The life of the College’s patron saint Benilde Romançon as he pursued his childhood dream of becoming a Lasallian Brother comes to life through playwright Layeta Bucoy’s a cappella musical Br. Benilde.
The musical features the life of Saint Benilde Romancon, played by Theater Arts major Brio Divinagracia as young Pierre Romancon, who aspires to be a Lasallian Brother despite his father’s disapproval on his calling.
Fast forward to a more mature Br. Benilde, who was enacted by Aliw Hall of Fame awardee Al Gatmaitan, fulfilled his duties with the miraculous help of St. Colette in gaining height while living through the beliefs of St. Jean Baptiste de La Salle through educating people in his community. Despite struggles and circumstances along the way, he remained optimistic as he opened his arms even to extraordinary people such as the poor and the Deaf.
Br. Benilde is what inspires its audience to follow their dreams. When one belongs to an art school—an inclusive art school—practicality would not always be at the top of the list. Passion and dreams are what would students come for in a school like De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
Of course, when practicality and passion find each other, a conflict is bound to happen. For Saint Benilde, it would be choosing between his family and his dream. It is accompanied by questioning if that dream was supposed to be pursued. However, the growing number of artists continue to break that stigma around art schools by exceeding practical expectations.
Moreover, this also makes room for inclusive education to become more recognized. Normally, students with disabilities are homeschooled or not schooled at all. However, because of Saint Benilde encouraging a Deaf student to learn, the College stands as a reminder that education is for everyone.
Like the theme of Br. Benilde, passion is what would enable someone to be more of who they can be; that even the most ordinary dreams can go beyond to become extraordinary.
Br. Benilde captured the hearts of its audience as it enlightens the devotion of Saint Benilde Romançon in helping all types of people until his last breath. Even at the peak of his death, he still continued to serve his community wholeheartedly through simplest actions knowing that every duty has its own purpose and fulfillment.
The musical production, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President for Lasallian Mission and Student Life (LMSL), Office of the Culture and Arts (OCA) and Benilde’s Arts and Culture Cluster (BACC), came alive as the performers highlighted the ups and downs of Br. Benilde that was accompanied by shadow images and motion backgrounds. The play was visually-stunning, but its power to capture its watchers with mere sound was already breathtaking.
The show was directed by Amok actor Tuxqs Rutaquio that featured Gatmaitan as the leading role for Benilde Romançon, along with actors Natasha Cabrera and Fredyl Hernandez who played as the mother and father of Saint Benilde respectively. The performance also included Coro San Benildo and Saint Benilde Romançon Dance Company.
Br. Benilde has remaining shows on January 30 to 31, and February 1 to 2 at the 5/F School of Design and Arts (SDA) Theater. Updates can be found on their Facebook page.
