Juan Ekis Talks About Writing Kapeng Barako Club
“I always wondered lang. I mean, I saw all of your plays and I recognize all of our friends in them. Kaya minsan, iniisip ko, ano kaya ang tingin sa akin ni Marlowe?” – Stef
On Writing, Eavesdropping, and Coffee
I spent countless of hours in coffee shops, not drinking coffee, but watching people, eavesdropping, and writing. This is part of my writing ritual–stealing real-life dialogue and fictionalizing them in my plays. In my penchant for “chismis,” I have come to the conclusion that there is a relationship between one’s personality and the kind of coffee one takes. And this observation, easily became my second Palanca Award-winning piece.
Juan Ekis (c/o Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter Facebook page)
A lot of college and community theater groups all over the country started to mount Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter and it became a “Hugot Hit” even before “hugot literature” became popular. My friends and I decided to mount our own original version, in actual coffee shops all over Metro Manila. This is my attempt to share with audiences my experience with eavesdropping and putting together stories of relationships I overhear in coffee shops.
In the era of hugot and social media feels, this play invites audiences to go back to the core: Conversation. This play is all about how conversation is at the center of relationships, because it is through conversation that we share in the inner lives of one another.
L-R, Bottom: Kat Mendoza as Stef, Draco Moreno as Marlowe, Alexa Aviguetero as Sunshine, Krizia Aquino as Anna; L-R, Top: Mil Prado as Masi, Louie de Leon as Eric, Lio Cana as Joel (photo c/o Kapeng Barako: Samahan ng mga Bitter Facebook page)
Our invitation to our audiences to watch this play is a literal invitation to have coffee with us (because we talk to the audience after the play) and explore each other’s thoughts, insights, and views on love, relationships, bitterness and coffee.
– Juan Ekis, Playwright, Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter
For a ticket price of PHP 650.00, which comes with a cup of coffee, KBC will be first brewing in the intimate space Tipsy Beans Ortigas this October 21, 22, 28, 29, November 4, and 5, 2016 at 8:00 in the evening, and the following weekends of November at a space yet to be announced.
For inquiries and ticket reservations, contact them through the following: 0917-850-5448, the official Facebook/Instagram account,@samahanngmgabitter, or the official Twitter account, @bittercorp.
For more details about what’s happening in the Manila theater scene, please view our Theater Calendar.
