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Tag: Virgin Lab Fest

  • The Stripped down and Special Reading Performances of VLFXXI: Hubo’t Hubad

    The Stripped down and Special Reading Performances of VLFXXI: Hubo’t Hubad

    Apart from the must-see main features, the Virgin Labfest (VLF) continues to expand its offerings with stripped-down reading performances of selected scripts from the VLFXXI: HUBO’T HUBAD submissions, reading performances of works from the diaspora, and a showcase from the VLF Writing Fellowship Workshop.

    The staged readings are composed of three sets, each featuring two scripts selected from the VLFXXI submissions. For Set 1, Jose Victor Torres’ Mga Tatsulok and M. Manalastas’ The Devoured will take the VLF stage on June 12, 2026. Set 2 takes the stage on June 19, 2026, featuring Dingdong Novenario’s Manang and Rafael Jimenez’s Suor. Set 3, meanwhile, will spotlight Juan Ekis’ Kasal(anan) and Jay Fernandez’s Ang Huli on June 26, 2026. 

    16. SET 1 MGA TATSULOK. SET 1 MGA TATSULOK

    Mga Tatsulok follows the lives of three characters: Beng, a single mother struggling to cope with the death of her only son; Allan, her live-in partner who tries to keep their relationship together despite the tragedy; and Marky, Beng’s deceased son, whose memory continues to haunt her. 

    17. SET 1 THE DEVOURED. SET 1 THE DEVOURED

    The Devoured centers on Raymond, a celebrated author and esteemed professor, whose world is turned upside down when his wife, Gloria, reveals that she is leaving him.

    18. SET 2 MANANG. SET 2 MANANG

    Manang explores themes of domestic labor, gratitude, and the unspoken tensions within families. 

    19. SET 2 SUOR. SET 2 SUOR

    Suor tells the story of Francis, an atheist conductor mourning the death of his grandfather, who meets Anna, a nun with a deep interest in music. As they grow closer, they begin to navigate and make sense of their intersecting worlds.

    20. SET 3 ANG KASALANAN. SET 3 ANG KASALANAN

    Ang Kasal(anan) follows Xandra and Simon as they prepare for their wedding. The story explores the complexities of relationships, marriage, unraveling, and love, suggesting that love is more than just an emotion, it is a decision that is not easy to make.

    21. SET 3 ANG HULI. SET 3 ANG HULI

    Ang Huli centers on a confrontation between Andy and Bene in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring how the crisis reshaped their lives, intensified the struggle for daily survival, and left their “situationship” suspended in uncertainty.

    The special staged readings will feature works of Ihot Sinlay Cihek’s How Romantic: A Guide To Modern Pangcah Lifefrom the Taiwan International Play Reading Festival on June 10, 2026 and Prison Dancer from the Canada’s National Arts Centre on June 21 and 24, respectively. 

    All staged readings will be at 5pm, at the Bulwagang Roberto Chabet, 3/F Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Blackbox Theater). Admission is free to the public, on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Also part of the lineup is the culminating presentation of the VLF Writing Fellowship, a two-week mentorship program focused on the study and practice of writing for the stage under the guidance of award-winning playwright Glenn Sevilla Mas with direction by Rafael Jimenez, slated on June 28, 5pm, at the TIG Bulwagang Roberto Chabet.

    The VLFXXI: HUBO’T HUBAD main features are scheduled at 2 p.m. matinee and 8 p.m. gala from June 3 to 28, 2026, from Wednesday to Sunday. Tickets are priced at Php1,000(regular) and Php1,200 (premium), available for purchase at the CCP Box Office and Ticket World. 

    For more updates on the festival schedule and ticket-selling, visit the official pages of VLF, CCP, Tanghalang Pilipino Foundation Inc., and Writers’ Bloc across Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.

  • VLFXXI: Hubo’t Hubad unwraps the human soul with 12 ‘virgin’ scripts

    VLFXXI: Hubo’t Hubad unwraps the human soul with 12 ‘virgin’ scripts

    The Virgin Labfest (VLF) officially comes of age in its 21st edition, stripping down all pretense of innocence while showcasing the bold Filipino voice and spirit. As it nurtures emerging and established playwrights, directors, actors, and designers, it revels in the artistic and creative desires expressed through fearless storytelling.

    00. VLFXXI Main Poster

    Guided by the theme Hubo’t Hubad, this year’s VLF reflects on the many ways people reveal themselves. It invites audiences to engage with works that expose layers of identity, memory, and vulnerability.

    Offering a deeper understanding of the human experience, the country’s theater festival of untried, untested, and unstaged one-act plays returns with 12 “virgin” scripts this June 3 to 28, 2026, at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Black Box Theater).

    Unrestrained tales of the human experience

    Featuring new works by eight “virgin” playwrights and four returning playwrights, VLFXXI: HUBO’T HUBAD elaborates on the unbridled truths of humanity’s essence after blooming into a passionate community of untold narratives over the last two decades.

    01. SET A PASSWORD123 PILIPINAS321. SET A PASSWORD123 PILIPINAS321

    Anthony Kim Vergara’s PASSWORD123, PILIPINAS321 centers on Blackteam, an underground cyberspace operation disguised as a technical support center. With his cousin leading the team’s troubling methods, the lead character questions his chosen path as a cybersecurity expert and as a Filipino.

    02. SET A HUMAN RIGHTS STORY OF THE YEAR. SET A HUMAN RIGHTS STORY OF THE YEAR

    A reporter is about to receive an international award in HUMAN RIGHTS STORY OF THE YEAR by Elijah Felice Rosales. At her farewell party, a former colleague declares she does not deserve the recognition.

