Spotlight: What We Think of the Virgin Labfest 2023

(SPOT.ph) Since its inception in 2005, the Virgin Labfest has been known as that annual festival that produces "untried, untested, and unstaged plays." These three words, however, don't always mean that all these drafts are unpolished. If anything, "untried, untested, and unstaged" just mean that the Philippine playwriting scene is as fruitful as ever with the debut of up-and-coming playwrights and the revelation of new material from the more established writers.

This year, in particular, presented a significantly worthy-of-the-CCP-stage lineup; possibly as a result of the Virgin Labfest's new process of multiple revisions and critiquing even after a draft has been declared for inclusion in the roster. It took us a while to finish all four sets of the Virgin Labfest 18 during its three-week run from June 7 to 25 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez. And finally, we present what we think about each one-act play (while missing our pre-show ritual of snacking on Founders Donuts #NotASponsoredPost).

Here's our bite-sized theater review of the Virgin Labfest 2023:

This list is not ranked.

Set A (Adulting 101)

10 to Midnight by Juliene Mendoza

It takes a while before 10 to Midnight gets to the main conflict between two arguing brothers, played by Bombi Plata and Jerome Dawis. And when it does, instead of a grand revelation, the stage revels in the silence of a simple moment between the two: an older brother giving his younger brother the drawing of a cake on his birthday. But the scene has grown so quiet, in the metaphorical sense, that one can question if it's enough for audience members to hold on to.

O by Raymund Barcelon

It's not often that women's orgasms are talked about, and O boldly went in that direction. But while the selection of this topic is to be applauded, the narrative doesn't seem to reach its climax—which may or may not be intentional. This is a play about not reaching orgasm, after all.

Regine: The Fairy Gaymother by Chuck Smith

We've come to a point in our history of queer literature that coming out narratives, especially to conservative parents, have become passe. But Chuck Smith made the concept fresh by telling the nuances and complexities of coming out in just four characters. Regine (played by Anton Diva), in particular, adds tension to the story as she represents societal pressures of how it is to be gay—a different kind of norm that's ironically perpetuated in queer circles. Adrian Lindayag, in his portrayal of Diego, gave an outstanding performance of a closeted gay who's pulled in all directions, whether by his family, society, culture, or even himself—until that moment of self-affirmation that each one of us desires.

Set B (REBELasyon)

Tuloy Ang Palabas by Layeta Bucoy

Tuloy ang Palabas, while a period piece set in Spanish times, allowed us to ponder on the meaning of art in our lives. There's a repeated mention of "three years," the same time period when the gobernadorcillo stopped choosing local talents to perform for their town's fiesta. Incidentally, it's also the same number of years that Philippine theater was put on hiatus during the pandemic. And one can't help but think of parallelisms as aging actress Adeling (Shamaine Buencamino) and Adeling (Rissey Reyes-Robinson) try to make sense of their differences.

Dominador Gonzales: National Artist by Dingdong Novenario

It's hard to imagine the role of Dominador Gonzales being played by anyone else other than Joel Saracho. His antics, whether about being an old gay writer in the Philipines or local art in general, add texture to the character that's comic and yet full of gravitas. And because of what Saracho brings to the table, it's easy to see why it's voted for a restaging next year.

Ang Awit ng Dalagang Marmol by Andrew Estacio

Awit ng Dalagang Marmol is a meta-commentary on the practices in Philippine theater, including the question of having intertextuality and curation as carried out by a dramaturg. It's a play about staging a play about Jocelynang Baliwag, an interesting vehicle for pointing out how controversial topics deserve to be retold through a different form, in this case—a play. And because of this technique of using a dramaturg to spew out one fact after the other, there was a danger of losing the audience to a stockpile of information.

Set C (YOLO)

Mga Halimaw Rin Kami by Jules Pamisa

Chrome Cosio as the Aswang and Skyzx Labastilla as the Manananggal did not disappoint in their performance for the allegorical play Mga Halimaw Rin Kami. The two-character play brings audience members deep into the respective origin stories of the two creatures, revealing that they too have principles and free will—even more human than uniformed men on a killing spree (under the guise of the "war on drugs"). Somewhere along the narrative, however, this insistence on the characters' humanity pushed it towards the slippery slopes of didacticism.

Room 209 by Zheg Arban

Room 209's strength lies in the fact that it humanized what's often reported in the news as statistics and case numbers of violence in a military academy. We even see a wall of names of those who died at the hands of their upperclassmen at the end of the play. But the theatrics at the end may be what has saved the long and winding exposition, which could have used specific flashback scenes between Darwin (Jao Catarus) and his older brother Dexter (Gino Ramirez) and even with their father who's also in the military.

Hukay by Ophalain Serrano

As a writer who lives for tender moments within the white spaces of a script, Ophalain Serrano's Hukay is a personal favorite. In just 20 to 30 minutes, it unearths not only the love—although unequal—between Noel (Andoy Ranay) and Rico (Floyd Tena); and the unconditional love that Rico has towards his transgender daughter Maxine. Serrano could have chosen to end it in heartbreak: that moment when Noel cries silently with his back turned away from Rico, but she did not. Instead, it culminates in a positive (and comic) note of letting go—and the piece is stronger because of that.

Set D (Muwang)

Ang Tuyom by M. Manalastas

While not exactly a crowd favorite because of its experimental genre, Ang Tuyom is a fulfilling emotional ride once you get into it. It immediately brings to mind the 2006 film The Science of Sleep with the mish-mash of memories and dreams. A display of how form follows content, M's (Jude Matthew Servilla) snippets of childhood memories are shown in trance-like vignettes, some are repetitive, some have changes in characters, and some have intentionally confused lines. The narrative later expands into monologues that code switches between Tagalog and Bisaya, the words of which are artfully strung together to at least convey the somber tone to a non-Bisaya-speaking individual.

Hawaii, Here We Come by Shenn Apillado

Hawaii, Here We Come tells the story of a political family's escape amid political turmoil. If you've read enough (credible) information, you'll immediately get that it's a retelling of the Marcos' final days in Malacañang as they're forced to pack their bags (jewelry and paintings, included) and escape to Hawaii during the People Power Revolution. The retelling puts the spotlight on Shirley (Madeleine Nicolas), a helper in the Marcos household who finds out that the family she's been loyal to is leaving her behind. While the script is filled with triggering statements and innuendos that induced cackles among audience members, its final part—particularly the protagonist's dark night of the soul moment—seemed rushed.

O’Donnell by Jerry O’Hara

O'Donnell is set in Camp O'Donnel, a military camp where Filipino soldiers are left to die during World War II. Jerry O'Hara's nuanced characters are brought to life by the spotlight-worthy performance of the whole ensemble (Aldo Vencilao, Miguel Delos Santos, Eshei Mesina, Joel Garcia, and Ekis Gimenez, and Johnny Maglinao). But it is also this overly dramatic direction that, at times, rendered the play to be too drawn out.

Room 209 by Zheg Arban, Ang Awit ng Dalagang Marmol by Andrew Estacio, and Dominador Gonzales: National Artist by Dingdong Novenario are part of the Revisited Set (Set E) of Virgin Labfest 19 in June 2024.

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