Film and theater operate on fundamentally different contracts with their audiences. Cinema is more controlled: It is edited, color-graded, scored, and packaged for the screen. Theater, on the other hand, refuses all of that: It is raw, immediate, unrepeatable, and alive in ways that no camera can fully simulate or contain. For “Ang Babae Sa...
Tag: theater
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Peta unveils lead cast of ‘Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4’
Eugene Domingo returns as a gloriously amplified version of herself—navigating ego, ambition, and the beautiful absurdity of mounting a live show–in “Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4: Oh Sh*t! It’s Live Sa Cheter!” The Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) officially announced on Thursday, Feb. 26, the headlining cast led by Domingo of its upcoming production,...
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Lookback: ‘Walang Sugat’ and love in the midst of a revolution
More than a hundred years since it was first written and first staged, the Filipino zarzuela Walang Sugat (meaning “no wound”) still rouses its audiences to rave-level applause. The zarzuela, locally known as “sarsuwela,” is a musical theater genre that originated in Spain in 1657 and was introduced by the Spaniards for their entertainment in...
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‘Pista nin Teatrong Bikolnon’ brings theater (and alternative election perspectives) to rural folk
“Pista nin Teatrong Bikolnon” again brought together communities and campus-based theater companies from across the Bicol region, celebrating its sixth year of taking plays in their rawest form to the ordinary people. This time, the festival carried the theme “Gimata: Reclaiming People’s Narratives,” which organizers aimed at highlighting the importance of community narratives and promoting...
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A mouthful of a musical, and spectacular
“Buruguduystunstugundstuy” is quite a mouthful of a musical. With a title like that, the audience expects something beyond the usual fare. The creators of “Buruguduystunstugunstuy” promised a wild ride—an “acid trip,” as director Dexter Santos described it. They did not disappoint. They delivered as they promised. Using songs of the popular band Parokya ni Edgar,...
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‘Spirit of the Glass’ keeps the fight for human rights alive
“Spirt of the Glass,” a new play written by Bonifacio P. Ilagan and directed by Joel Lamangan, had a brief run at the IBG-KAL Theater at the University of the Philippines, Diliman on March 8-10, with two performances per day. We caught the 2:30 p.m. show (the other was at 7 p.m.) on March 10,...
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The mission of Artist Inc. Center and the gains of community theaters
When the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) presented Edward Perez, head of its national committee on dramatic arts, at a press conference in January to announce the launch of National Arts Month (NAM) in February, I was both proud of and excited for him. Perez spoke about his flagship projects, zeroing in on...
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‘The Reconciliation Dinner’ provides much-needed post-election catharsis
When it comes to “The Reconciliation Dinner,” Floy Quintos’ play on two families at odds with each other’s political views throughout the 2022 national elections, there is a clear target audience: middle- and upper-middle-class Filipinos who spent the past year tiptoeing through uncomfortable or openly hostile political discussions with loved ones. To those who can relate, this production feels like catharsis, with a clarity of information and...
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Dulaang UP’s ‘Rosang Taba’ races against insidious forces
Recently, Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” again ignited conversations on fatness and body issues, but for all the wrong reasons, precisely because the film offers little to no nuance about the lived experiences of plus-size people, and instead creates a dehumanizing spectacle out of it (see Roxane Gay on the film). It is so demeaning and...
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Socially aware entertainment and theatrical spectacle
It truly feels like prepandemic days when you have to juggle two (or more!) theater events in a day. And at this moment, campuses are leading the charge: Blistering heat notwithstanding, it’s a highly satisfying shuttle between venues on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City. I didn’t really know what to expect from Dulaang UP’s “Kung...