Sepang loca

Cabrera, Ericson P. A Filipino Drama

“Sepang Loca”
Amelia Lapeña- Bonifacio

In Sepang Loca, from the depths of a village well rises the cruelty of a village and the damnation of a village fool by its religious but self-righteous folk. (Clarin, Samantha, 2009)

For an education student major in English like me raised with the different genres of literature particularly poems, short stories, essays and drama, my first venture into the play “Sepang Loca” by Amelia Lapeña- Bonifacio made me puzzled. I felt the plot was leading me to a more exciting maze as the story continued to unfold. The use of flashback made me confused and wondered why the story became malicious all the time.

The narrator of the play was given enough focus and presented comprehensive details in order to provide the information of the past that would answer the questions of the audience or readers during the actual scenes. The first narration led my reading to boredom, as the narration itself did not arouse my interest at all. But what kept me reading then? Why did I finish reading the drama leaving many questions to ponder on my mind?

I was led through the puzzle of the scenes mainly by the mysteries. As I moved step by step through the circular story, I was tempted further with revelations of the scenes and actions of the characters. But I inferred that I was missing much knowledge on reading drama and with literary devices that must be vital for total comprehension of the play. This was a negative reason that put my reading in trouble. But it made me more curious and determined to finish the drama as the maze of the story aligned with the thoughts on my mind.

The characters of the play provided powerful and concentrated details as they informed the readers with their implied actions that dealt with some important points of the play. With an action, a mystery may be demystified. Although there were not too much puzzles to solve, there were still important points of...