Virgin Labfest Sets C and D Pictures

For me, the best theater event in Manila is the annual Virgin Labfest presented by the CCP. Introduced to me just 3 years ago by my friend Em Malinis, I've tried my best to watch it annually but since it coincides with the Wimbledon tournament, finding the right dates can be difficult.

I had to miss the women's semi's last night since I had tickets to yesterday's show. Anyway, it was Serena and Venus once again.

The plays I watched though did not disappoint. As usual, it was the comedy plays that really brought the house down! I swear the writing here is much fresher than what you get from local TV.

The trend though now is still the proliferation of hugot lines and since its usage is ubiquitous, I'm not surprised that it has surfaced even in the serious plays.

I also, always sit in the front row since the venue is very intimate. It's fun to be so near the actors. Today, a stuffed owl fell just a half meter away from my seat. In a plate throwing scene, I felt very relieved when the actor caught the plate being thrown my way.

The plays are written by new playwrights that's why the ideas are quite original but possessing of a certain naivete and simplicity. They are also short enough to sustain your interest since some of the themes are very heavy.

If you are free next week, they have extended the playdates by another week, showing that the demand for seats have certainly increased through the years.

All Set and Excited for This Year's Virgin Labfest

I made the mistake of not buying the tickets early for last year's Virgin Labfest so I was greeted with many SOLD OUT signs in my Ticketworld when I did decide to clear up my schedule.  Since the event opens when Wimbledon is in full swing, I've had to choose the dates more carefully so I won't miss any of the major matches.  

Ayun, since ang tagal ko nagdecide, naubusan tuloy ng tickets.

Not gonna happen this year.

This year, I decided to buy tickets after Wimbledon, so everything after July 3 na.  And I decided to buy early so I can see all the sets!  I did not even bother to read who's in or who's out.  I just know they are all going to be good and that some of them will be very interesting to me!

Looking forward to two weekends and some weekdays of great local theater from our new and veteran playwrights!

Girls Who Love Girls, Incest and Waiting For Death to Come

Well, those basically were the themes of the plays for Set D in this year's Virgin LabFest. Though the material was heavy, there were funny moments in each of those plays - and the playwrights' ability to weave humor into those subjects is quite amazing.

By the way, one of the playwrights, Reya Laplana is only 16 years old! Incredible! I was more concerned with Madonna and pop music when I was her age. She, on the other hand, wrote a delicate piece about girls who love other girls. You could really see from the wordings alone that a young person wrote it. It was simple, sweet, pure and a bit naive. Because if I had to write about girls who love girls, it would turn out to be a hybrid between a Martin Scorsese and a Quentin Tarantino movie! Middle-aged adults are really jaded that way!

Incidentally, Sa Lilim, the name of Reya's play was directed by Jenny Jamora - who I saw in Cock earlier this year! Small world!! I think her company is coming out with more interesting plays later this year so better to keep tabs with it - Em Malinis!

The playwright of Betang, Joanna Katanyag, is also young! Their imaginations are so active. If you loved your lolas, you will love Betang! I guess it's the playwright's bittersweet ode to one of her lolas.

Bago Ilibing by Maynard Manansala and U2 Eliserio is funny on the surface but it really deals with a disgusting topic. I talked to one of the actresses after the play and she herself was dismayed about the reality of incest here in the Philippines, which made me a bit sad. Now, with more and more families fragmented by OFWs and parents having relationships outside their own marriages, the likelihood of incest increases, especially if there are daughters in the house. Hayyy, where's GABRIELA when you need them!