The Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) presentation, “State of the Art,” entranced, entertained, and connected with the attendants of the packed Skyline theatre on Saturday, May 1.

The play, which was mostly written by Michael Morales, told the story of a college student in the 1990s named DeeJay who is struggling with his direction in life.  His mother expects him to be a nurse, his friends believe he should paint, and these two pressures have made what he really wants unclear to even himself.  Along with all of the peer pressure, he has to deal with his father who seemingly left his family all alone a couple of years ago. 

As the play moves along, it is slowly revealed that there is much more going on with all of the characters, and it puts all of their situations in a different light.

“The universal feeling of ‘what am I going to do’ can connect to everyone,” Morales said.  “Do what you want to do.  Follow your dreams.”

While there was a common message that everyone could relate to personally, there was also material presented in the play that could connect to some members in the audience in another way, as they know relatives who were affected by the martial law imposed on the Philippines several decades ago.

The entire production is an extensive and exhausting experience, one that Liza Erpelo, Skyline English professor, had brainstormed and put together—a succession of events that she termed, “a roller coaster.”

Erpelo says that while every show is a unique experience, this one was especially challenging due to a number of factors, including a larger crew but with a less experienced class, limited resources, and having to compete for stage time with many other groups.

Mixed in smoothly with the performance, there were a number of instances of elegant native dances and ceremonies. 

“Every little thing counts,” said Jonah Lu, the executive producer of “State of the Art,” regarding the dances.  “It’s all very precise.  At the same time, you have to make it flow.”

The Barangay Dance Company and the Kababayan Dance Troup supplied all of the costumes for the folk performances and helped greatly in many other ways. 

According to Lu, the dancers spent the three weeks prior to the show really focusing on nailing the dances, which were taught to them at the beginning of this spring semester.

This, along with the plotline, really wove a web of connectedness between not only cultures but generations as well.  There was plenty of comedic moments to keep the play lighthearted, but it still drove its main message home, which was to follow your dreams.

After the performance was over, several graduating students were invited up on stage to receive scholarships, and following that, in recognition of the first generation of PCN shows, all of the cast members from the previous PCN productions were honored on stage.

Unfortunately, after the celebration, Erpelo announced that next year, due to lack of funding, a traditional PCN will not be taking place.  But she reassured everyone that the students in the Kababayan Program are still going to meet and will put some sort of show on for Skyline next spring, although no one knows what that will be just yet. 

Now that the show is over, Lu is really proud and happy. 

“It means a lot to me,” Lu said.  “Each one of us put in great effort to each paragraph, each sentence, each word and each period.”

Ryan Areta, a spectator enjoying all of the students’ hard work, was especially blown away during the second act.

“The second half was very dramatic and emotional,” Areta said.  “I could relate to what was happening on stage.”

All of the students that Erpelo said, “pulled together as a family” delivered an entertaining and enriching experience once again, to thunderous applause that Lu felt they rightfully deserved.