"HUBAD" and "THE PALANCA IN MY MIND" return for the Virgin Labfest

Two of the outstanding productions featured in last year's Virgin Labfest 2 return for a limited run in the 2007 Virgin Labfest 3, the annual festival of untried, untested, unpublished and unstaged plays.

Writing about these plays, the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Gibbs Cadiz wrote that Job Pagsibigan’s “The Palanca in My Mind” directed Roobak Valle Valle "offered a diverting (if sitcom-ish) stab at the stuffed, geriatric image of the Palanca Awards, the country’s premier literary competition." Heading the cast is Wenah Nagales, who "virtually gobbled up the scenery as the starry-eyed writer Dory, supported by a shape-shifting cast of talented Tanghalang Pilipino actors."

"Hubad" features Irma Adlawan and Nonie Buencamino who play a husband and wife who’ve taken to playing sexual games to spice up their marriage. According to Cadiz, the two actors "were a wonder to watch—nothing less than master classes on the use of body, voice, mind and experience to create tactile characters onstage.' The play, written by Liza Magtoto and directed by Denisa Reyes, "featured strong humor and a bracing, penetrating honesty."

Catch THE BEST OF VIRGIN LABFEST 2 ("The Palanca In My Mind" and "Hubad") on July 3 and 4 at 3:00 and 8:00 P.M. at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute. Tickets at P200 are available at the CCP Box Office (832-3704) and Ticketworld (891-9999). A note to would-be viewers: these plays had to turn away audiences in lst year's run because there were simply no more seats to sell.

The Virgin Labfest 3 runs from June 28 to July 8 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Visit http://www.virginlabfest.com/, http://www.tanghalangpilipino.com/, and http://www.culturalcenter.gov.,ph/.

"TUKSO" TRAILER NOW ON YOUTUBE!

The trailer for "TUKSO" is now online. The link is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT51ZqZVNgQ

Screening schedules for the Cinemalaya 2007 Philipppine Independent Film Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines are as follows:

TUKSO by Dennis Marasigan

21 Jul/Sat - 06:15 PM
Venue 5 - CCP Tanghalang Huseng Batute

22 Jul/Sun - 09:00 PM
Venue 2 - CCP Little Theatre / Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino

24 Jul/Tue - 03:30 PM
Venue 1 - CCP Main Theatre / Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo

26 Jul/Thu - 12:45 PM
Venue 1 - CCP Main Theatre / Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo

27 Jul/Fri - 06:15 PM
Venue 4 - CCP MKP Hall / Bulwagang Alagad Ng Sining

28 Jul/Sat - 09:00 PM
Venue 1 - CCP Main Theatre / Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo

29 Jul/Sun - 12:45 PM
Venue 2 - CCP Little Theatre / Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino

Tickets to the screenings are at P 100.00 (regular) and P50.00 (students).

I hope to see you there!

Dennis

K BROSAS SURE TO ENTHRALL AS ZSA ZSA ZATURNNAH

Last night was the open dress rehearsal for the fifth run of ZSA ZSA ZATURNNAH ZE MUZIKAL with K BROSAS stepping into the shoes of the heroine, and it was a blast! Audiences are sure to enjoy sitting through the musical, even if they have seen it before. K was consistently good, at times goofy, at times surprisingly vulnerable, always a joy to watch as she goes through the moves the role demands. I am sure even EULA VALDES, who created the role and who alternates with K in this staging, will more than be delighted to watch K transform into ZSA ZSA and make it her own.

And with NAR CABICO as the new DIDI and VINCE DE JESUS alternating with TUXQS RUTAQUIO as ADA, and the trio of ARNOLD REYES, LAUREN NOVERO and JANVIER DAILY reporting back alternately as DODONG, trooping to the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at the RCBC Plaza will be more than well rewarded.

A WEALTH OF ACTING TALENTS IN "TUKSO"

Film viewers can expect a veritable lode of acting talent in “TUKSO” which will be shown as part of this year’s CINEMALAYA PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL scheduled on July 20-29 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“TUKSO” is a mystery film with a twist. A young village lass is found dead. An investigator is assigned to the case, and the film presents the different perspectives of the people who know her. A “revisionist Rashomon” is how one writer describes it, recalling the classic film by Japanese Director Akira Kurosawa.

