Limelight

An early Shakespearean comedy and a towering work of German literature, three one-act plays by a Palanca Hall of Fame inductee, and a drama about a postwar Filipino artist best known for his unusual depiction of Jesus are set to be staged by the Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (Dulaang UP or DUP) for its 41st season.

First of three parts After a one-year absence, full-length feature films returned to the competition section of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, which, on its 12th year, has become the granddaddy of all indie-film festivals in the country.

Some of the country’s most talented and fresh-faced “triple threats” from the English-language musical-theater world take center stage in a concert titled Triple Threats: The Ensemble ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’, to be held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’s (CCP) Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino on Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

For the second straight year, the Embassy of the Argentine Republic, in cooperation with the Film Development Council of the Philippines and Shangri-La Plaza, will hold the Argentine Film Festival at the Shang Cineplex from Aug. 18 to 21.

The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is set to highlight 2016 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress winner Jaclyn Jose by showing three of her earlier movies at the festival’s 12th edition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) this week.

By Nikki Garde-Torres  Conclusion In 2005 Rody Vera teamed up with Herbie Go, then the artistic director of Tanghalang Pilipino, the Cultural Center of the Philippines’s (CCP) resident theater company. Together, they conceived of a festival of new works, to be staged as part of the company’s season. Thus, the Virgin Labfest (VLF) was born. 

Television host Iya Villania, who is scheduled to give birth to her first child—a boy—with TV host-husband Drew Arellano in a few months, has advised expectant mothers like her to keep themselves fit and avoid negative people. 

By Nikki Garde-Torres / Photos by Alvin I. Dacanay First of two parts Last July 17, the 12th Virgin Labfest (VLF) ended with the usual mix of tears, hugs, laughter, and tumultuous applause. Tradition dictated that the titles of the three plays to be “revisited”—that is, restaged—next year be announced, and they were indeed announced: Ang Sugilanon ng Kabiguan ni Epefania …

Carlo Obispo’s latest film 1-2-3 will open the 12th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on Aug. 5. 

By Alvin I. Dacanay  Last Wednesday, award-winning actress and singer Agot Isidro marked another personal milestone—her 50th birthday—not by throwing a grand and celebrity-studded party, but by having a quiet breakfast with her family at a low-key restaurant in Marikina City, where she grew up.