Every Good Friday, the congregation of the Shrine of the Holy Sepulcher (locally known as Apung Mamacalulu or the dead Christ) in Lourdes Sur, Angeles City mourn the death of Christ right after the Catholic Church-endorsed ritual of the Veneration of the Cross. At 3 p.m., the Veneration of the Cross commences and is headed by the…
Tag: Philippine Theatre
Derivatives, Entanglement and the Dramaturg: Contemporary Theatre in Manila (Last Part: Dramaturg)
This essay originally came out in Philippine Panorama: Sunday Magazine of the Manila Bulletin Volume 44 (12): 8 – 11, 2016. [Cover Photo: a scene from Bilanggo ng Pag-ibig, adaptation by Rody Vera, directed by Jose Estrella; Photo courtesy of Dulaang UP]. Theater in the Philippines is often conceived to be a theater of the director….
Derivatives, Entanglement and the Dramaturg: Contemporary Theatre in Manila (Part Two: Entanglement)
This essay originally came out in Philippine Panorama: Sunday Magazine of the Manila Bulletin Volume 44 (12): 8 – 11, 2016. [Cover Photo: a scene from the children’s play Umaaraw, Umuulan, Kinakasal ang Tikbalang, a children’s story by Gilda Cordero-Fernando, adaptation by Rody Vera, directed by Jose Estrella; Photo courtesy of Dulaang UP]. Considering these issues…
Derivatives, Entanglement and the Dramaturg: Contemporary Theatre in Manila (Part One: Derivatives)
This essay originally came out in Philippine Panorama: Sunday Magazine of the Manila Bulletin Volume 44 (12): 8 – 11, 2016. [Cover Photo: Mailes Kanapi as Mephistopholes and Jack Yabut as Faust in Dulaang UP’s production of Faust, adaptation by Rody Vera, directed by Jose Estrella; Courtesy of Dulaang UP]. Every time I encounter the question…
National Theatre Academy: A Concept and a Proposal
* Presented on 22 August 2020 via a webinar/conference TAMPOK 2020: SABADULAAN organized by the National Commission on Dramatic Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Maraming salamat, Mr. Eric Divinagracia for that generous introduction. Maraming salamat rin sa NCCA, lalo na kina Lutgardo Labad, Filemon Blanco at Dessa Quesada Palm for…
Articulating the Cosmopolitan in the Theatre
This post is a continuation of my 12 August post on my seduction to cosmopolitanism, which may be viewed here. My attraction to cosmopolitanism vis-à-vis the theatre experience is based on a vision of community that may be perceived in the relationship among audience members and the relationship between the audience and the performance. The…
Throwback: National Sarsuwela Festival 2009 at the University of the Philippines Diliman
After the success of the University of the Philippines (UP) Komedya Fiesta 2008, Virgilio Almario, National Artist for Literature and then College of Arts & Letters (CAL) Dean proclaimed that after komedya, the sarsuwela is the second national theatre form in the Philippines truly deserving to be examined. In his opening remarks in the Sarsuwela…
Throwback: Komedya Fiesta 2008 at the University of the Philippines Diliman
To celebrate the centenary of the University of the Philippines (UP), the College of Arts and Letters at the Diliman Campus held the Komedya Fiesta 2008. For the whole month of February, the campus was dressed with traditional fiestas culminating with performances of komedya, a traditional Hispanic theatre form that has been Filipinized. Conceived in…
A Lady Director in the Philippines Named José
Ariane Mnouchkine, the founding Artistic Director of Théâtre du Soleil in France, abhors the use of the word production to refer to a theatre piece. In an interview with Andrew Dickson for the Guardian, Mnouchkine remarks, “I hate the word ‘production.’ It’s a ceremony, a ritual—you should go out of the theatre more human than when you…
Paghahanap kay Miss B (Finding Miss B)
In 2009, I won my first Carlos Palanca Award for Literature (Full Length Play). In 2010, the University of the Philippines Press accepted the play for publication. In 2011, the play was finally published (my first book came out, yehey!). Below is the preface/introduction of Miss Dulce Extranjera o ang Paghahanap kay Miss B (University…
Tanghal Kultura 