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This Wednesday, the 13th Virgin Labfest (VLF) will begin its three-week run, and like in previous years, theatergoers in and outside of Metro Manila shall flock to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to watch many of Philippine theater’s finest talents try to bring a dozen untried, untested, and unstaged one-act plays to captivating life in a time of division and uncertainty.
VLF veterans wrote the majority of these diverse new works, chosen from 192 entries submitted in late February and first announced in April. These are Oggie Arcenas’ Loveteam, Layeta P. Bucoy’s Si Dr. Dolly Dalisay at ang Mga Ladybugs, Eljay Castro Deldoc’s Pilipinas Kong Mahal with All the Overcoat, Maynard Manansala and U Z. Eliserio’s Hindi Ako si Darna, Dingdong Novenario’s Nothing But Dreams, Rick Patriarca’s Birdcage, Carlo Vergara’s Dear and Unhappy, and Eliza Victoria’s Ang Bahay sa Gitna ng Kawalan.
The remaining four were penned by “virgins”—or, at least, newcomers to the celebrated theater festival’s main line-up: Adrian Crisostomo Ho’s Sincerity Bikers’ Club, Ryan Machado’s Ang Mga Puyong, Sari Saysay’s Ang Bata sa Bus Stop, and Joshua Lim So’s Boses ng Masa.
These plays will be “devirginized” not at its usual venue, the 250-seat Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater), but on the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) stage, which shall have a seating capacity of more than 300.
The Batute theater will continue to be used, though. Three of the best plays from last year’s edition—the “Revisited” set—will be restaged there for an unprecedented 12 performances. These are Alexandra May Cardoso’s Ang Sugilanon ng Kabiguan ni Epefania, Dominique La Victoria’s Ang Bata sa Drum, and Vergara’s Mula sa Kulimliman.
Also to be tested onstage are five works chosen for one-night staged readings at the Tanghalang Amado V. Hernandez (CCP Conference Room): Jamie Bautista’s Point and Click, Nicko de Guzman’s Vertigo, Rolin Migyuel Cadallo Obina’s Ang Pag-uulyanin ni Olivia Mendoza, Fatrick Tabada’s Walang Forever Virus, and Kevin Tabora’s Andiyan Lang.
Star power
Ever since the CCP, its resident theater company Tanghalang Pilipino (TP), and eminent playwrights’ group Writer’s Bloc established the VLF in 2005, they have attracted not only recognizable names in theater, but also in film and television, to participate in the event. This year’s edition—which has Wagas, or “pure”, as its theme—is especially noteworthy for its increased star power.
Among debuting VLF actors, the one getting much attention is Tetchie Agbayani, who plays a Darna past her prime in Manansala and Eliserio’s latest play—their fourth together—which also features fellow first-timers John “Sweet” Lapus and Kim Molina.
All three have performed onstage before. Agbayani appeared in a Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta)-produced trilogy of plays, titled Seks, Susi at Sangkalan, in 1994, while Lapus’ theater credits include his role as rose vendor Sweet in Chris Martinez’s Palanca-award winning comedy Last Order sa Penguin (a piece of trivia: current VLF festival director Tuxqs Rutaquio originated that play’s lead character, also named, well, Tuxqs).
As for Molina, she is, of course, best known for her Gawad Buhay-winning role as Aileen in Peta’s blockbuster musical Rak of Aegis and for playing Viva in Dalanghita Productions’ musical version of Vergara’s Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady, which originated in the Labfest.
Also acting for the first time in the festival are local music and theater icon Celeste Legaspi, who plays a woman who refuses to sign a report written by her entomologist-daughter on the initial phase of an important project that’s in danger of losing its funding in Dr. Dolly Dalisay; and screen stars Elizabeth Oropesa and Ma. Isabel Lopez, who are part of the strong cast of Olivia Mendoza, with the former essaying the title role, an aging woman whose worsening dementia betrays a startling secret.
Award-winning directors
There are also new additions to the ranks of VLF directors. Of these, the most recognized is Carlos Siguion-Reyna, who is directing Novenario’s sixth festival play, whose premise is similar to the Oscar-winning 1967 film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and which features Labfest veterans Audie Gemora and Madeleine Nicolas.
Despite being a festival newbie, this is the prize-winning filmmaker’s third time to direct a play, after 2012’s Walang Sugat and last year’s Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-araw, both for TP.
Joining Siguion-Reyna on the list are two actors who nabbed best-director trophies at the recent 9th Gawad Buhay awards: Michael Williams, who’s helming Loveteam, about an actor desperate to be in the spotlight again; and Topper Fabregas, who’s taking on Ang Bata sa Bus Stop after performing in Novenario’s VLF entries Digital Divide in 2012 and Wendy Wants to be a Housewife in 2014.
Completing this group are TV commercial director Ricky Villabona, who’s directing former Labfest virgins Cris Villonco and Bernardo Bernardo in Dear and Unhappy, which explores Josephine Bracken’s character in a magical-fantasy context; and frequent VLF performer Jonathan Tadioan, who helms Dr. Dolly Dalisay and also appears in Mula sa Kulimliman.
From stage to screen
This year’s VLF comes as it strengthens its reach overseas and more filmmakers are turning to it for source material. San Francisco-based Bindlestiff Studio is holding its Tagalog: 3 One-act Plays in Tagalog festival for the second straight year by staging Ang Bata sa Drum and the Labfest versions of Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady and Vincent de Jesus’ gender-switching torch musical Changing Partners from July 13 to 29, 2017.
Speaking of Leading Lady and Changing Partners, their full-length versions shall be turned into films soon. Vergara himself is writing the screen adaptation of his musical, which shall by directed by Saving Sally filmmaker Avid Liongoren and produced by Regal Entertainment. De Jesus’ lauded work, meanwhile, is being adapted by Water Lemon screenwriter Lilit Reyes for English Only, Please and Ilawod helmer Dan Villegas. It’s reported that the entire cast—Agot Isidro, Sandino Martin, Anna Luna, and Jojit Lorenzo—would reprise their roles in the movie version.
All these welcome additions and developments only reinforce and complement what makes the VLF truly great: it presents theater practitioners a liberating space to venture out of their comfort zone, to try to take risks that may or may not pay off. Many theatergoers respond to the Labfest because they get to see playwrights, actors, and directors become braver than usual. And in a time marked by fear and constant bloodshed, the courage they’re expected to show starting on Wednesday should be treasured all the more.
Virgin Labfest 13: Wagas runs from June 28 to July 16, 2017, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. For festival schedules, play synopses, details on the cast and artistic staff, and tickets, visit here. For more information, visit the Virgin Labfest official Facebook page.