In the cast are award-winning film, television and theater actors led by RICKY DAVAO and IRMA ADLAWAN. Last seen together on screen in “MGA PUSANG GALA” for which they received nominations from almost all of local filmdom’s award-winning bodies, both actors also won Aliw Awards for their work on stage in Tanghalang Pilipino’s “SPEAKING IN TONGUES.”

In TUKSO, Ricky Davao plays David Solomon, a businessman whose subdivision project and personal life are affected by the girl’s mysterious death.

Irma Adlawan, already dubbed as the “Queen of Philippine Independent Cinema” largely because of her outstanding performances in the independent films “MGA PUSANG GALA’, “ICU BED No. 7” and ‘SA NORTH DIVERSION ROAD” plays the role of Fe, a widow who may have the key that can help unravel the mystery.

Playing the other leading parts in the ensemble film are:
SOLIMAN CRUZ, who won acclaim for his father roles “ANG PAGDADALAGA NI MAXIMO OLIVEROS’ and “KASAL, KASALI, KASALO”; SHAMAINE BUENCAMINO, who played the other woman in “CRYING LADIES” and earned critical acclaim for her tour-de-force performance in the Filipino adaptation of the play “ORPHEUS DESCENDING.” PING MEDINA, known to television audiences for her roles in “ETHERIA” and also nominated for “ANG PAGDADALAGA NI MAXIMO OLIVEROS”; and SID LUCERO, winner of the Golden Screen Awards for Breakthrough performance for his star turn in last year’s Cinemalaya entry “DONSOL.”

As if these actors were not enough, special cameo performances are given by NONIE BUENCAMINO, RONNIE LAZARO and BING PIMENTEL, while supporting roles are played by the TANGHALANG PILIPINO ACTORS COMPANY. DIANA MALAHAY, a U.P. theater arts student, is introduced in the role of MONICA, the village lass who dies under mysterious circumstances.

RICKY DAVAO, IRMA ADLAWAN, SOLIMAN CRUZ, SHAMAINE BUNECAMINO, PING MEDINA, and SID LUCERO in “TUKSO”, a CINEMALAYA presentation of a production by Theater Concepts, Inc, (the same company that produced “SA NORTH DIVERSION ROAD,” considered as one of the best films of 2005). Introducing DIANA MALAHAY, with special appearances by NONIE BUENCAMINO, RONNIE LAZARO, MAILES KANAPI, JOEY PARAS and BING PIMENTEL, and the TANGHALANG PILIPINO ACTORS COMPANY.

TUKSO is directed by DENNIS N. MARASIGAN from a script by DENNIS N. MARASIGAN, NIKKI TORRES, and MARA PAULINA MARASIGAN. Cinematography, Editing and Sound by MO ZEE, Production Design by BIANCA GONZALES DADIVAS, Music by Vincent de Jesus, and produced by DENNIS N. MARASIGAN and SOC JOSE.

WATCH OUT FOR VIRGIN LABFEST 3!

A THIRD SERVING OF THE VIRGIN LABFEST

VIRGIN LABFEST 3, the year’s most anticipated festival of new and untried, untested, unpublished and unstaged plays, runs from June 28 until July 8 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. This year, the festival features the premiere of eighteen (18) new one-act plays plus staged readings of full-length plays, directed and acted by artists from some of the country’s most respected performing companies.

