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Remembering a Mentor by Alfie Kwong '67
His full name was Benjamin Roberto Holcomb Cervantes. But we all know him as Behn. He passed away in 2013 and is buried in the Bantayog Ng Bayani, a memorial park reserved for the heroes of the Philippine Republic. He will always have a special place in my heart – primarily, as my mentor and also as a close fraternity brother of the Upsilon Sigma Phi. He has good company in his final resting place, a neighbor to several Upsilonians, among them: Cesar Hicaro, Alfredo Malicay, Melito Glor, and Medardo Arce. – all activists fighting against injustice and totalitarian rule. August 26, 2021 would have been my mentor’s 83 birthday.
The Concerned Artists of the Philippines had this to say (excerpted):
"We commemorate the 83rd birth anniversary of the late Benjamin Roberto "Behn" Cervantes (August 26, 1938 - August 13, 2013), a playwright-director who had fought tyranny and fascism through his productions. Director Behn is an example of the quintessential artist-activist: he has splendidly excelled in the direction and aesthetics of his craft, while simultaneously making his art an avenue for people's resistance. As the founder of Gintong Silahis, a cultural group under the Samahang-Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK), and the UP-Repertory Company (which continues to be critical today, even toward the fascist Duterte regime), Behn has given countless student actors, directors, and technical staff a footing on how to expose and oppose oppression. He has also touched lives as a university professor."
"He has also not been afraid in challenging the tyrannical Marcos regime head-on through his plays and films. Sakada (1976), a film tackling the social reality of sugarcane farmers in Negros, won Dekada's Best Film of the Decade award in 1981. Despite this, copies of the film were immediately seized by state forces, showing that the authoritarian rule was indeed threatened by the film. Behn himself is no stranger to political detention himself, as was the case when he was incarcerated three times in 1975, 1977, and 1985. Showing bravery, he continued to write letters and plan productions despite being in prison. He even helped found our organization, Concerned Artists of the Philippines (1983) in between incarcerations. The life of Director Behn Cervantes has given us our most important lesson as concerned artists: stand in bravery in the face of persecution. No violence perpetuated by the ruling elite can ever defeat the spirit of resistance."
On September 5, 2021 (reported by Manila Times), a life-size statue by Jose Al Giroy was unveiled at the Erehwon Center for the Arts. The sculpture welcomes visitors to the newly opened The Roofdeck, Erehwon's latest hangout place, especially made for artists to have an affordable space to let their hair loose and enjoy each other's company. Earlier, Erehwon installed a memorial plaque immortalizing Behn Cervantes' words that gave life to what the Erehwon Art Center has become - a place that encourages artists to converge, collaborate, and enjoy the camaraderie of being with each other. The Center also named its outdoor stage, Tanghalang Behn Cervantes, a place which encourages community theaters.
My first real encounter with Behn was in the production of 12 Angry Men (in my opinion, a daring, experimental play dealing with the justice system and the meaning of “reasonable doubt”). While I was part of the backstage and technical crew, I was able to witness Behn in his elements in the various rehearsals I attended. While he was focused in producing a high-quality play, he was also mindful of his role in education, giving opportunity to learn theatre to anybody who was interested. It still amazes me how he transformed an otherwise shy student like the 19-year-old Mon Bausa, who seemed so lacking in self-confidence, into a passionate dramatist. Mon portrayed the role of the antagonist, playing him so convincingly as a 54-year-old man. Behn was relentless (at some point I thought him almost merciless) in pushing Mon to break down his defenses and enter the character he was playing. I am still moved when I remember watching Mon exploding in rage in the play’s roller-coaster emotional climax.
In the 2007 publication Living the Credo (“Theater is a Cruel Art Form”), author Efren Yambot interviewed Behn concerning how he was able to develop some into good actors and in the process help them discover their own strengths. Behn focused on two actors in particular: Mon Bausa and me. The comments Behn made about me surprised me – even after all these years. He said, “Alfie Kwong. Well, Alfie was a natural. He had great timing, he was cute, his timing was excellent.” Then he went on to say” “In a way that Alfie was not your conventional notion of an actor: he didn’t have that kind of a face that would make a matinee idol. But he was really meant for comedy. I was with him for “Once Upon a Mattress,” “Guys and Dolls” and in both plays he was a delightful person. Which is what he really is. And I always believed you cannot be a good comedian unless you are sincerely a good person… Alfie is like that, he is an appealing, delightful person who happens to be very intelligent as well. He became the object of comedy to a public not because he was self confident, he was open about it. He was thoroughly honest about his desire to please the audience… (Then, the eureka moment). Yeah! I always teach it in my acting classes. LOVE YOUR AUDIENCE! And Alfie loved the audience; he went there on stage eager to make them happy. He made them laugh to their hearts’ content…”
I gave Efren some feedback concerning Behn. Excerpts:
Your interview reminds me of Behn’s sheer love for people. Because of his background in drama, he has an uncanny understanding of human nature. Working with him made me realize how directing a play is more relational than instructional. To get the best performance from people, you have to know them first. His empowering leadership transformed many of his cast members. I gained a lot of understanding about myself because of my involvement with his musicals. Because of Behn, I can honestly say I became a better, more mature person. It was a kind of discipleship he practiced that gave me a better insight into my own nature. Behn was also someone with a strong social conscience. He influenced a number of people who were otherwise not as informed of the social ills we face, e.g., Nelia Sancho and others.
With “Ang Ina,” our summer stock drama experience – a Bertolt Brecht adaptation – Behn gave me an opportunity to serve as assistant director. Of course, Behn assigned me the most urgent task – to help Sis Evelyn Pangilinan (who played the title role) to remember her lines The experience was not unlike walking on water. We presented the protest play in the middle of a typhoon in UP Baguio. Screaming “Makibaka” to out-shout the raging wind was not a pleasant experience. Of course, to top this off, on our way to Baguio, our cheap rundown bus broke down several times.
Behn passed away in August 2013, due to pneumonia with diabetes complications. He was cremated the same day. He was 74. In 2016, I nominated Behn for the UNO (Upsilonian Noble and Outstanding) award, the highest award conferred by our Fraternity. Thus, Behn was honored with this accolade posthumously.
I would like to end with these words from Behn, in his letter to Juan Ponce Enrile:
… I feel it is my duty to involve myself in cultural affairs native in theme and in manner to my audiences. No doubt, since theater is a mirroring of life, I have researched and often stepped into the social realities of our country. Rather than centering my work on escapist themes and foreign plays, I have worked with original Filipino plays that depict our very own realities. I believe that only with such material can we view ourselves more clearly and truthfully. It is for this reason that I have stopped participating with theatre groups who utilize material alien to the Filipino character and which further the miseducation of our people.
(“Letter to Hon. Juan Ponce Enrile,” 23 Nov 1977)
Editor's note: This article first appeared in Atin Ito - a Filipino community newspaper in Canada - on March 2021.
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