By Walter Ang
April 27, 2013
Philippine Daily Inquirer
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| Dennis Teodisio |
VL has grown into a much-anticipated annual event where new plays are given their world premieres, usually up to at least nine new one-acts per festival.
The fest is organized by Writers Bloc, a playwright group founded by Rody Vera that holds free critiquing sessions for established and aspiring playwrights, and Tanghalang Pilipino (TP), resident theater group of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Teodosio has had a total of nine one-acts, up to two per festival in some years, staged for VL.
Last year, he submitted a full-length play. His "Totong Hilot," about a boy who yearns to become a hilot like his grandfather, was selected to be staged.
It is his first full-length play for VL, but actually the 18th full-length from his prolific output.
"I've been writing two to three full lengths a year since 2007. I write plays because it's cathartic. I am more familiar with writing one-acts, but the experience of writing full-length plays is more orgasmic."
Day jobs
"The first play I ever saw was Orlando Nadres' 'Hanggang Dito na Lamang at Maraming Salamat' at Philippine Educational Theater Association's (Peta) fomer theater in Intramuros. After watching Rody Vera's 'Ralph at Claudia' I started to get a feeling that I could write plays."
Teodosio had done work in communications-related fields such as advertising, public relations, events, and corporate communications before he shifted to scriptwriting and playwriting.
Alongside his playwriting, he has had scriptwriting "dayjobs," initially with Star Cinema and ABS-CBN, and currently with a television network in Myanmar.
In 2000, Vera invited Teodosio to join Writers Bloc. "I didn't think I could do it. But Danton Remoto once told me that I was very dramatic when I recounted stories and that I could write. So I pushed myself to write."
Incubation
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| Writers Bloc members with American playwright Henry David Hwang (seated center). |
His first ever play "Gee-Gee at Waterina," a fictionalized conversation between two characters based on Justo Justo, founder of the Home For The Golden Gays, and Walter Dempsey, Jr., more popularly known as Walterina Markova, a sex slave during the Philippines' Japanese occupation, received its world premiere at the very first VL.
And it was a Writers Bloc writing session that spawned it. "Playwright Rene Villanueva challenged us to write about two people having a conversation and their realizations. He eventually became my mentor. He told me to prepare myself because I would give birth to many plays. I think his prediction has come true. I hope I can properly raise all these plays I've delivered," he says, laughing.
Opportunities
While VL exposes audiences to new works and provides opportunities for actors, directors and backstage collaborators to hone their craft, the fact that it is primarily an endeavor "to encourage Filipino playwrights to create new works and define new perspectives in contemporary Philippine drama" is sometimes subsumed by the fest's large scale.
Nonetheless, while no formal auditing has been done yet, a sample survey of past VL playwrights affirms that inclusion in the fest does help spur restagings of their plays.
Plays that have been restaged after VL include Rogelio Braga's "Ang Bayot, Ang Meranao at Ang Habal-Habal sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte," Floy Quintos' "Ang Kalungkutan ng Mga Reyna," and Layeta Bucoy's "Ellas Inocentes," "Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan," and "Huling Habilin ng Sirena."
"Audiences usually include students and faculty who eventually acquire the permission to restage the plays they've seen."
All of Teodisio's past VL plays has been restaged numerous times by university-theater groups throughout the country.
"VL has helped me with my playwriting career."
Directors and producers also monitor the fests. Because of his exposure in VL, Teodisio has received commissions from Gantimpala Theater's late artistic director Tony Espejo to write "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Ang Pagong at Matsing," both children's musicals, and from Peta to write two musicals for its clients.
"Hopefully, one day a theater group will stage something that's my idea and not commissioned," he says.
His advice for aspiring playwrights who wish to join VL (the festival accepts entries annually, even from non-Writers Bloc members) is "Sugod lang nang sugod."
And if selected, to enjoy the process. "I'm one of the few playwrights in VL who keeps on revising during rehearsals. That's my learning arena. I tweak the text for the director, the cast, the audiences."
Playwriting Fellowship Program
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| Glenn Mas (left) with students from a previous playwriting program |
"Fellows are usually required to write a ten-minute play," says Mas. "With my past students, after VL, several went on to write more plays. One of them, Isabella Borlaza, even had her play chosen as part of the main festival a year after it was presented in the staged reading showcase."
Accepted applicants will have a chance to interact with known playwrights, directors and actors during their rehearsals for VL. The program concludes with a staged reading of the fellows' works.
For information on staging rights of Teodosio's plays, contact hapingmanunulat@yahoo.com; for staging rights to other Virgin Labfest plays or to join Writers Bloc's future sessions, email rodyvera@gmail.com.
Virgin Labfest 2013 runs June 25 to July 7 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
To apply for a slot in VL Playwriting Fellowship Program 2013, contact 8321125 loc. 1605 or ccp.artist.training@gmail.com. Deadline for applications is June 4, 2013.
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