Six “virgin” and revisited Hiligaynon plays will be showcased in the first Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Virgin LabFest (VLF) at the Black Box Theater of the Negros Museum in Bacolod City Wednesday to Saturday, Nov. 1 5 to 18.
The festival will showcase six one-act Hiligaynon plays directed by seasoned theater directors in Negros.
It is organized by The Performance Laboratory (PerfLab) and Manila-based playwrights’ group – The Writers Block.
The Virgin LabFest in Bacolod revolves around the theme “Lab-as”, a Hiligaynon interpretation of “fresh-cut, and freshly harvested” plays written by emerging and veteran Visayan playwrights.
In May this year, the PerfLab gathered 18 one-act plays submitted but only six were selected to be mounted.
This is the first time that the CCP will mount the Virgin LabFest in the Visayas in its 18-year run. It is held annually in Manila and has been mounted in Mindanao.
The four-day festival will open with the revisited play “Ang Pag-ulianon ni Olivia Mendoza” by Negrense playwright Rolin Migyuel Obino, which originally premiered in Filipino as part of the 2019 lineup of VLF-Manila.
It is directed by Rene Hinojales and will be staged 2 p.m. Nov. 15 and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 18.
The six original Hiligaynon plays are divided into three sets of back-to-back performances.
Set A, showing 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15 and 2 p.m. Nov. 17 includes “Sa Likod Sang Masskara” written by Fundador Tipon II and directed by Milton Dionzon, and “Ang Sweatshop, Ang Aparador, kag ang Pinakatig-a nga Ismagol sa Bilog nga Kalibutan” written by Jasper Villasis and directed by Rodolfo Reveche.
Set B, showing 2 p.m. Nov. 16 and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17, includes “Dorm 425” written by Venise Buenaflor and directed by Mai Montelibano, and “Victim” written by Vicente Garcia Groyon and directed by Jade Snow.
Set C, showing 6:30 p.m. Nov. 16 and 2 p.m. Nov. 18 includes “Sin-o Naglansang Kay Kristo” written by Rocky Nicor and directed by Alejandro “Bundo” Deoma, and “Kapoy Nako Mangin Superhero” written by Roger Joshua Venzal and directed by Tanya Lopez.*