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BY PETER SOLIS NERY
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January 26, 2018
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AS OF THIS writing, I am not very sure if you can still get a reservation to my show tonight at Troi Oi (+63 33 323 3169). But call them now, and see if they can squeeze you in.
On the first day that Troi Oi started to accept reservations, a table for eight (!) was reserved by Bem Mitra, a balikbayan from L.A., for her and her friends.
And then, there was another table reservation for this couple from Lars Buko Batchoy Mandurriao, Larry and Primrose, who attended my show at the same venue last September, and who have become great fans, and friends. (Small wonder then that I have become a fan of their Buko Molo, and a big supporter of their Filipino buko fusion eatery. Have you visited Lars Buko Batchoy in Mandurriao yet?)
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And then, there was my cousin, who personally went to Troi Oi to make his reservations. I was thinking, Cuz, you don’t have a phone? And then, of course, he said he went to check out Troi Oi, had a beer, and enjoyed some Vietnamese food.
And then, I heard that a group of my Santa Maria Catholic School (now Ateneo de Iloilo) students from 1997 will be coming to see me because I missed their 20th anniversary reunion last month. It looks like my Skype video call was not enough to satisfy their reunion craving.
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Troi Oi is not the Araneta Coliseum. It seats 60 for dining. But could probably accommodate 80 for my show. And there’s a ground floor level, but that’s for those serious foodies who are not curious about my show.
My show is not for free. But there’s no admission ticket either. To get to my show, you buy a first drink (a beer or soda) and a banh mi sandwich for P300.
(Then, you pay for any other additional orders. Troi Oi has a very fine Vietnamese street food menu that I am happy to recommend. Try their chicken wings! And if you are coming for dinner, order the spicy pho.)
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Troi Oi usually closes at 11pm. But I wonder if they’ll stay open beyond that tonight considering that it’s the start of the Dinagyang weekend.
My show will start promptly at 8 p.m. with an opening number that you shouldn’t miss. I’m a most punctual person. And for my performances, I don’t wait for anyone.
I may be coaxed to do the number again. But I won’t wait for anyone. I never wait for anyone!
(I may be looking for a boyfriend. But I’m not waiting for a boyfriend!)
Punctuality, they say, is the politeness of kings. Well, at this point in my life, I am the king of my game!
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Troi Oi management is thinking of a two-hour performance. I’m thinking three hours. But I’m not arguing with them until I see the crowd tonight.
My idea: If the audience keeps ordering, I can continue my performance until the restaurant thinks our money is not good anymore.
Anyway, I’m not hogging the microphone for three hours. Oh, no!
The writer Mel Turao, who wrote the bomb of a book called “Insatiable: A Literary Biography of Peter Solis Nery” (2017) will be in my show. He will read some, sign autographs, pose for photo-ops, and will most likely get roasted by me.
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Mel’s book is funny and edgy. It is smart and explosive. I think Mel has created a monster. And I am proud to be the subject of such a work.
Very honestly, I feel uneasy reading this book. I’m not totally, 100% happy about it. Some parts hurt a bit. (I’m a sensitive person, too, you know!) But I’m a good sport.
This book is how Mel sees me. It’s not how I see myself.
But at this point in my life, I’m glad that a book like this is written about me. It’s a literary biography. It’s very literary. Very imaginative. Very surreal. It’s a blast. Buy it!
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I have personally hand-carried a few copies for sale (at P600 a copy) at my Troi Oi show, and at other events Mel and I will attend for the National Arts Month celebration starting next week.
For one, Mel and I will be conducting a masterclass on hybrid writing. The seminar is officially called “Evolve or Perish: A Masterclass in Hybrid Writing, Hybrid Realities”. It will be a four-day event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. of Feb. 8 to 12 (Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun) at Book Latte in Megaworld. For reservations, see the Facebook page called “Evolve or Perish”.
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I suggested the idea of Hybrid Writing because it’s my current obsession. I like mixing forms, as evidenced by my recently concluded novel-in-installments here on Panay News, “Love in the Time of the Bacunaua.”
In Panay Balita, under my column “Campeon sang Hiligaynon”, perhaps it was in November last year, I also published flash stories with photos that suggested or inspired them.
Of course, the photos of the Greek guys I met in my travel of Europe were real, but the stories? Well, some of them were real, some were fictionalized, some of them total fiction. In a word, hybrid!
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Mel thinks Hybrid Realities. He names several foreign authors jumping from one form, one genre, to another.
And then, as if to flatter me, points to how I do it quite easily, and with flair, as a poet, fictionist, playwright, newspaper columnist, filmmaker, stage performer, screen actor, stand-up comic.
So, now I’m thinking, maybe I should also teach Writing, Art, Commerce, Social Media, Livelihood. A real hybrid of realities!
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You will get a preview of that tonight. Come to my show at Troi Oi. Because it’s not just a stand-up comedy show, it’s also a gossip show, a sex and sexuality lecture like a first aid class, a Dinagyang party, and many more.
Again, in a word, hybrid! (500tinaga@gmail.com/PN)
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