Tuxqs Rutaquio makes directorial comeback in 'Anino sa Likod ng Buwan'

MANILA -- Theater actor, designer, director, and educator Tuxqs Rutaquio returns to directing with IdeaFirst Live's maiden production of “Anino sa Likod ng Buwan,” the award-winning play and film of Jun Robles Lana.

A Gawd Buhay awardee, Rutaquio will direct lead stars Kate Alejandrino, Ross Pesigan and Martin del Rosario for the shows at PETA Theater Center in March 2025.

Lana wrote the play in 1993 and won the grand prize of the Bulwagang Gantimpala Playwriting Competition. In 2015, The IdeaFirst Company produced a film version that had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic and won major awards at the Pacific Meridien International Film Festival in Russia, including Best Director (for Lana), Best Actress (for LJ Reyes), and the FIPRESCI Critics Prize and NETPAC Awards.

Lauded by The Hollywood Reporter as a “tense and taut drama oozing sex, sweat, and social chaos,” the film also won an Urian for Best Actress and another international Best Director award at the Kerala International Film Festival in India.

It is the first time in 30 years that "Anino sa Likod ng Buwan” will be staged anew.

When asked why Rutaquio got chosen to helm the stage version, Lana said, "I'm a fan of Tuxqs. I know his body of work both as an actor and director. He was my top choice to direct ‘Anino.’ I hope to collaborate on other projects with him in the future [since we're planning to do more live productions]."

Return to professional theater

Rutaquio worked with Dulaang UP, then became the associate artistic director of Tanghalang Pilipino, and later the festival director and dramaturg of the Virgin Labfest. He was also the Philippine representative to the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Performing Arts Festival in Tokyo.

"This will be the first professional production I will be directing under the new theater arm of IdeaFirst Company. The last time I directed a production was for last year's Virgin Labfest, Layeta Bucoy's ‘Tuloy ang Palabas.’ However, I have been constantly directing student productions under the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde Theater Arts Program, for which I am currently chairperson,” he told ABS-CBN News.

"This way, I still practice the craft and continuously educate students."

Actors Pesigan and Alejandrino consider this play as their reunion of sorts with Rutaquio.

"Technically, it’s my second time working with Tuxqs for ‘Anino.’ The first time was with DUP’s ‘Titus Andronicus/Tinarantadong Asintado’ in 2011,” Pesigan said.

"It feels great! Noong nakatrabaho ko siya kasi sa DUP, I was still a student. And I would like to say I learned a lot from him and the rest of the cast the theater powerhouse at the time. Learning and humbling experience siya."

Alejandrino considers this project "like a full-circle moment.”

“I’m going back to my roots (the theatre) after a long hiatus… The last stage play I did Gantimpala, where I played Sisa in 2017 and my graduation performance in PHSA back in 2012. I was always wanting to go back to doing theater but I’m glad I patiently waited for the right time. I realize that the past few years were vital in my growth as an individual and an artist… Kumbaga sabi ng Panginoon 'Wait ka lang, Kate… let’s build your strength of character and endurance for something I have planned for you,’” she said.

"There are so many things I had to learn and unlearn about myself and that required me to go back to my roots. And what a coincidence that this project allows me to do just that — with my HS acting mentor, Sir Tuxqs! It feels like a grand recital based on what I’ve learned over the past few years."

Honored to do Lana’s masterpiece

IdeaFirst Live! is headed by Lana and Elmer Gatchalian, and extends the company’s mission of illuminating stories that would otherwise be kept in the dark.

"I was thrilled that Mr. Jun Lana would like me to direct his powerful play and I readily agreed. It was [really] the fact that I would love to get my hands on a play written by Jun Lana. That convinced me to accept," confessed Rutaquio.

Alejandrino added: "It’s a Jun Lana Robles masterpiece. Enough said! But then I found out that Sir Tuxqs was going to direct it? I remember during the audition I said, 'I want this. This is mine.' And I’ve never done that before. I’m not the type to claim things as mine… but at this point in my life, it felt like the right thing to do."

Tickets to ‘Anino Sa Likod ng Buwan’ will be made available this month.