Kisapmata (ki-SUP-matah) is a brand-new play by Bianca Miranda (she/they). Told through intimate vignettes, this play tells the story of two queer Filipino women, one born and raised in Canada, and one born and raised in the Philippines, and only here briefly for work. Kisapmata, which is Tagalog for “blink of an eye”, explores the brief relationship between these two women by having one of the characters recount her memories to the audience, before slipping into her younger self.
The show is beautifully directed by Gina Puntil (she/her/siya). I always find direction hard to talk about, because if it’s done poorly, you know right away. But if direction is done well, you don’t even notice it, because everything flows incredibly easily. Kisapmata is like that. Everything flows beautifully, and the show feels very smooth and easy.
The acting in this show is really well done. Both roles are incredibly well acted. The two characters, A and B, are shown moving through their love story, and the audience gets really pulled into their experiences and emotions. (I cried through most of the last 15-20 minutes of the show, and heard lots of sniffles around me.) Based on the reactions of the Filipino audience members around me, the acting was able to capture the experience of both a new arrival to Canada, and a first-generation Filipino-Canadian. I especially loved seeing A’s physicality as Diaz moved between the two ages of A that we see depicted.
The set and costumes were designed by Cassie Holmes (she/her). The set was simple, but beautiful, and easy to transform into the various locations. The inclusion of the ropes hanging throughout the space was also a very effective way to remind the audience about the connections between us all, even though we can’t see them. The set pieces were also able to transition and hide other set decoration, to help scenes blend into each other more fully. Holmes’ costumes were also really well designed. The costumes were simple, but transformed easily between work attire, hanging out at home, and going out with friends, as well as the dramatic age shift for one of the characters. The set and costumes were really effective in keeping the story moving, without long pauses to potentially lose the audience.
Between the lights, projections, and graphic design, this show did a great job of using a single set to create 5 different locations (if I’m remembering correctly). The lights were designed by Kathryn Smith (they/them), and were also very helpful in clearly demonstrating to the audience when we were switching between times in the characters lives. The projections were designed by Thomas Geddes (he/him), and put onto two white screens, which served as backdrops for the various locations. Many of those projections were images created by the show’s graphic designer, Gladzy Kei (she/her). Kei’s images were a beautiful way to help create the various locations.
The projections between scenes are often portrayed through screenshots of a music player, playing off the sound design by SallieMae Salcedo (they/them). The show makes use of lots of Filipino music, along with some more Western sounds (like the Jaws theme that plays briefly). The music and sound throughout the show were really well integrated through the rest of the storytelling taking place.
Kisapmata is being put on by Chromatic Theatre and Lunchbox Theatre, and is being performed in the Studio at Vertigo Theatre. The show is also part of the High Performance Rodeo. The show runs until February 18th, with most shows being matinees, and a handful of evening performances, including a 4pm Brown-Out and Filipino Celebration performance on February 3rd.
All in all, I really loved this show, and I hope many people get to see it, and that the script is taken up by other companies around Canada. I especially loved that out of the 13 cast and crew members, only five were not Filipino. It was incredible to see a show about a specific culture created and portrayed by people who are part of that culture. If you have a chance over the next couple of weeks, please get out to see this show.
Tickets can be purchased at https://www.lunchboxtheatre.com/kisapmata
Calgary’s Independent Critic 