Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Roundtable Discussion on Philippine Contemporary Theater

UST CREATIVE WRITING CENTER TO HOLD 
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON PHILIPPINE CONTEMPORARY THEATER


The UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (UST CCWLS), in cooperation with the UST Publishing House, will be holding a round-table discussion on the state of contemporary Philippine theater and will be launching a new book by S Anril Pineda Tiatco. Both events will be held at the Tanghalang Teresita Quirino, G/F Benavides Bldg., University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd., Sampaloc, Manila.

USTingan is a regular informal gathering of writers, teachers, students and lovers of literature, at which certain topics of contemporary interest — involving writing, publishing, and popular culture — are discussed. The title of this USTingan is “Ang Teatro sa Pilipinas sa Bagong Milenyo,” and it will focus on the state of Philippine theater in this new millennium, plagued as it is with all sorts of catastrophes and cataclysms.

The featured playwrights and theater practitioners are Rody Vera, Nicolas B. Pichay, Liza Magtoto and S.Anril Tiatco.

Vera is a playwright, actor, theater director, and screenwriter. He has written nearly fifty plays, both original and adaptations for the Philippine stage. He won awards in a number of competitions, notably, the Palanca Hall of Fame. His Palanca-winning works include the plays “Luna: Isang Romansang Aswang,” “Ismail at Isabel,” “Paalam, Sister Soledad,” and the film scripts “Death March” and “Lakambini.” His prize-winning film scripts include “Senyor Paciano,” (2nd Prize Philippine Centennial Literary Prize, 1998); “Niño,” (Best Film, 2011 Busan International Film Festival, South Korea, and Best Screenplay Young Critics’ Circle, 2011); and “Requieme” (Cinemalaya 2012, Best Screenplay). He is currently head of the Writer’s Bloc, and one of the key founders of the Virgin Labfest, an annual theater festival of new works for the stage.

Pichay is a talented lawyer who gained a number of awards and recognition as a playwright, poet, screenwriter and translator. He was inducted into the Palanca Hall of Fame after winning his fifth first prize for his full-length play “Tres Ataques de Corazon” in 2007. He is the author of the books “Ang Lunes na Mahirap Bunuin” (Publikasyong Sipat, 1993), “Almanac for a Revolution” (UP Press 2000), which won the First Prize in English Drama of the Philippine Centennial Literary Prize, and “Psychedelia Apocalypsis at Iba Pang Dula” (UP Press, 2007).

Magtoto is a playwright and freelance scriptwriter, an active senior member and artist-teacher of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), a member of The Writer’s Bloc. Recent works include immensely popular “Rak of Aegis,” “Rated PG,” “Care Divas,” the TV comedy series “Camera Cafe,” and the films “Sta. Nina,” and “David F.” Her plays are published in anthologies including that of the UP Institute of Creative Writing’s “Ang Aklat Likhaan ng Dula 1997-2003” and the first volume of the Virgin Labfest anthology. Her Palanca award-winning plays include Despedida de Soltera, Agnoia, and Paigan.

Tiatco teaches at the UP Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts, and is currently the Director of UP Diliman Information Office. He earned his Ph.D. in Theatre Studies from the National University of Singapore. He is the author of the Palanca-prize winning full-length play “Miss Dulce Extranjera o ang Paghahanap kay Miss B” (UP Press 2011), “Entablado: Theatres and Performances in the Philippines” (UP Press, 2014), and the forthcoming “Performing Catholicism: Faith and Ambivalence in a Philippine Province” also from UP Press.

After the roundtable discussion, Tiatco’s play “Cuaresma,” the stage adaptation of Jose Rizal’s third and unfinished novel “Makamisa,” will be launched by the UST Publishing House.

The event is open to creative writers, literary enthusiasts and the general public. Call Ms. Anna Nicolas at 406-1611 local 8281 for seat reservations.

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