Virgin Labfest 4 on its Last Weekend
7 Hours of Virgin Labfest On 03 July 2008, a late morning text to director George de Jesus revealed that his directorial play ‘Ang Kuwento ng Menginga ng New York City na Kamukha ng Bee Stung Lips ni Julia Roberts’ was going to have its last performance that day at 3pm, so I hurriedly traveled to CCP in Manila.
What was originally meant to be a viewing of a trilogy of plays with the themes of Pagbabago, Paghahanap, Pagkakataon (Changing, Searching, Opportunity), became a marathon of Virgin Labfest 4 activities that lasted for seven hours.
Ang Kuwento ng Menginga ng New York City na Kamukha ng Bee Stung Lips ni Julia Roberts Ricci Chan combined the tragic and comic elements of his character Dennis/Denise, a transvestite who harbors an obsessive love and passion for Victor, played by Xeno Alejandro, and undergoes a sex change in order to win him, only to find out that Victor’s promise to love him/her with the acquisition of a vagina is a joke. The bigger than life one act play is written by George Vail Kabrisante.
Ang Bayot, Ang Meranao at Ang Habal-Habal Sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte Arnold Reyes sported an accent for his role of Hamid, which I assume is based on Lanao del Norte residents, which was unique, enlightening and charming. The way he would say the word Habal-habal, which refers to a mode of transportation that balances six people on a motorcycle, still skips and hops through my mind, flitting teasingly with its humorous or sensual undertones.
In the play written by Rogelio Braga, Arnold Reyes’ Hamid combined wit, intelligence and muscles to charm his co-actor Joey Paras’ character, Bambi, to finally ride his Habal-habal, and in the interim managed to discuss pigs, goats, finding work, discrimination, violence and the peace and order situation in Lanao del Norte.
Gumamela The beautiful Phil Noble played a character named Butch, a man waiting for his lover to show up for his 40th birthday, and, while waiting, in his paranoia, examines his romantic history and comes to the realization that he must love himself, and, like the flower gumamela, he can “bloom” when crushed. A perfect line from Sex and the City’s Samantha comes to mind with the J. Dennis Teodosio play, spoken to a cheating lover, “I love you, but I love me more.”
MA-YI Theater Company Stage Reading An exquisitely blocked stage reading by director Ralph Pena brought to life four excerpts from the MA-YI Theater Company repertoire, three of which are included in the anthology Savage Stage, namely, Project: Balangiga by Ralph Pena and Sung Rno, Middle Finger by Han Ong, PeregriNasyon by Chris Millado and a preview of Ralph Pena’s Nebraska, which will premiere in 2009 in New York City.
Theatre luminaries Shamaine Centenera, Irma Adlawan, Nonie Buencamino and Joel Torre, ably supported by a young cast, played the numerous characters from the four plays.
Ang Kalungkutan ng mga Reyna Shamaine Centenera not only played at least four characters from the MA-YI Theater stage reading, but also Floy Quintos’ Yolanda in Ang Kalungkutan ng mga Reyna, which marks his debut in the Virgin Labfest milieu. Shamaine barely had an hour in between shows to breathe while preparing for the next trilogy of plays with the themes of Pagkagahaman, Panlilinlang, Pananampalataya. It was a bravura performance from one of the best actresses in the country. BRAVA!
Virgin Labfest 4 Tickets at Ticketworld Virgin Labfest 4 performances are at 10am, 3pm and 8pm from 04-06 July 2008. Tickets are only Php 206 and are available at Ticketworld. Please call 891.9999 or click here for a list of the Ticketworld outlets.
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