WHAT IS VIRGIN LABFEST?
The Virgin Labfest is an annual festival of untried, untested, unstaged and unpublished plays. This year, it will be held from June 25 to July 6, 2014 at the CCP Tanghalang Huseng Batute with 3pm and 8pm shows. It is a project of the CCP in cooperation with the Writer’s Bloc, Inc. and Tanghalang Pilipino and with the assistance of the National Commission for Culture and Arts.
Now on its tenth year, the Virgin Labfest has earned a solid reputation for its exciting and provocative line-up of one-act plays from playwrights both young and old. In addition to the main features, there are three staged readings and a Fellowship program.
WHEN?
The festival will run from June 25 to July 6, 2014
WHERE?
The Cultural Center of the Philippines at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater ) AND
Bulwagang Amado Hernandez (CCP Conference Room)
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The plays included in the Labfest line up, are a series of one act plays. The various works are grouped in to what are referred to as "Sets". As a result, you buy a ticket for a "Set", and not just one particular show. If the plays you would like to see are in different sets, you would need to buy another ticket to see the next "Set".
It is important to take note of the following:
- Each set is composed of Three Original Plays.
- Each Set is lettered from A to E. Sets A to D are all debut works, while Set E are revisited plays from last year's Labfest.
- Not all Sets play on all days, and not all days have the same sets playing the Matinee and the Evening performances.
- The the Labfest series is Rated "R", and the CCP will only admit audience members 18 and Above.
Here is the complete schedule of Labfest Sets.
THIS YEAR'S LINE UP
Here are the posters and a short synopsis of this year's Labfest Roster.
SET A
Wednesday June 25, 3PM & 8PM,
Saturday July 5, 3PM
Sunday July 6, 8 PM
ANONYMOUS
Written by: Liza Magtoto
Directed by: Audie Gemora
Featuring: Cris Pastura, Olive Nieto & Randy Villarama
It’s a dreaded reunion between a man
and a woman who had anonymous sex two years ago. The man appears at a time the woman is in a
relationship. He wants to extort some
money from the woman or else he will destroy her by showing a video of their
sexual act. The truth is out and puts
the current relationship to a test, meanwhile interrogating our own discomfort
about this level of sexuality among women.
SA ISANG HINDI NATATANGING UMAGA, AT ANG MGA ULAP AY DAHAN-DAHANG PUMAIBABAW SA NABUBULOK NA LUNSOD
Written by: Allan B. Lopez
Directed by: Denisa Reyes
Featuring: Liesel Batucan, Jonathan Tad Tadioan & Alfredo Yong Mabanta Tapang, Jr.
Meg and AJ meet in the most typical
friendly lunch at work. Five years afterwards, Meg visits AJ's house on his 40th birthday – a date he had once said would be the day he'll kill himself.
In the short and nostalgic “birthday celebration,” the ghost of a brief but
ultimately dead love story awkwardly looms above them
SA PAMAMAGITAN NG DALAWANG KAHONG LIHAM
Written by: Layeta Bucoy
Directed by: Chris Millado
Featuring:
Not wanting to be left alone by his long-time
lover Tata, successful actor Tart reminds Tata of their tempestuous yet
romance-filled relationship by reading the letters Tata sent him. To justify
their separation, Tata fires back at Tart by reading the letters Tart wrote
him. As they consume each other’s box of letters, the history of their love
affair flashes back with the intermittent singing of Julie Andrew’s “Time is My
Friend.” But even as they traverse the romantic rope tying their two boxes of
letters, they eventually learn that in matters of the heart, perhaps
love is never enough.
SET B
Thursday June 26, 3PM & 8PM
Saturday July 5, 8PM
Sunday July 6, 3PM
ANG NAGHIHINGALOS
Written by: Raymund P. Reyes
Directed by: Dennis N. Marasigan
Featuring: Bong Cabrera, Dolly De Leon, Karyl Factora, Wenah Nagales & Zandra Summer
Intoy
is in critical condition after a ruptured aneurysm triggers a stroke and leaves
him unconscious. The doctor recommends immediate surgery but even the down
payment for the surgeon’s professional fee is beyond the means of the street
ice cream vendor and his wife. Felisa, the wife, calls Intoy’s siblings for
help. While their brother’s fate depends on their decision, the reunion between
Guido, Doreen, and Linda results into bickering and opens up long-held feelings
of animosity, resentment, and envy for each other.
WENDY WANTS TO BE A HOUSEWIFE
Written by: DingDong Novenarios
Directed by: Joshua Lim So
Featuring: Delphine Buencamino & Topper Fabregas
Smart and pretty little Wendy is resigning from her current job and taking the first step towards her dream job - being a housewife. Assigned for her exit interview is Mark, a manager and a friend she once worked with on a project during her early years in the company. They talk about their past, their present, and the decisions they made that brought them to where they are now. Both of them take steps towards the future that they want. Unfortunately, only one of them succeeds.
THE MISSING PEACE
Written by: Carlo Vergara
Directed by: Marlon Rivera
Featuring: Noemi Manikan-Gomez, Rem Zamora, Hannah Dela Guerra
It is the year 2045, and the world is teetering towards explosive widespread conflict, the likes of which it hasn’t seen in almost a century. But that won’t stop the Miss Universal Empress beauty pageant from taking place in Barcelona, Spain. The pageant is of particular importance to the Philippines, as the South East Asian nation has so far won four of the world’s top five beauty competitions. A grandslam seems inevitable, but then there’s, well… the prophecy
SET C
Friday June 27, 3PM & 8PM
Wednesday July 2, 3PM
Friday July 4, 8PM
LAST 10 MINUTES
Written by: Joy Icayan
Directed by: Tami Monsod
Featuring: Nor Domingo & Mayen Estanero
In Last Ten Minutes, two strangers find ways to connect over
loss and past experiences during the last few minutes in a motel room.
