Chuckles — What Does the Portrait Mean

The eight-year-old son of Repertory Philippines actor Ana Abad Santos watched his mother portray Candida in the Nick Joaquin classic — Portrait of the Artist as Filipino — during the second week of the one-month run.

When they reached home, Ana was floored by the insightful, intelligent and very hard to answer questions of her son, who proved to be listening and watching the play quite intently.

1. What does the Portrait mean?
2. Is it really bad to sell the painting?
3. Is Tony Javier bad?
4. Who’s worse, your older brother and sister or Tony Javier?

Before Ana answered his questions, she made it clear that what she’s about to say are her opinions, and that he could have his own.

Even as Ana, I’m sure, carefully worded her answers, a part of me balked at the enormity of that particular discussion — the ambiguity and reality of human nature, the need to hold on to one’s beliefs, the personal definition of what is good and bad, etc. Whew!

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