Virgin LabFest 7! - stage plays

it is NOT what you're thinking okay. i also wish it is. hehe. virgin labfest is a festival of 10 untried, untested and unpublished “virgin” plays.

Seen Set C and my quick comment is that twas intense! :) I have to add in my bucket list acting in a stage play. =)

For a ticket cost of P257 only, you get to see three quality stage plays in an intimate setting (because the venue in CCP is just small) and many artsy-fartsy beautiful/interesting women!

while it's been raining cats and dogs and ugliness lately, it's been a dry spell for beauty sightings. sigh indeed. but all that changed last night at CCP. ah, now here's where the lovelies have been - the theatre! a true feast to the eyes and intellect. i've been blessed enough to be seated left and right, front and back with really marvelous looking and sounding women. the hills are alive! hehehe. my only regret then was i should have worn makeup and dressed up some more. i got too lazy to make ayos pa, so just donned for a quick shirt and jeans and bare face! not really the best get up to impress right?! hayz. will try to do better next screenings :) 'hope you can also get to see them. i meant the plays. ;) if you wana go with me there, just holler! :)
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Below is the lineup for the 7th Virgin Labfest, to be staged at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute from June 29 to July 10, 2011.

VLF6 REVISITED:

SET A
JUNE 29, 3/8 p.m.; JULY 7, 8 p.m.; JULY 8, 3 p.m.

HIGIT PA DITO by Allan Lopez, directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio


Synopsis:
Bing, a single mother, leaves her two grown children to live on her own. Still grappling with uncertainty, she moves in her new apartment with the help of her son, Kael. In the deceptively simple conversation between mother and son, ambiguous and seemingly random recollections paint a portrait of a woman trying to rediscover strength, and the drive to revisit her long abandoned desire.

ONDOY by Remi Velasco, directed by Ed Lacson, Jr.

Synopsis:
If you are trapped on your rooftop with no one but only your wimp husband or nagging wife in the middle of Typhoon "Ondoy," what will you wish for? Mercy demands an annulment while Obet only wants his son to stay and Mercy to be booted out of the “roof.” The storm begins; so does the battle. The couple’s struggle to save their lives awkwardly turns into a fight, crystallizing their own family “storm” – their chronic, even futile problems. But when "Ondoy" subsides, who will be booted out?

BALUNBALUNAN, BINGIBINGIHAN by Debbie Ann Tan, directed by Issa Lopez

Synopsis:
Gilbeys and Brandy, born 20 years apart, are husband and wife, as well as pimp and whore who love each other dearly. Brandy, with her repertoire of roles as nurse, baker, cook or tutor, does her trade with perfunctory ease that brings to the table Gilbey’s sole diet: chicken gizzard. However, life gets more difficult. They decide to take in a boarder, someone who could help them in this covert trade as well. Enter Whiskey, a virile lad who looks and acts nice. The couple take him in as a bedspacer. They eventually reveal their trade to Whiskey and insinuate an offer to work for them as a “plumber.” But three is always a crowd. Jealousies and hate begin to tear this odd trio apart. Whiskey proffers his love for Brandy, while Gilbeys suspects him of being a traitor and a thief. Brandy is torn between the two. But Gilbeys and Brandy's love for each other runs deep. A love that links the matter of eating chicken gizzards.

SET B
JUNE 30, 3/8 p.m.; JULY 6, 3 p.m.; JULY 8, 8 p.m.

ISANG GABI BAGO MAGBUKAS ANG “A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS FILIPINO” NI NICK JOAQUIN by Carlo Pacolor Garcia, directed by Paul Santiago

Synopsis:
Just another typical night at the theater: the director’s mad, the stage manager’s losing his wit, and the actors are, well, acting up—until one by one, they all start dying. Then the fun suddenly begins: who’s out to get a bunch of old and forgotten stars trying to get another break; why here and why now, why The Portrait; perhaps a prank,a pure coincidence; or has the past finally decided to play cat and mouse? It was a dark and stormy night, indeed, and everyone’s a suspect. Look sharp, find your light, and break a leg!

SET C
JULY 1, 3/8 p.m,; JULY 9, 3 p.m.; JULY 10, 8 p.m.

STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO by Mixkaela Villalon, directed by Ed Lacson, Jr.
Synopsis: 

Every night, a streetlight is the lone witness to the meetings between two hired killers responsible for the string of murders in a particular area in Manila— and every day, dead bodies are left underneath it for a police detective to find, and a young journalist to investigate and report. Streetlight Manifesto tackles the subjective nature of truth and justice, and frames the discussion on dignity of work amist the backdrop of Manila’s business casual culture of violence. But for every day the investigation remains unresolved, the body count continues to rise.

KAWALA by Rae Red, directed by Paolo O’Hara

Synopsis:
A famous actor and his snobby manager. A posh, religious husband and wife. A promiscuous gold digger. A mysterious priest. And an innocent young woman. Seen through the eyes of a puzzled elevator boy, Kawala tells the story of intertwined lives in a condominium and how they affect an important life choiceof a confused employee.

