Playwrights Team Andrea Mapili & Byron Abalos on Creating a Magical Adventure Story Where Filipinx-Canadian Kids Can Feel Seen

What book loving kid didn't dream of being literally transported into the pages of their favourite adventure? For 12-year old Philly, that dream becomes a reality when opening a mysterious old book whisks her away to the strange and magical land of Uwi. Created by Andrea Mapili and Byron Abalos, Through the Bamboo (Playwrights Canada Press) is a play that celebrates bravery, self-actualization, and that burning hope that there just might be some real magic out there. 

In Uwi, Philly finds a world where the death of the ruler's story-loving wife and the disappearance of his youngest daughter left a royal family broken to the point where they have spread their darkness and pain to everyone in the land by forbidding stories and even memories. 

Part The Wizard of Oz, part Narnia, and even more so a brand new and utterly fresh magical adventure of its own, Through the Bamboo has the feel of a beloved childhood classic with modern sensibility and nuance. Philly is mourning her beloved lola even as she adventures, and her Filipinx Canadian identity and experiences enrich her story at every turn.  

Andrea and Byron join us today to talk about Through the Bamboo as part of our On Stage interview series for playwrights. They tell us about the importance of young Filipino-Canadians seeing themselves reflected in Philly's epic adventure, the Philippine myth that loosely inspired the play, and why Philly's grief and loss are just as an essential part of her story as her adventures and discoveries. 

Open Book:

Tell us about your new play and how it came to be.

Andrea Mapili:

As Filipino-Canadians, we wanted to write a play that the kids in our family could go to and see themselves in — something we didn’t have growing up. We wanted it to be big, fantastical, and epic in scale so they could see themselves and their stories as epic as well.

Byron Abalos:

There’s so little Philippine representation in Canadian canon and we’re excited for our play to add to the kinds of stories young people can access.

AM:

Through the Bamboo was originally inspired by a book I received as a child about the Samal myth of Tuan Putli and Manik Buangsi. We were inspired by Philippine mythology but our story is not Philippine myth as you would hear in its traditional form.

BA:

As Filipino-Canadians we’re interested in connecting with our ancestral lands and the richness of our culture. But as settlers who grew up here in Canada, we were also heavily influenced by a Western tradition of fantasy and adventure storytelling from sources like The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, The NeverEnding Story, and The Chronicles of Narnia.

AM:

So this play was created through our unique diasporic Filipinx-Canadian lens, where we reimagined myth and character to reflect our intersections.

Open Book:

Is there a message you hope kids might take away from reading your play?

BA:

We hope kids learn that there are many different ways to express grief. And that while they can’t bring loved ones who have died back to life, they can keep their memory and connection with them alive through storytelling. Stories connect us and can help us heal.

AM:

We also hope our play encourages intergenerational dialogue. We want kids to walk away being curious about their grandparents — about their lives and their stories — who they are outside of being a “lolo” or “lola” (Tagalog for grandpa and grandma.) Most of our grandparents have passed away and we wish we had the opportunity to speak to them again and learn more about their lives.

Open Book:

Is there a character in your play that you relate to? If so, in what ways are you similar to your character and in what ways are you different?

BA:

Philly’s struggle with losing her grandmother is very real for both of us. We both have grandparents that have passed away. Losing a loved one and coming to terms with having to create a new relationship with them after their death resonates with us. I grew up with both my grandmothers in the Greater Toronto Area so I have many fond memories of them and some of those have made it into the play.

AM:

Both my grandma and lola lived very far away so when they passed I clung on to the few memories I had with them and the stories that I got to know them through.

BA:

Philly is much more courageous and adventurous than I am. She knows what she wants and she’s willing to literally step into the unknown to try to get her Lola back.

AM:

I think Philly and I share a similar adventurous spirit. I recognize the impulse to fling myself into the deep end of life and embrace what comes. But as new parents we also see ourselves in the characters of the elders. Mom, Matalino, and Lola are all trying to help Philly in the ways that we want to help our toddler learn about and deal with the difficulties of life.

Open Book:

How do you cope with setbacks or tough points during the writing process? Do you have any strategies that are your go-to responses to difficult points in the process?

AM:

Our go-to is that we play games and they’re often games we make up on the spot. Sometimes we just need space and we leave the writing and come back to it later.

BA:

One of the best parts of working as a team is that we can also have fun improvising scenes together.

AM:

We also use other mediums like drawing and movement to explore and understand the characters in a different way.

BA:

And when we really hit a wall, we know we need outside help and that’s when we start working with dramaturges and workshopping the play with actors.

Open Book:

Do you feel like there are any misconceptions about writing for young people? What do you wish people knew about what you do?

AM:

That writing for kids is easy! Also, adults don’t give young people enough credit for how intelligent they really are and how discerning they are in understanding complex, emotional situations.

BA:

Kids have the capacity to experience the full breadth of emotions, which many adults have trouble doing because we learn to be so guarded.

AM:

We wish people knew that a big part of our journey as adults has been learning how to be kids again. Having a child’s mind when approaching a new situation helps us be open to all the possibilities and makes us better writers.

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Byron Abalos is a Filipino Canadian playwright, actor, and producer from Toronto. His play, Remember Lolo, won the NOW Magazine Audience Choice Award at the 2005 SummerWorks Festival. In 2011, fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre premiered his play Brown Balls at the Factory Studio Theatre. As part of the 6th Man Collective, Byron co-created Monday Nights, an interactive basketball performance, which has toured across Canada. NOW Magazine named him one of Toronto’s Top 10 Theatre Artists for 2010. Byron has a BFA in Theatre Acting from Ryerson University, and was an inaugural Bob Curry Fellow at Second City.

Andrea Mapili is a playwright, movement director, choreographer, dancer, and somatic practitioner based in Toronto. In November 2017, she choreographed a production of Cassettes 100, a one hundred–person interarts piece at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. In addition to co-writing Through the Bamboo, she was also Movement Director and Assistant Director. Andrea is a Registered Somatic Movement Educator and a Tamalpa Practitioner who offers private coaching and group workshops specializing in embodied public speaking, somatic awareness, connected communication, and creativity for health and wellness. She is a graduate of the Tamalpa Institute and holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Western Ontario.