The first set, INTERNATIONAL NIGHT, is a compilation of plays by foreign playwrights, an innovation for this year’s festival. He-Me-She-It by Narumol Thammapruksa and directed by Jaime del Mundo is a poetic improvisation where a newcomer, an alien/stranger both influences and terrifies the members of an undisclosed remote town. Lizard by Haresh Sharma, directed by Nicolas Pichay, is a surreal and inertly violent depiction of a Singaporean household whose scheming, double-dealing, and at times cruel transactions negotiated with each other makes for a rather intense sala-set drama. Yoji Sakate’s Noh Play, Three Sisters, directed by Jose Estrella is a moving ghost story and a touching memorial to the ravages of war and the significant resonance of War in Theater. Tanghalang Huseng Batute, June 28 (3:00 PM / 8:00 PM), July 7 (8:00 PM) and July 8 (3:00 PM)

MADADRAMANG PAMILYA is household drama but definitely not telenovela fare. Skeletons in the closet, in-house rebellions, and family decisions that just have to be made—do not do this at home. Debbie Ann Tan’s Teroristang Labandera, directed by Yoshi Toshihisa, is a funny and yet disturbing destruction of class and racial stereotypes, this comedy may seem to say more than just being wacky. Bagahe by J. Dennis Teodosio and directed by Rito Asilo is a short, intense conversation between a son and his dying father torn by the need to migrate and the need to define home. Looking for Darna by Lani Montreal and directed by Khryss Adalia is about three generations of women painfully coming to terms with a reality that renders many women helpless and silent. Tanghalang Huseng Batute, June 29 (3:00 PM / 8:00 PM), July 5 (3:00 PM) andJuly 8 (8:00 PM)

The third set, XX AND X: BABALA: HINDI PANG-ISIP BATA, is the most unsettling and disturbing compilation of the season. We enjoin you to widen your understanding, come in with an open mind and expect the unexpected. Séance by Auggie Arcenas and directed by EricK Castro is a quiet yet intense confrontation between a fortune teller and her customer that becomes a battle of wit and a revelation of small cruelties and hypocrisies. Allan Lopez’ Kasaysayan, directed by Victor Villareal, is a rather macabre rendition of capitalist barbarism and a gruesome exploration of the weird, horrible ways of the bourgeoisie set in the fictional future. My Padir is an OCW by George Vail Kabristante, directed by Issa Lopez, is about an aging transvestite’s bizarre association with a young dancer who harbors a family secret. Tanghalang Huseng Batute, June 30 (3:00 PM / 8:00 PM), July 5 (8:00 PM) and July 6 (3:00 PM)

ANG PAGDADALAGA AT IBA PANG REBELASYON still provides another take on forbidden loves, sexual desire and the fruits it reaps, both good and evil. It is also 3 variations on a theme: Spring’s awakening! Kuyom by Argel Tuason and directed by John Abul is about a young boy’s exposure to exploitation and cruelty, rendered more complicated by the environment he finds himself in, a world of gay impersonators. Three Unsent Letters, written by Arlo De Guzman and directed by Rody Vera, is an epistolary drama about a man’s awakening to love and betrayal. Letters that have not been sent become monologues of despair and a sense of renewal at the same time. Ellas Inosentes by Layeta Bucoy and directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio is about two sisters whose innocent conversation and unmalicious observations of a household not quite their own reveals the violence and inhumanity of the adults around them. Tanghalang Huseng Batute, July 1 (3:00 PM / 8:00 PM), July 6 (8:00 PM) and July 7 (3:00 PM)

CHILDREN’S PLAYS are at the Bulwagang Amado Hernandez on June 29 (3:00 PM), June 30 (10:00 AM / 3:00 PM) and July 1 (3:00 PM). Rene Villanueva’s Bertdey ni Guido, performed by the Dulaang Sipat Lawin Ensemble and directed by George de Jesus III, offers a wonderful juvenile perspective of the relationship between the personal and the political, made more marvelous with music and dance. Mga Obra ni Maestra, written and directed by Niel De Mesa and performed by the Koine Theater Foundation, is a hilarious and biting play about three young children with superpowers and are heavily conflicted between saving the world or fulfilling the grueling, tedious domestic duties that their parents have ordered them to do. James Cansanay’s Kung Pwede Sanang Ipagpalit ang Tatay, directed by Catherine Racsag is a strange but fascinating fable about a young boy who mistakenly traded his father for a toy.

