For years, Virgin Labfest has served as the creative playground for newbie and veteran playwrights, actors, and directors to work on their respective crafts. It prides itself as “an annual festival of untried, untested, and unstaged plays.”
Now in its 19th year, the festival entitled “Pintog,” takes place at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Ignacio Gomez (Black Box Theater) and features 12 new plays, plus three from the previous year. These are separated into five different sets.
In addition to these plays, there are also workshops and talkback sessions for playwrights, staged readings, and many more theater-related activities. We were fortunate enough to catch Set E: Sagad, a series of revisited plays from the previous Virgin Labfest.
Set E begins with Dominador Gonzales: National Artist, a “bonggacious” display of emotions following Oliver (Bong Cabrera) and Dominador (Joel Saracho). It is directed by George de Jesus and written by Dingdong Novenario. Oliver is a corporate slave hoping to jump back into the playwriting scene by collaborating with his former mentor Dmon, who is slated to become a National Artist. What starts as a playful, back-and-forth banter between the two, remembering simpler times, poking fun at the modern theater scene, and playful innuendo, fueled partly by the presence of Dominador’s helper Edward (AJ Sison), slowly transforms into a vitriolic exchange of past trauma once Oliver starts to dig up his complicated history with Dominador.
Next up is Room 209 by Zheg Arban, directed by Delphine Buencamino. Here, we step into the boots of Cadet 4th Class Anghelo Perez (Jao Catarus) and his time at the Philippine Military Academy. It plays out like a mini-documentary at first, as Anghelo’s older brother Captain Anthony Perez (Gino Ramirez) takes the role of a narrator explaining the arduous boot camp training our soldiers must undergo. Watching the actors feels like witnessing actual soldiers in training, based on how swift and precise their movements are on stage. Overall, Room 209 is a heavy-hitting play that leaves quite an impact on its viewers.
Finally, Set E wraps things up with Andrew Estacio’s Ang Awit ng Dalagang Marmol directed by Nazer Degayo Salcedo. Acting as a play within a play, Ang Awit ng Dalagang Marmol is a fun behind-the-scenes look at what goes into preparing a play. In it, we follow a theater crew getting all set for the grand opening of a new theater by putting out a play about the historical song “Jocelynang Baliwag (Kundiman of the Revolution).” A dramaturg (Kath Castillo) enters and starts to point out inaccuracies seen throughout the nearly finished play. It leads audience members to wonder how much creative liberty artists take when dealing with historical figures and events? It’s fun, energetic, and insightful as it can leave audience members learning a thing or two about our history or theater production. A fan favorite from the crowd is the director character played masterfully by Adrienne Vergara. Vergara has an infectious energy when playing her character, and other cast members roll along exceedingly well.
These three plays are just some of the many theatrical productions you can catch at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Ignacio Gomez (Black Box Theater) until June 30. Tickets go for P600 for regular seats and P800 for premium seats via TicketWorld and at the CCP Black Box Theater. One ticket lets you catch all three shows for one set. You can also get a festival pass that will allow you to watch shows within a selected week.