A Life in the Theater

Guess what? Two of the actors who sent heart rates soaring in the previous Cinemalaya festivals are back, this time in one film. In the first Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2007, the surprise hit with both audiences and critics was “ANG PAGDADALAGA NI MAXIMO OLIVEROS.” Next to Nathan Lopez who played the title role, it was PING MEDINA who connected to the audiences the most with his touching portrayal of Maxie’s older brother. The following year, it was SID LUCERO’s turn to charm audiences and critics alike with his seemingly effortless portrayal of a BIO (Butanding Information Officer) in in “DONSOL”, a role that fittingly won him Golden Screen’s Award for breakthrough performance. For this year’s edition of Cinemalaya, both actors are back to tempt audiences anew as they pit talents against each other in Dennis Marasigan’s “TUKSO”, one of the full-length feature film finalists. Sid and Ping are only too happy to be part of “TUKSO” playing two men who become romantica...

The 2nd and final weekend performances for Virgin Labfest 3 take place at the CCP beginning today until Sunday, July 8. Do not be like those who wait until the last day to come, only to find out that there are no longer any tickets left. Call the CCP Box-Office (832-3704) or the Tanghalang Pilipino office (832-3661) for schedules and tickets. (Look up Gibbs Cadiz' blog at http://www.gibbscadiz.blogspot.com/ to read more about some of the plays being staged this year. He also has links to other bloggers who have seen some of the plays.)

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Virgin Labfest 2 return for a limited run in the 2007 Virgin Labfest 3, the annual festival of untried, untested, unpublished and unstaged plays.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 exper...

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

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.

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 af...

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...