    03. SET A PATAYING ANG MGA SUROT. SET A PATAYING ANG MGA SUROT

    PATAYIN ANG MGA SUROT by Floyd Scott Tiogangco occurs on the last night of Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency. While an Oplan Tokhang operation unfolds, tension builds as a couple conducts their own extermination of bedbugs.

    04. SET B BALOS. SET B BALOS

    A wounded fighter stumbles into a small Marawi hospital in Neil Arkhe Azcuna’s BALOS. Because of his arrival, four medical workers must decide between staying silent to save lives and speaking up to risk everyone’s refuge.

    05. SET B HARAM. SET B HARAM

    In Alab Usman’s HARAM, three queer Muslims struggle to manage faith and love across borders and barriers.

    06. SET B LUALHATI. SET B LUALHATI

    A former nun turned Philosophy professor and Gab Mactal’s LUALHATI meet again. Their memories of faith and romance emerge on the last night of the wake held at the Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn convent.

    07. SET C ELEHIYA. SET C ELEHIYA

    Dustin Celestino’s ELEHIYA is an impressionistic montage of conversations of fathers and sons that could have taken place but did not.

    08. SET C SHES ELECTRIC. SET C SHES ELECTRIC

    A former womanizer meets the love of his life in SHE’S ELECTRIC by Ron Evangelista. However, his friends make a discovery that leads to an insightful discussion on the sexual and philosophical nature of relationships.

    09. SET C BETAMAX. SET C BETAMAX

    Faith Ferrer Lacanlale’s BETAMAX follows a woman who begins to see “human pigs” after a minor road accident. As she ascends to madness, the darkness surrounding her family is brought to light.

    10. SET D FOOTPRINT. SET D FOOTPRINT

    A grieving family turns back time with a virtual archive of memories in FOOTPRINT by JEROM CANLAS. While they scramble to make sense of a tragedy, their unspoken feelings inflict a much harsher truth.

    11. SET D TAKSYAPO. SET D TAKSYAPO

    Set in Tarlac, two strangers uncover an unexpected connection by exchanging tales of love and disappointment within the walls of a rage booth in John Lapus’ TAKSYAPO!.

    12. SET D BUHAGHAG. SET D BUHAGHAG

    Gerald Manuel’s BUHAGHAG follows a young lady who is haunted by a long-haired enigma that corners her into choosing between self-preservation and self-destruction.

    13. SET E POLAR COORDINATES. SET E POLAR COORDINATES

    In addition to the new plays, VLFXXI: HUBO’T HUBAD revisits three stories from last year’s edition: Ade Valenzona’s POLAR COORDINATES, Rolin Cadallo Obina’s THE LATE MR. REAL, and Siege Malvar’s PRESIDENTIAL SUITE #2.

    Valenzona’s POLAR COORDINATES follows a confused student after he fails his Math exam. With the fate of his fragile family and strange feelings for his tutor piling on, he struggles to carve his own path.

    14. SET E THE LATE MR REAL. SET E THE LATE MR REAL

    Obina’s THE LATE MR. REAL takes place in an isolation facility during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a wall separating them, an estranged couple reexamines the clashing views that led to their marriage’s failure.

    15. SET E PRESIDENTIAL SUITE 2. SET E PRESIDENTIAL SUITE 2

    A senator is accused of money laundering in Malvar’s PRESIDENTIAL SUITE #2. While she recovers from a heart attack, her children rally for the best course of action to salvage their reputations.

    Peeling off innocence and refining raw talent

    True to its core of celebrating both budding and veteran playwrights, VLFXXI: HUBO’T HUBAD continues to nourish its garden of talent through its educational components: Staged Readings, Writing Fellowship Program and Showcase, Theater Talks, and Playwrights’ Fair.

    Script submissions from VLFXXI come to life through stripped-down reading performances in Staged Readings. Jose Victor Torres’ MGA TATSULOK, M. Manalastas’ THE DEVOURED, Dingdong Novenario’s MANANG, Rafael Jimenez’s SUOR, Juan Ekis’ KASAL(ANAN), and Jay Fernandez’s ANG HULI take the stage.

    The VLF Writing Fellowship Program, a two-week mentorship on dramatic writing for the stage headed by award-winning playwright Glenn Sevilla Mas, culminates in a thrilling showcase. The Taiwan International Play Reading Festival (TIPR) will also hold a special staged reading of Ihot Sinlay Cihek’s HOW ROMANTIC: A GUIDE TO MODERN PANGCAH LIFE, alongside the National Art Centre’s PRISON DANCER.

    A forum series on the creative processes behind theater, Theater Talks will feature TIPR with speaker Cheng-Han Wu. Jin Yim and Cui Yin Mok of the Asian Producers’ Platform share their insights, together with Shizuoka Performing Arts Center’s Takuya Maehara.

    Meanwhile, VLF founder and Palanca-awardee Rody Vera, Liza Magtoto, and Glenn Sevilla Mas host Playwrights’ Fair, peeking into the minds of veteran playwrights. Guest speakers Tanya Lopez, Dessa Quesada-Palm, and Sari Saysay explore the essence of Visayan theater, herstories, and settings in the nation’s current artistic landscape.

    Uncovering new narratives charged with immense thirst for artistry, VLFXXI: HUBO’T HUBAD shows are scheduled at 2 p.m. matinee and 8 p.m. gala, while its educational components are slated at 5 p.m. from June 3 to 28, 2026. Tickets are priced at Php800 (regular) and Php1000 (premium), available for purchase at the CCP Box Office and Ticket World. For more updates on the festival schedule and ticket-selling, visit the official pages of VLF, CCP, Tanghalang Pilipino Foundation Inc., and Writers’ Bloc across Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.