IDENTITY AND POLITICS is at the Bulwagang Amado Hernandez on July 6 (8:00 PM), July 7 (3:00 PM / 8:00 PM) and July 8 (3:00 PM). May Bumubulong by Job Pagsibigan and directed by Christian Bautista is about two brothers battling for the right to claim property and lineage and revealing the fragile and uncertain state of any one’s identity. Pobreng Alindahaw by J. Dennis Teodosio and directed by Delfin Ilao is a short but hilarious allegory that starts off like a folktale for children, but the issues laid down by two dragonflies and a butterfly turn this otherwise comic fantasy into a serious look into one’s personality. Rogelio Braga’s Sa Pagdating ng Barbaro, directed by Nick Olanka and performed by the UP Repertory Company, is about a small town that witnesses a suicide, an open secret military operation in a Muslim community nearby, the coming of a stranger with a suitcase that contains a secret, which no one will ever know, and the numerous white lies of a woman.

THE BEST OF VIRGIN LABFEST 2 brings back the award-winning Palanca On My Mind by Job Pagsibigan, directed by Roobak Valle, and audience favorite Hubad by Liza Magtoto directed by Denisa Reyes, Tanghalang Huseng Batute, July 3 (3:00/8:00 PM) and July 4 (3:00 / 8:00 PM).

PUBLIC READINGS of full-length plays will be at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino at 7:00 PM: Glen Mas’ Games People Play (June 29), Rene Villanueva’s Baby B. (June 30), Tim Dacanay’s Teatro Porvenir (July 6) Huling Salubong by Malou Jacob (July 7).

There will also be PLATFORM EVENTS at the Bulwagang Carlos Francisco at 5:45 PM from June 28 to July 1 and July 5-8) featuring the playwrights and directors as they discuss their works and interact with the public. BREAKOUT performances in cabaret-style will also be performed nightly at the CCP Silangan Hall.

The Virgin Labfest is a joint venture of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (SentrongPangkultura ng Pilipinas), Tanghalang Pilipino, Writers Bloc, Inc., and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) with the generous support of the Japan Foundation Manila.

Since 2005, the festival has witnessed the works of stage directors Tuxqs Rutaquio, Denisa Reyes, Herbert Go, Phil Noble, Victor Villareal and Roobak Valle, among others. Professional actors like Neil Ryan Sese, Irma Adlawan-Marasigan, Nonie Buencamino, Mailes Kanapi, Tess Jamias and Marj Lorico have supported the festival with their theatrical talent and dedication. Even new actors have been discovered with the performances of the Dulaang Sipat Lawin Ensemble, the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors’ Company, actors from PETA, Gantimpala Foundation, as well as freelance professionals and even student theater artists.

Dynamic, creative, experimental, at times edgy, always provocative, the Virgin Labfest has served as the venue for coming together to explore new visions, expressions and discourses, and an exciting celebration of Philippine Theater.

Tickets to the Virgin Labfest are at P200 for plays to be shown at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute & Bulwagang Amado Hernandez, and Pay-What-You-Can for play readings at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino. For more details, please contact Tanghalang Pilipino at 832-3661, the CCP Box Office at 832-3704, and Ticketworld at 891-9999.

Thirty Years in the Theater - it all started with Brecht

Classes open this week, which means that it has been thirty years since I auditioned for my first play in Dulaang U.P.

I still remember very clearly that the audition posters for Dulaang U.P. 1977-1978 2nd season opener, a translation of Bertolt Brecht's Der kaukasische Kreiderkreis (Caucasian Chalk Circle) went up on the third day of classes. Having been a part of theater and radio productions in high school, I was eager to try out my luck in the play which, the announcements said, was to be directed by Tony Mabesa.

On the appointed day of auditions, I walked into the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater (which then til now is still referred to as the A.S. Theater -- A.S. for Arts and Sciences, which was the college housed in the Palma Hall before it was divided into three different colleges some years after) and was called to read a few lines from the play. I remember Tony Mabesa's booming voice and the loud banter among the other auditionees (who I would learn later were students from Speech and Drama and Mass Comm who had appeared in Dulaang U.P.'s inaugural season the year before).