EVENING AT THE OPERA by Floy Quintos, directed by Jomari Jose
Synopsis: 

Miranda Beloto, wife of Governor Bingo Beloto, is obsessed with the idea of bringing to her impoverished province the first staging of a full-length opera. As she prepares to face her corrupt, insensitive husband, she must also deal with the pressure from her own manipulative mother. It seems that Miranda’s foolhardy vision of beauty is all she can cling to in the face of so much brutality. Or is she herself a crucial part of the cycle of corruption?

SET D
JULY 2, 3/8 p.m.; JULY 6, 8 p.m.; JULY 7, 3 p.m.

MGA LOBO TULAD NG BUWAN, written and directed by Pat Valera
Synopsis: 

A mother, wife and daughter remain in the realm of resistance to seek justice. Each has lost a loved one from the tragic sinking of MV Princess of the Stars that claimed 773 lives. One of the worst maritime disasters in recent years, the vessel sank because of the shipping line’s insistence to sail amidst a looming typhoon. Three years since the sinking, the women persist. However, they slowly forget. Time consumes them, great powers offer bribes, the cost of the struggle becomes insurmountable. Most of all, the memory of pain stabs each time it is remembered. Some succumb to the solace of oblivion, leaving the seemingly endless battle; others remain amidst certain pain and uncertain answers. This is an elegy for all those lost at sea and their relatives left behind. This play allows us to understand their struggle.

BAWAL TUMAWID, NAKAMAMATAY, written and directed by Joey Paras
Synopsis: 

It is February 14, Valentine's Day. Eva is trapped at a bus stop along EDSA. Desperately trying to get a cab to make it to her father's burial in La Loma Cemetery, she asks passersby how she could make it to her destination. She sees an easy access to make it to the other lane ---an opening in the middle of the highway that bears this sign: BAWAL TUMAWID, NAKAMAMATAY. In the meantime, Eva meets a stranger, an old carpenter named Mang Caloy. The old man gives her options on how to make it to La Loma but she remains indecisive. Heavy traffic and the heavy rain engage them in a peculiar conversation. A coffee shop near the bus stop becomes their refuge and here they begin sharing sentimental and funny stories about their past. Eva talks about her father's death and her simple dreams as a hopia vendor. Mang Caloy breaks the serene conversation by telling the story behind the signage. An unpredictable revelation of the old man's past marks the climax of the play. As the busy avenue becomes expansive again, an unexpected accident happens, leaving Eva in deep shock.

VALLEY MISSION CARE by Russel Legaspi, directed by Missy Maramara
Synopsis:  

An old man named Francisco finds himself stuck between the comfortable landscape of a nursing institute and the promise he holds dearly to be with his love. A promise he intends to keep even if it means he dies trying.

SET E
JULY 3, 3/8 p.m.; JULY 9, 8 p.m.; JULY 10, 3 p.m.


KINAUMAGAHAN by Rachelle Rodriguez and Wennielyn Fajilan, directed by Riki Benedicto
Synopsis: 

How will Liz and Red make their relationship work if time is not on their side? 6 a.m.—that’s the only time they see each other… and the moment does not last long. Liz, a nurse, is on her way to morning duty while Red, a call-center agent, is just coming home from the graveyard shift. Conversations, make-outs, jealousies, fights and make-ups happen during this short span of the early morning. Every day, they are left with no other choice but to continue these hanging vernal issues – the morning after.

REQUIEM, written and directed by Juan Ekis a.k.a. Christian Vallez
Synopsis: 

Alvin and Mina go back to their ancestral home for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts' (NCCA) tribute to their dying father, a National Artist for Music. As Alvin settles down in his old bedroom, Mina enters and asks if she can sleep in his room. She cannot sleep because of the music being played in the house. Mina thinks it sick that their father is having a "funeral" even before he is dead and that his having cancer is just an excuse to get them to go home. Alvin cannot understand her resentment toward their father. As Alvin tries to hide his feelings toward his adopted sister, Mina tries to sleep away the demons of their family's past in the comfort and solace of her brother's room.

KAFATIRAN by Ricardo Novenario, directed by JK Anicoche
Synopsis: 

Kafatiran is a story of love and freedom. At the dawn of the Philippine Revolution, another revolution is brewing. Deep within the ranks of the Katipunan is a special faction composed of young men who are smart, art-loving, and sometimes a bit too mild-mannered. Young Antonino Corpus wants to join this special faction and goes through some tests to know if he does belong into this group. Unfortunately, the night of Antonino’s recruitment is also the night that sparks the Philippine Revolution and the recruitment house was surrounded by several guardia civil. Should they leave the place where they are free to be themselves so that they can attain true freedom? Or Should they finally come out?

FULL INFO HERE