The Virgin Labfest 3: An Overdue Review

First things first: CONGRATULATIONS to all those involved in the third Virgin Labfest, especially the playwrights. And THANKS to Rody (Vera) and Dennis (Marasigan) for organizing it; to the CCP, TP, NCCA, and Japan Foundation Manila for supporting it; to Gibbs Cadiz for promoting it online and off; and most especially to those who watched, esp. those who paid for their tickets. Ü

It's incredible how much the VLF has grown. From eight plays in 2005, this year saw eighteen works staged for the first time. And the variety! From the very wholesome to the very adult, this year's crop truly has something for everyone. This should bode well for Philippine theater.

But for a festival meant (at least in theory) to showcase Filipino playwrights at their best, how come the directors, generally speaking, fared better? Perhaps the observation a friend of mine shared with me a few days ago was correct: the materials they had worked with, regardless the quality, let them shine.

Still, there's much to celebrate. VLF3 introduced audiences to two new playwrights, Oggie Arcenas and James Cansanay. More talents from other theater companies joined in this time around, José Estrella being the best among them. The soft-spoken Debbie Tan, with her first Filipino-language play, finally showed her baliw side (one cannot be a Writers Bloc member and not be mad in some way). And Lallie Bucoy, in my mind, finally got the acclaim she so deserves with her latest play.

And below are others who I think deserve praise for providing VLF3's brightest moments:


Festival "Queens": My Padir is an OCW's Rommel/Riki Benedicto (left) and Ricky Rivero

BEST MALE PERFORMER: Ricky Rivero, in George Vail Kabristante's My Padir is an OCW

Even on paper, the role of Joanna Streisand is one any actor, straight or gay, will find difficult to portray. Joanna may be a tranvestite, but he must still exude a certain amount of masculinity, especially in that crucial scene where he unwittingly rapes his own son. The way I see it, that moment wouldn't be credible without it. In a way, he's like a spiritual cousin of Manuela's transvestite ex-husband in Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother. I'm happy to say that the now-svelte onscreen/offscreen talent Ricky Rivero nails the part. His physique is unmistakably male, but with his high-pitched voice and all-yellow getup he's a revelation. And he totally gets the play's inherent campiness and responds accordingly.

Runner-up: Rommel (or Riki) Benedicto, in George Vail Kabristante's My Padir is an OCW

As the unfortunate Junjun, his role may not be as demanding as his co-star's, but I thought Rommel (or is it Riki?) Benedicto handled the many shifts his character makes very well. And when he came out as the gorgeous Joanna Streisand Jr. in that final scene--my jaw just dropped. I'm sure I'm not the only one.


Lovely-Ness: (L-R) Ellas Inocentes' Ness Roque, Lovely Balili and director Tuqxs Rutaquio

BEST FEMALE PERFORMER(S): Lovely Balili and Ness Roque, in Layeta Bucoy's Ellas Inocentes

Several recent graduates from the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) have been earning acclaim in a number of TP productions since last year, and I'm very glad to add Lovely Balili and Ness Roque to that list. Considering their appearance, it's hard to believe they're actually college freshmen. But perhaps that's an important reason their performances, as pre-teen sisters growing up in a very adult and very disturbing environment, were so incredibly credible.

Runner-up: Sigrid Bernardo, in Debbie Tan's Teroristang Labandera and Job Pagsibigan's May Bumubulong

Sigrid Bernardo's performance as a clothes-conscious Tsinoy matriarch in Tan's very amusing play convinces me that she's more effective in comic roles than in dramatic ones (her lesbian role in Edward Trespeces' 2005 digital film Trabaho, for example). More importantly, she's better off onstage than off (her direction of Lani Montreal's Sister-Out-Law, staged in the first VLF, left me cold). And her funny portrayal of the teen tramp in Pagsibigan's interesting but flawed play only reinforces this view. What she did with those roles, especially since they're really just glorified sketches at best, was not that easy to pull off.

BEST ENSEMBLE: The cast of Yoji Sakate's Three Sisters: A Noh Drama

The casting of such amazing talents like Joel Garcia, Jojit Lorenzo and Mailes Kanapi definitely helped in strengthening this Japanese take of Anton Chekhov's classic drama, but I also credit the brilliant José Estrella, an undisputed master in managing ensembles, for ultimately making this production work.

Runner-up: The cast of Allan Lopez's Kasaysayan

In my mind, actors who perform in any of Allan Lopez's envelope-pushing, no-holds-barred, tough-to-take plays deserve to be saluted. The "History" boys are no exception.

BEST DIRECTOR: Issa Lopez, for George Vail Kabristante's My Padir is an OCW

This is a tough one to call, for this year's VLF, generally speaking, saw more directors faring better than playwrights. But Ms. Lopez is ultimately my pick, partly because the play she took on really posed some interesting challenges. What really clinched it for me, though, is that she recognized the material's camp potential, and tapped on it. I had mentioned to George before that his play is like Almodovar's movies crossed with that of (the late Joey) Gosengfiao's. And her approach to the play proved my observation.

Runner-up: Tuqxs Rutaquio, for Layeta Bucoy's Ellas Inocentes

Third time's the charm for Tuqxs Rutaquio, who's lucky to get a very strong play to direct this year. And he certainly didn't mess it up. Definitely his strongest directorial effort to date.

BEST PLAY: Layeta Bucoy's Ellas Inocentes

Out of the fourteen plays I watched this year (traffic kept me from watching the first performance of He-She-Me-It and fatigue prevented me from watching the children's plays), Ellas Inocentes, I believe, is the only one that truly worked on every level. The material, the performances, the direction--they're all thoroughly realized. No other VLF3 play really comes close in that sense. I wouldn't be surprised if this play will be restaged next year as part of "The Best of Virgin Labfest 3."

¡Que Barberidad!

Amazing. Unbelievable. Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) General Manager Robert Dean S. Barbers is really something else. The Manila Times exposé last March barely made a ripple among the majority, but it ultimately prompted the Department of Tourism to issue a "harsher" TRO. A TRO that Barbers has apparently defied, as one can see from the picture below, which I took after shooting inside and around the Rizal Shrine last Tuesday.


Mind-boggling, isn't it? The admirably indefatigable Ivan Henares had already written about it, as did Baldagyi Hatipoglu in a recent post. I don't know if posting about it here will help, but right now I'm very alarmed by it.