Tag: VLF

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

June 15, 2026
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!.

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.

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.

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.

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.

May 4, 2026
From School to Script to Stage: Meet The Writing Fellows Of VLF Writing Fellowship Program in The Visayas Year 2

Theater is life happening right before the eyes. As such, well-written scripts and stage directions are the backbone of all successful plays and arguably the most important tools in effective storytelling.

This coming November 7 to 18, 2023, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), through its Artist Training Division, will embark on yet another quest to help local playwrights improve their craft through the Virgin Labfest Writing Fellowship Program in the Visayas Year 2, a two-week mentorship program on the study and practice of dramatic writing for the stage, organized in partnership with The Writer’s Bloc and The Performance Laboratory, Inc.

Following the basic curriculum observed by the Virgin Labfest Writing Fellowship Program in Manila, eight writing fellows from the regions will be trained by multi-award-winning playwright Glenn Sevilla Mas through hybrid (online and onsite) sessions at the Negros Museum in Bacolod.

Andy Abellar, Ursula David, Jalene Dumancas, and Kym Gelvero are among this year’s budding playwrights accepted into the program. All based in the Visayas region, these upcoming fellows submitted promising works that demonstrated their talent in bringing stories to life using their regional dialects.

For Abellar, whose relationship with theater “is like a childhood friend of mine” that developed into something more during his high school years, playwriting is a meaningful and powerful art form able to tackle social issues that need to be addressed. As an active member of the Kanlaon Theater Guild, Abellar understands “how much power a storyteller could hold in advocating for their cause.” He shared: “To be honest, the technicalities of writing drain me. I have to gather a lot of energy to finish a script. But the idea of delivering my cause through this medium drives me to write more. As a theater artist, having a script that holds a powerful message surpasses the tiresome trainings and productions. At the end of every performance, it is always a satisfaction knowing that you have inspired even just one or two people.”

David, the co-founder of the independent non-profit production team DuLaab, likewise believes that “arts and theater are not merely a design or performance” but rather means “to touch the lives of many” through eye-opening masterpieces that carry value and deeper meaning. She acknowledges that the performing arts, and by virtue, playwriting, “has a longstanding impact on our culture, for the art itself of an artist is a reflection of their identity and their own unique perspective towards the world.”

Dumancas agreed: “[The arts and theater] is not only about entertainment, but a creative way of sharing your message or voice to the world, a way to vent out your emotions and mind. Arts are the embodiments of human nature, and its beauty is what keeps us alive and breathing.” She cites her membership at the Kanlaon Theater Guild as a catalyst for helping her tap into her passion for creative writing. “The beauty of creating a reality or what I think is reality for me is what made me want to be a playwright. It creates a story on what is untold for most other people.”

For Gelvero, a recent education graduate with a penchant for writing poems in candlelit rooms, “it’s the strong feeling that I have so many stories to tell, so many experiences to share, and so many imaginations to bring to life” that encouraged her to pursue the art of playwriting. She shared that while she believes “society is reflected in art,” only “the artist makes it personal.”

These four Writing Fellows regard their acceptance into the writing fellowship program as an opportunity to explore greater horizons outside of their usual domains. Abellar shared that “the writing fellowship program is a great platform to give voice to aspiring writers like me in delivering our work and cause in a broader space.” This sentiment is echoed by Ursula, who hopes that “[the program] will become our arena to grow as playwrights and for us to have a harmonious and fruitful experience.”

Besides sharing the above idealistic expectations with the other fellows, Dumancas and Gelvero are also looking forward to learning more about the technical aspects of playwriting during the upcoming program. “[The program will] hopefully help me create a bigger mindset and imagination on how to create and build a world when it comes to writing pieces,” said Dumancas.

Being accepted into the program, Gelvero hopes to “establish in me the core foundations of writing plays, the points to consider, what to do, what to avoid. It will also be a good practice and application.”

In line with this, the fellows are looking forward to seeing their works performed in a staged reading at the end of the program, on November 18, 5pm, at the Negros Museum in Bacolod. But until then, the four fellows are currently preparing to face new challenges in their careers as aspiring writers.

October 28, 2023