MAPAGBIRONG HAPLOS
Written by: Kevin Tabora
Directed by: Melvin Lee
Featuring Crispin Pineda & Meann Espinosa
Jimmy, an aging ex-convict seeking redemption, asks the help of his bitter and cynical daughter, Jeanette, who he hasn’t seen for nearly 20 years and is now a prolific but disturbed writer, to proofread and edit his resume and personal statement for a job opportunity abroad.
ANG GOLDFISH NI PROF. DIMAANDAL
Written by: Eljay Castro Deldoc
Directed by: Roobak Valle
Featuring: Sherry Lara, PeeWee O'Hara, Wenah Nagales, Paolo O'Hara, Chrome Cosio, Mosang
Prof.
Dimaandal (a.k.a Ma'am D), a retiring cranky Science teacher, demands justice
for her beloved goldfish. Allegedly murdered by three students, her pet becomes
the center of chaos inside the Principal's office as concerned parents, who
turn out to be alumni of the school and former sweethearts at that, obliquely
resolve their open-ended past; while faculty members struggle to grasp the
logic of seeking justice for a dead fish. Based on real events, “Ang Goldfish
ni Prof. Dimaandal” portrays how absurdity can effortlessly prevail in places
where things are expected to be normal, even in the academe. Because after all,
does anything even make sense?
SET D
Saturday June 28, 3pm & 8PM
Wednesday July 2, 8PM
Thursday July 3, 3PM
BETANG
Written by: Joanna L. Katanyag
Directed by: Ed Lacson Jr.
Featuring: Sherry Lara, Chino Veguillas & Juliene Mendoza
It’s 3am in Lola Betang’s time…
Amidst the buzz of the drunken Tondo, Lola Betang stays
sober and still.
With her old transistor beside her, she waits patiently
for her behind-scheduled “Sundo”. Lola Betang
patiently waits, hoping that when demise finally faces her, She will, at long last, come face to face again with the love
of her life… If only time would allow her.
SA LILIM
Written by: Reya Laplana
Directed by: Jenny Jamora
Featuring: Isabelle Martinez & Alison Segarra
“Sa Lilim” is a play about best friends, Lai and
Hani, who reunite after a year of separation. Lai returns to her hometown from
the city where she takes her secondary studies, while Hani is struggling with
her own education from the local high school. As they start off from a series
of awkward confrontations, there unfold
secrets that they have never shared with each other, not until now.
BAGO ILIBING
Written by: Meynard Manansala & U.Z. Eliserio
Directed by: JK Anicoche
Featuring: Sarah Galazar, Meila Rose Romero-Payawal Joel Saracho, Ernie Concepcion &
Kiko's uncle abused her. Now he is dead. Kiko
can finally bury the shame and the pain. But first, she has to reveal the truth
to her mother, who, unfortunately, has secrets of her own. A testament to the
strength of children and the power of women, Bago Ilibing is a play about love, loss, and distributing snacks at
Filipino wakes.
SET E
(Virgin Labfest 9 Re-visited)
Sunday June 29, 3PM & 8PM
Thursday July 3, 8PM
Friday July 4, 3PM
IMBISIBOL
Written by: Herlyn Alegre
Directed by: Law Fajardo
Featuring: Ces Quesada, Bernardo Bernardo, Junjun Quintana & Onyl Torres
The play is set in 1992 on an ordinary Sunday in Tokyo. Two Filipino friends, Benjie and Manuel, both illegal workers in Japan, gather at the house of their Filipina friend, Manang Linda, to collect the letters their families send to fictional names they created to hide their true identities. At the middle of the happy lunch, Rodel, another young Filipino illegal worker, barges in declaring he had just killed a man who threatened to report him to the police. His friends suggest that he moves deeper underground by moving to another prefecture, finding a new day job, cutting ties with his family and
friends, keeping a low profile, changing his name, and staying hidden for good. Would Rodel choose to stay invisible not only to the police but also to his family and friends to keep his freedom and continue working for his family’s sake?
ISANG DAAN
Written by: Liza Magtoto
Directed by: Ed Lacson Jr.
Featuring: Kiki Baento, Jeslon Bay, Thea Gloria, Karenina Haniel, Jean Judith Javier, Mario Mendoza Jr, Meila Romero-Payawal, Noel Taylo & Adrienne Vergara
Ting has a Katipunero hero for an ancestor. In fact, a street is named after him. He wants his Fil-am daughterto feel that Pinoy pride by showing her that. The bad news is that the street will soon give way to a highway which is being built through a mayor's initiative. Ting's Fil-am daughter Bituin couldn't care less, but Ting wants to preserve the legacy of his great-grandfather. An informal settler and an NGO worker also seem to have reasons to stop the mayor from building this highway. What's in this street anyway that they have to fight for it? Perhaps a quest for immortality, survival or something else?
KUNG PAANO AKO NAGING LEADING LADY
Written by: Carlo Vergara
Directed by: Chris Martinez
Featuring: Hans Eckstein, Skyzx Labastilla & Kiki Baento
Being a maid is tough enough...
...but when Mely lands a job under a group of unconventional employers, she steps up to the unique challenge for the sake of her family. When Mely's sister Viva enters the picture, Mely is reminded of a disturbing past, made complicated by an unsettling romantic revelation. All this in a tragicomedy about domestic help, sibling rivalry, and shattered dreams.
For more details on Virgin Labfest, check out the TicketWorld website at www.ticketworld.com.ph or call us at 8919999
