MANILA, Philippines – Somewhere by a road in Pasig, a large gate stands, and if you don’t look closely enough, you could miss it entirely — a sign marked “Studio A.” The guard by the entrance will tell you to walk straight until you reach the corner and take a left. If you have stumbled upon this venue on a random late night, you are led down a dark, eerily quiet walkway between a cluster of old warehouses, still and foreboding.
The destination is not the set of a classic horror movie, but it may as well be. This is Studio A Productions, an independent production company that stages original Filipino plays and musicals. Founded in 2023 by a group of friends — both amateur and professional artists — Studio A has since taken the local theater scene by storm with 10 productions to date, each offering its own distinct take on the horror genre.
Skeleton to skin
From psychological thrillers like their debut Gising Na, hardcore horror hitters like Bisita, to more drama-heavy, mythical experiences like Kaning Itim and their most recent Makara, Studio A’s chosen niche is a point of pride for the team.
As writer, producer, and operations manager Danna Bernardino explained in Filipino, “It’s risky because, honestly, it’s hard to scare people without looking like you’re trying too hard. But we came up with things, tested them out, and developed certain signatures that we discovered accidentally, which also happened to work well with audiences.”
In the early days of the company, smaller crowds were precisely what helped to build the potency of their productions’ horror. Shows tailored to intimate audiences in cramped sets created a more immersive and interactive experience, where, as a viewer, you were never quite sure if you were safe among what lurked in the shadows of the pitch black theater.
Beyond Studio A’s theaters, the darkness drapes over the entire repurposed warehouse they call home. Between the identically colored dark walls, floors, and ceilings, dim lighting, and minimal decoration, the unguided newcomer is left to grope through the narrow hallways and steep staircases like an unfamiliar void, each corner a checkpoint for something waiting just out of sight. Members of the team also insist it is truly haunted, citing instances of unseen singing and unexplained CCTV glitches.
The environment certainly seems chilling, but perhaps it is just what their cast members need to steep themselves in their roles and the atmosphere of each production.
Makara actresses Cherry Morena and Emi Felix emphasized the urgency of this endeavor. Morena, who was handpicked to play the titular, snake-headed lead in Makara, had been part of three Studio A shows since her first one last January. Usually, rehearsals for productions, especially musicals, will run for at least a few months before opening night. Studio A will hold rehearsals for as short as two weeks before the show goes live, as Felix noted.
A lot happens during and before these two weeks. Bernardino is Studio A Productions’ sole writer, but she is not the only one shaping its storytelling.
“It’s like a group project,” Bernardino said. “We exchange ideas, and that’s how we start a show.”
Bernardino begins with a concept or topic that is intriguing to her — usually, something strange or unnatural like, say, corpses, or asylums — and writes a skeletal script surrounding that. She works with Studio A’s director to further develop this script, taking into account potential actor blocking, logistics, and set design. All this preparation, however, does not culminate in a finalized product — it merely lays the foundation for each show before it continues to evolve through the hands, bodies, and instincts of its actors.
“Our writer, kapag sinulat niya ‘yung script, hindi siya ‘yung parang ‘yun na ’yun,’” Felix, who plays lovable girl next door Neraya in Makara, clarified. “Once we go to the set and our director injects his creativity, ‘yung script kasi parang mapa siya. Habang tumatagal, everybody can inject their own interpretation of the scene.”
(When our writer finishes a script, it’s never treated as something final. Once we get to the set and our director injects his creativity into it, the script becomes more like a map. As the process goes on, everybody is able to inject their own interpretation of the scene.)
Crammed timelines and rigorous daily rehearsals — which bleed into the odd hours of the night — demand humility and camaraderie among the cast to ensure they succeed above the pressure. Morena cited the company’s rapport with one another as one of its greatest strengths, a value they maintain on and off the stage through trust, collaboration, and informal hangouts.
“Hindi talaga dapat naglalamangan,” Felix affirmed. “Kasi kapag may isang feeling artista or feeling big star, I think it ruins the pack.”
(There really shouldn’t be any competition between us. Because when someone starts acting like they’re above everyone else or like a big star, I think it ruins the pack.)
Opening night, then and now
The “A” in Studio A Productions, as the team shared, stands for “alterations” — a nod to the constant changes made to every aspect of a show, often up until minutes before an official run.
Moments before Makara’s opening night last April 17, the cast waited in the wings in nervous anticipation. Morena shared that they felt the show was not yet polished, recounting their director’s disappointment and abrupt walkout during rehearsal the day before.
Hoping to assuage her castmates’ anxiety, Morena told them, “‘Guys, may magic ang stage. Magugulat kayo.’ At nangyari siya. Everything flowed, at talagang gumana ‘yung adrenaline.”
(“Guys, the stage has its own magic. You’ll be surprised.” And it really happened. Everything flowed, and the adrenaline truly kicked in.)
The team described overwhelmingly positive reactions to Makara and the twist and turns of its emotional journey. Makara is set in a small coastal town and sinks into the tragedies and mysteries of its rich cast. The musical merges the mythical and the mundane, blending everyday Filipino life with the haunting folklore of Makara, the serpent-crowned main character whose gaze turns people into stone.
Bernardino noted that Makara is the studio’s first time experimenting with a love story. This love is not limited to romance. While it certainly features that, it also portrays family and friendship, and what people are willing to betray and sacrifice to remain entangled with the people they hold dear.
Still, as Morena said, the intricacies of Makara’s different characters and layered plotlines create a story that is “open to interpretation. “Depende siya kung paano i-interpret ng tao. At minsan, nasu-surprise rin kami ‘pag nakikita namin ‘yung mga reviews, na parang, ‘Ganito nila na-interpret yung story.’”
(It depends on how people interpret it. And sometimes, even we get surprised when we read the reviews and realize, “So this is how they interpreted the story.”)
Within and beyond its storyline, Makara signals a turning point for Studio A Productions. Following its first run at the RCBC Plaza Makati last April 17 to 18, the show’s second run will be held from May 23 to 24 at the iconic Proscenium Theater for the first time.
Through such milestone achievements, Studio A Productions continues to invent, nurture, and explore, its horizon open to endless possibilities — all of which they are free to alter as much as they see fit. – Rappler.com
Raine Romero is a Rappler intern studying AB Political Science with a minor in Creative Writing at De La Salle University.