I also remember Tony Mabesa commenting how puny I looked. He could not have been more correct. I was then barely five feet tall. I was fourteen years old, though he nor the others know it then.

A week after, the cast list was posted on the bulletin board beside AS Room 130. By the time I got to see the list, a question mark had been pencilled in beside my name. I was to learn later that Gino Marasigan had placed it there, thinking that there might have been possibly a mistake. Two Marasigans in the cast?

And for the next month and a half, we rehearsed the production. Tony decided to take advantage of my size by casting me as a puny, pathetic Governor(the father of the child who would later be the subject of conflict between the two"mothers") as well as in a variety of other characters, including that of the nephew of the Prince (which gave me the chance -- in my very first play-- to be in the same scene with Dodo Crisol, Lou Veloso, Joeboy Almojuela , and Gino Marasigan). And what a privilege it was for me to work with other actors and staff members whose names I still remember to this day simply because of the sheer joy that I had in that production -- among them Tonette Buizon, Stella Ruiz (who played Grusha Vashnadze) Diana Legaspi, Monette Alfon, Antee Bass, Joy Sababan, Gerry Magnaye, Pitt Albano, Suzette Querubin, Curly Nuguid, Amy Flores, Carlo Pajar, Lissa Limson, Raul Recio, (as Simon Sashava, missed one performance, prompting Tony Mabesa to take on his role with a script in hand), Jun Farin (who was asked to take over Raul's role) -- and a topnotch production staff with Henry Strzalkowski as Production Manager, Fely Luz Marcos as Stage Manager, Chito Rono as Property Master. Salvador Bernal designed the production, still considered a milestone with his use of bamboo and jute sacks, with the late Egay Avila and Audie San Juan -- two people who would take me under their wings to train in lighting design -- as Lighting Designer and Technical Director.

(Some of us met up a couple of months back when Curly came back from England, and as usually the case, the conversation will touch on the dead duck that Chito Rono brought home to his freezer after every performance, to bring back the following day. And to Chito's Brasilia that at one point managed to carry 18 people inside it -- go figure!)

The play opened at the Guerrero a in the first week of August, running for two weeks, as Ang Pabilog na Guhit ng Tisa (using Leopoldo Cacnio's translation). The play's backstage theme song was Ann Murray's "Torn Between Two Lovers." :-) I celebrated my fifteenth birthday that weekend performing.

A week after the play ended, I was back in rehearsals for Tony Mabesa's production of Amelia Lapena Bonifacio's Ang Paglalakbay ni Sisa, playing Basilio to Anton Juan's Sisa, but that would be another story.

TANGHALANG PILIPINO ACTORS' COMPANY 2007-2008

Here's the composition of the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors' Company for 2007-2008 (21st Theater Season).

MEMBERS
Mayen Estanero
Marj Lorico
Wenah Nagales
Bong Cabrera

APPRENTICE
Jonathan Tadioan

SCHOLARS
Tara Cabaero
Jennifer Chuaunsu
Anna Deroca
Rommel Benedicto
Kathlyn Castillo
Chromewell Cosio
Sheenly Vee Gener
Russell Legaspi
Sugus Legaspi
Daniel Ramonal

Each of them receives a salary or stipend plus allowances for classes and rehearsals and fees for performances. They will be seen in most of the productions of Tanghalang Pilipino's 21st Theater Season which opens in August 10 with a new production of the sarswela PILIPINAS CIRCA 1907 written by Dr. Nicanor G. Tiongson.

In case anyone wants to find out more about them, do drop me a line. They will also have their photos and short bio's in the Tanghalang Pilipino website, www.tanghalangpilipino.com.

Join me in wishing them Break a Leg!

TUKSO Photos

Here are some photos from TUKSO, my digital film entry to this year's Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival scheduled on July 20-29 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.


In the cast are Irma Adlawan, Shamaine Buencamino, Soliman Cruz, Ricky Davao, Sid Lucero, Ping Medina, and Diana Malahay. Special appearances by Nonie Buencamino, Mailes Kanapi, Ronnie Lazaro, Paolo O'Hara and Bing Pimentel.