Lungs marks Jake’s theater debut
The weather is getting warmer, sea levels are getting higher, and the threat of the planet’s eventual demise is growing closer. One couple is thinking of having a baby, but with the world as it is, having children could mean the end of their world as they know it.
Jake Cuenca and Sab Jose star in Duncan Macmillan’s Lungs, a fast-paced, 90-minute conversation revolving around the question of whether or not the central couple should be having children. Over the course of this one-act play, the two protagonists grapple not only with potential parenthood and the sometimes tenuous nature of their relationship, but also with the ominous anxiety brought about by the extremities of climate change.
Jake is ready to make his bones in the Philippine theater scene through his debut performance in Lungs. Having studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York, the film and television star believes that his upcoming performance is a necessary exercise in his development as an actor.
“It’s my first play,” says Jake. “What I like most about it is that it makes me feel nervous. I’ve been acting for a long time and not many things make me nervous, but this does.”
Not to be deterred by the task of performing a verbally dense, intimate play in front of a live audience, Jake leans in with his own experiences in attempting to flesh out his character, a patient but bewildered musician and would-be father.
“The script is so contemporary... it reminds me of my past relationships. It’s a great way to share those kinds of experiences with everyone,” says Jake of Macmillan’s prose. “I came to this realization that the humor in the play really comes out not in my individual performance, but in the dynamic that I share with my scene partner.”
His onstage partner Sab graduated with honors from the Guilford School of Acting in London earlier this year and is fresh off her performance as Michelle in 9 Works Theatrical’s Eto Na! Musikal
nAPO! Having previously performed in musicals such as The Wedding Singer and Grease, Sab is ready to welcome the challenge of bringing her character, an intelligent but high-strung PhD candidate and potential mother, to life.
“Once you hit your 30s, the questions keep coming. When are you going to get married? When are you going to have kids? I can relate to the anxiety present in that phase of life,” Sab says about the major issues that plague the play’s central couple. She embraces her character’s neuroticism and her tendency to ramble.
“She’s a really fun, scary character to play. With all the pressures of motherhood and from what’s happening to the world, she can’t stop yapping about everything. From wanting to change the world to wanting to make the most of her time in it, she finds herself constantly examining the repercussions of having this child.”
Director Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan expresses his excitement for the unique pairing of Jake and Sab. “I think their dynamic is amazing. They come from the very different worlds of the screen and stage.”
Lungs is a play by Macmillan, with direction by Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan, assistant direction from Caisa Borromeo, lighting design by Miguel Panganiban, and set and costume design by Jodinand Aguillon.
Heading the production team are Sandbox Collective managing artistic director Toff de Venecia, 9 Works Theatrical executive producer Santi Santamaria, operations director Anna Santamaria, design director Maine Manalasansan, social media manager Gian Nicdao, marketing manager GM Hernandez, PR manager Jonjon Martin, production manager Pauline Gaerlan, stage manager Anissa Aguila, deputy stage manager Luis Yatco and dramaturg Gabbi Campomanes. At certain performances, the role usually played by Jake will be played by Gabs Santos.
Lungs will be showing at the Power MAC Center Spotlight, Circuit Makati from Sept. 22 to Oct. 7. It is a production of The Sandbox Collective and 9 Works Theatrical, together with Power MAC Center Spotlight as an official venue partner.