Missy: From ‘Stop Kiss’ to ‘Stage Kiss’

Missy Maramara

It’s been ages since we fought to cast Missy Maramara in Eve Ensler’s groundbreaking play, “The Vagina Monologues” (TVM). Her task was to cover all three principal actresses in the first and second runs of the Filipino version of the Obie-winning play, which we directed. Years later, we also got her to play the Narrator in New Voice Company’s (NVC) production of the Stephen Sondheim musical, “Into the Woods.”

“TVM’s” original trio included the exceptional Harlene Bautista, Arlene Borja and Pinky Marquez, followed by the similarly formidable batch of Gina Alajar, Pinky Amador and Angelu de Leon.

At the time, Missy had already acted in a lot of university-based productions, but NVC’s “TVM” was her baptism of fire in “mainstream” theater. As cover, she was always on call, just in case a principal couldn’t perform at the last minute. But because we knew Missy so well, it didn’t come as a surprise to us that, when Missy eventually performed in “TVM,” she became one of its crowd favorites.

“I knew every single word inside out, pati inflections ng mga actresses (laughs), I knew them by heart,” Missy recalled when we recently met her and Hong Kong Film Awards winner Crisel Consunji (“Still Human”) for a quick chitchat.

So, knowing Missy’s rise-from-the-ranks tale, it makes us doubly proud to see her doing so well as an actress, director and teacher (she’s an assistant professor at Ateneo).

In fact, on Inquirer Theater’s annual “best achievers” list last December, this indefatigable “Jill of All Trades” wasn’t just cited for her performance in Diana Son’s “Stop Kiss,” she was also declared best director for BlueRep’s reimagined adaptation of “Spring Awakening.”

Last November, Missy performed for the honorees of the 2019 Inquirer Indie Bravo Awards. But she’s no stranger to indies herself—most notably “Bitukang Manok,” under the helm of Alec Figuracion, the guy behind the sublime CineFilipino drama “The Eternity Between Seconds.”

Up next are two exciting projects, both as an actress and director. She’s currently doing production work for her next directorial job, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s rock musical “Next to Normal,” starring Cris Villonco and Jef Flores. It is set to open in March.

But first things first: Missy is sharing the lead with Tarek El Tayech in Repertory Philippines’ adaptation of Sarah Ruhl’s theatrical comedy, “Stage Kiss,” whose run begins today till March 1 at Onstage in Greenbelt 1 (call 8891-9999).

Asked to describe what role she portrays in “Stage Kiss,” Missy said, “I am She, a has-been actress. She had to stop acting because she got married and had a daughter. But when she goes back to acting, she’s cast with her ex-boyfriend, who’s also an actor.

“So, it’s a play about life imitating art imitating life, and so on … This play is hilarious! It’s one of the most challenging plays I’ve ever had to do. Very sharp, very witty. There’s a play within a play—and, oh my gosh, the characters put up a really bad play, but they do it to the best of their abilities, anyway. Sounds like a lot of fun, right (laughs)?”