“Enjoy the confusion.” - Teatro Meron opens its very first production with Sopranong Kalbo

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The clock will tick. The bell will ring.

And nothing—absolutely nothing—will quite make sense.
That’s exactly the point.

This August, a brand-new theater company will introduce itself with a play that refuses to explain itself. Sopranong Kalbo, Rolando S. Tinio’s Filipino translation of Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist classic The Bald Soprano, will be Teatro Meron’s inaugural production—and it won’t begin with a bang, but with a broken sentence.

The show will run from August 8 to 10, 2025, at the Rizal Mini Theater inside Ateneo de Manila University. And from the very first line, it will ask: What are we really saying, when we say the things we always say?

🌀 Familiar routines, unfamiliar territory

A couple will talk. Another will arrive. There will be small talk, strange coincidences, a maid with a secret, and a Fire Chief with too much to say. It will all feel funny at first—until the laughter starts to stick. Every sentence will loop back on itself. Every phrase will be repeated until it breaks. What sounds like a joke will slowly unravel into a quiet kind of despair.

In Sopranong Kalbo, everyday language will collapse—and what remains will be a mirror.

🎭 The cast and crew behind the chaos

Bringing this strange little world to life will be a company of actors and artists who understand the value of discipline even in disorder. Onstage, the words will be entrusted to:

  • Ginoong Santos – Joel Macaventa

  • Ginang Santos – Miren Alvarez-Fabregas

  • Ginoong Martin – Joseph Dela Cruz

  • Ginang Martin – Pickles Leonidas

  • Marie – Gold Soon

  • Hepe ng Bombero – Yan Yuzon

Behind the curtain, Ron Capinding will direct, also serving as Teatro Meron’s artistic director. His staging will be supported by:

  • Production Design – Tata Tuviera

  • Make-up Design – Ara Fernando

  • Sound Design – Zak Joaquin Capinding

  • Lighting Design – D Cortezano

  • Assistant Lighting Design – EJ Ramos

  • Graphics – Jo Aguilar

  • Photography – Reamur A. David

A talented production team—composed largely of students—will handle the logistics with professional focus:

  • Production Manager – Cynric Ercrisel Mercado

  • Technical Director – John Bermio

  • Head Stage Manager – Aryanna Raliza D. Guanlao

  • Assistant Production Manager – Julia Marie Ducut

  • Stage Management Team – Jessica Soriano, Trisha Louise Abon

  • Sounds Head – Moreen Vanzuela

  • Props and Set Logistics – Aliahcorr Balanon

  • Costumes Head – Jelwyn Migel Marquez

  • Marketing and Publicity – Jules Edar Ballaran

  • Corporate Relations – Julia Marie Ducut

  • Patron Experience – Samantha Gayle Sindico

🧠 More than a debut—it's a tribute

This staging will also serve as a loving tribute to the late Dr. Ricardo Abad, whose influence runs deep in every layer of this production. For the artists behind Teatro Meron, Dr. Abad wasn’t just a mentor—he was a model for how to think, listen, and lead with both intellect and care. This show will be dedicated to him with affection and gratitude.

🏛 Who is Teatro Meron?

Teatro Meron will not claim to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it will ask what can still be learned when we return to old texts—especially the ones that seem outdated, absurd, or forgotten. Formed by friends and former students, the collective will believe that theater isn’t just entertainment; it’s education, dialogue, and discernment.

Their goal will be simple but ambitious: to spark thought through works that resist easy answers.

🎟 Schedule, venue, and ticket info

🗓 SHOW DATES

  • August 8 (Friday) – 8:00 PM

  • August 9 (Saturday) – 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM, 8:00 PM

  • August 10 (Sunday) – 2:00 PM (Company Launch)

  • August 10 (Sunday) – 5:00 PM (Special Fundraising Show for the Ricardo G. Abad Endowment Fund)

📍 Venue: Rizal Mini Theater, Ateneo de Manila University
🎟 Tickets available at:
bit.ly/SopranongKalboTickets
https://ticket2me.net/event/22470

💵 TICKET PRICES

  • General Audience – ₱800

  • Students (All levels, any school) – ₱700

  • TA Alumni, Senior Citizen, and PWD – ₱720

  • Early Bird Promo – ₱680 (General), ₱595 (Students)

  • Flash Sale – ₱600

  • Barkada Deal (Buy 4 Get 1 Free) – ₱3,200

  • International Friendship Day Promo (Buy 1 Get 1 @ 40% off) – ₱1,280

🎟 Bulk Purchase Discounts (per ticket):

  • 10–19 tickets – ₱704

  • 20–29 tickets – ₱680

  • 30–39 tickets – ₱656

  • 40–50 tickets – ₱624

🎭 Showbuyer Options:

  • 60 tickets – ₱36,480 (24% off)

  • 90 tickets – ₱52,560 (27% off)

  • 180 tickets – ₱100,800 (30% off)

📩 For inquiries, contact:
projects@teatromeron.com
📱 Jules Edar Ballaran – 0920 415 9613

📣 What will it all mean?

Maybe nothing.
Maybe everything.

What Sopranong Kalbo will promise is not a neat story, but a strange reflection: of how we speak without listening, how we repeat without thinking, how meaning slips even in the most familiar conversations.

You will laugh. You might squirm.
You will likely walk out with more questions than answers.

And maybe that’s what good theater should still do.

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