir balangue. set designers allan bonifacio and the cast, set supervisor ramon de mesa.

costumes and makeup by carlo tabije, additional makeup by benjamin padero. all photos here by me  🙂 cheers!