WATCH ME HERE: OPERATION SARAH

“What if we make a Homeschoolers’ musical?”, an idea that arose long before the Performing and Multimedia Arts Club was even made official. So it began when the Performing Media and Arts Club (PMAC) Officers initiated the planning stage. Production began with brainstorming, writing the script, composing the music, casting the characters, and finally, editing the musical itself. It was a lengthy process, with every member contributing to the best of their abilities, all with the sole purpose of bringing their ideas to life as well as bringing “kilig” feelings to their audience. 

Before any production could be started, the musical first needed a storyline and a script. PMAC officer Noah Daniel Bondoc was the first to start formulating the flow rooting from ideas previously discussed by him and other club officers. “Writing the script was a uniquely rewarding experience. I'm very used to writing articles, but scripting a musical, especially one with a romantic theme and limited to a Google meet, was entirely outside my comfort zone,” he recounts. Noah also mentions that the scriptwriting task “demanded a different kind of creativity, and adapting to it was not at all an easy task. “

Along with the script, Noah also took the opportunity to write the songs used in the musical. The musical pieces conveyed a range of emotions, including playfulness, longing, and mellowness. When asked about his experience on the songwriting process for the musical, Noah says, “The process of composing the songs for this musical was incredibly enlightening since music has always been a passion of mine, and this project allowed me to experiment more freely and discover my creative niche.”  The entire process wasn’t smooth sailing however, as he also adds that “What started as playful ideas in my mind eventually took shape, although crafting a love song proved to be quite a challenge, given my lack of any romantic experience. Nonetheless, it pushed me to explore new emotional depths in composing.”

Moving on to the next part of production—auditions. The auditions were straightforward, considering that there were only a few people who auditioned. Regardless, this served as an advantage to the cast directors since things went smoothly. One of the cast members, Rachel Siquete, who played Taylor, shared her experience when she auditioned: “I felt really nervous, but at the same time excited because I knew after auditioning I would get to hang out with the cast or ‘directors’, which were my friends.” Another cast member, Harriet Galatea, said: “Soo when I first auditioned for my role, I originally auditioned for the role of Sarah. But in the end, I got Casey instead. I felt really nervous auditioning for Sarah since she was the main character but I wanted to give her a try! Although I'm still pretty happy with my role as Casey! Im still happy I got to try auditioning for Sarah.” Lian Monsalud, who played Sam, mentioned: “I was nervous but soon felt at ease when I realised it wasn't as strict as I thought it would be.” Then there’s Shawn Estrellado, who got the role he auditioned for, Alex. The remaining roles, Jordan and Sarah, were played by PMAC officers Noah Bondoc and Rain Reyes. 

Soon after the auditions came rehearsals.  When Rachel Siquetel was asked about her memorable moment during rehearsal, she mentioned that: “Maybe being in the musical itself was quite memorable because it was my first time putting myself out there and getting out of my comfort zone.” Lian Monsalud added, “I would say it would be the before and after chats when we would do rehearsals. It always made the atmosphere more enjoyable and light, making it easier for me/us to deliver our lines.” As for Harriet Galatea, “If I can recall any memorable moments, it's definitely when Noah (Jordan) was screaming or probably being the best right-hand man to Alex. If I can add one more…it's probably when Shawn had to retake some of his lines because he wasn't being very sad boy enough.”

After a few sessions of rehearsing, they proceeded to the recording of the musical. According to the cast members, they have a combined response of an overall good experience, despite being nervous. Alongside the musical recording were the song recordings. The cast members also had a combined response of having a good experience recording their parts for the songs, as the directors made them feel at ease. Harriet Galatea also added, “I liked my role because I can tell Casey is a person who likes teasing her friends but she's still a nice person. I had some issues with my internet that time but it was still a pretty good experience! “

The production finally arrived at its final stage. It was now time to put together the recorded scenes, songs, and pre-recorded videos into a continuous episode. PMAC Vice President Dave Cuyler Cruz took the privilege of doing the initial edits of the musical. It was there that a rough layout of the intro, plot, and outro was laid out, which was a somewhat complicated task as there was no solid editing plan in place. After what could be done was accomplished, editing tasks were passed down to Noah, who placed the final edits to the video. “The final editing phase was far from ideal. I found myself working late into the night at 2AM to refine the musical under a very tight deadline. While time wasn’t on my side, the effort paid off, and the edits ultimately elevated the production of the musical. “ he recalls. He also adds that “there’s always room for improvement” and that the project left him with invaluable lessons for use in future projects.

February 26, 2025, on the 3rd day of Funweek, the Homeschoolers’ Musical was screened to audiences ranging from the young and active Elementary homeschoolers to the equally as excited Ate’s and Kuya’s of JHS. One of the audience, Gabriella Ramos from 8th Grade, stated, “I LOVED the acting and music so much! Ate Lian’s was my fave”.

The PMAC officers and PMAC advisor Ms. Belle Christine M. Damloan were equally as excited. According to Harriet Balauag, the screening of the musical “...felt great because we got to watch our hard work with other people!” Lian Kaleigh, who acted as Sam in the musical, was “ …50% happy/excited and 50% nervous. I felt this way, as this was my first experience doing something like this.” She also had a “good and fun experience with the musical; I also love seeing the comments the other students would send in the chat box”.

To conclude, the journey is just as important as the outcome. PMAC President Brianna Aguilar states, “This was a team effort. From our cast members who did so splendidly with their acting to our editors, PMAC Officers Dave and Noah, who brought everything together. I could not have asked for a better team. And let’s not get started on what an amazing supporter our lovely adviser, Ms. Belle, was!” She expresses her gratitude, also adding her wish alongside the team to continue this project in the next school year.

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