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In 2014, while facing the Pacific Ocean in Real, Quezon, performance artist Russ Ligtas had an epiphany. “The universe unfolded. It answered why I had these alter egos.”

At this point, he’s been living with several alter egos in him, which he carried with him when he moved to Metro Manila from Cebu in 2013. “All these characters reflect specific realities and situations that I go through [in] life,” he says. “They were birthed because I couldn’t handle reality they way they could. As Russ, I have to be okay and normal and all that.”

All of his alter egos are essentially still him, Russ Ligtas, with certain aspects of himself amplified — sadness when Mother Grief manifests, his decision to be happy when Happy is in place; Roland when he’s being the every day person chasing after the mundane, and Russ, when he’s trying to be the normal and okay guy.

It was in Quezon, when Russ was able to understand why they’re there in the first place. And then he sorted them out, put them all together in place and thus, Russ Psychology was born. “Everything I do is for the joy of self-exploration. We’re so afraid of ourselves, and with this performance, it’s like saying it’s okay to be the entire you. This is my process.”

Russ gave an intimate preview of the show on Valentine’s Day, a day before he performed the first of his three performances for the ongoing Fringe art festival. Catch his final show on Feb 28, at the SDA Black Theater in DLSU-CSB, Taft. Watch our video below:

Photo: Tammy David
Video: Tammy David and Dezza Mari Rodriguez
 

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