Filipino American Cassie Grilley plays the lead in 'Hairspray' musical in SF

By WALTER ANG
July 26, 2019
USA.Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/35127/fil-am-cassie-grilley-plays-the-lead-in-hairspray-musical-in-sf

SAN FRANCISCO — It's 1962 in Baltimore. The lovable and "pleasantly plump" teenager Tracy wants to dance on the popular "Corny Collins Show" on television, outwit the evil TV station manager, support the integration of black teens into the show and help her plus-size mother gain confidence-all while making sure her hairdo does not end up becoming a hair-don't.

San Francisco native Cassie Grilley grew up in a theatrical family.

It's the musical "Hairspray," and Filipino American Cassie Grilley plays lead character Tracy Turnblad.

With music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, this Tony Award-winning musical is an adaptation of John Waters's 1988 film of the same title.

In turn, adaptations of this musical have included a television broadcast in 2016 that starred celebrities such as Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson and a 2007 film version that starred the likes of Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, John Travolta and Michelle Pfieffer.

Concluding theater company Bay Area Musical's 2018-19 season, this production is directed and choreographed by Matthew McCoy with music direction by Jon Gallo.

Surrounded by theater

Grilley, whose mother is Filipino, is a native of San Francisco and grew up in a "very theatrical" family.

Cassie Grilley

"I was constantly surrounded by theater," she says. Grilley's paternal grandmother Diane Price had founded Young People's Teen Musical Theatre Company, a free musical theater program through the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.

"It was founded in 1984 and is still operational. From the time I was a baby, I would watch every single show multiple times throughout each run. So naturally, I couldn't wait until it was my turn."

She finally got her chance when she was eight years old. "From the moment I made someone laugh, I knew that I wanted to continue this feeling."

She went on to study theatre arts at Foothill College and drama at University of California-Irvine.

Recent credits include "She Persisted," "Wonderland," "El Gato Ensombrerado," (Bay Area Children's Theatre), "Mean Gays," "Troop Beverly Heels" (Peaches Christ Productions), "Finding Medusa," "Oregon Trail Pages" (Musical Café).

Aside from acting, Grilley is also still involved with her grandmother's company doing directing work.

Positive

Tracy has been a dream role for Cassie and she says she's ecstatic to be playing "such a confident, wise, and sassy young woman.

Grilley plays Tracy Turnblad in "Hairspray."

"I'm very grateful to be playing such a positive character who advocates for the acceptance of people no matter what they look like.

"Playing Tracy, who is so confident and possesses such a magnetic energy, has allowed me to tap into these qualities within myself."

Grilley believes it's important to stand up for what's right. "This story has reminded me that it's necessary to love yourself in your own skin, despite the boundaries society may inflict upon you."

Relevant

Speaking of boundaries, she highlights one aspect of her own involvement in the show. "I appreciate our director Matthew McCoy's open-mindedness in casting a multiracial Tracy, when she is traditionally portrayed by a white actor."

"I hope that audiences are able to see that people often consider this show to be a period piece; however unfortunately, all of the major conflicts that we touch on are still completely relevant today." 

And just out of curiosity, how does Grilley take care of her own hair in real life? "I'm a wash-and-go gal. And the wind is my blow dryer!"

"Hairspray" runs until Aug. 11 at Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St., San Francisco. Visit Bamsf.org.

Regina de Vera 'loses' underpants in Steve Martin farce at The Old Globe

By WALTER ANG
July 25, 2019
USA.Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/34972/ex-manilan-regina-de-vera-loses-underpants-in-steve-martin-farce

SAN DIEGO, California — Actress Regina de Vera deals with the consequences of the inefficient titular garment in the farce "The Underpants," written by Hollywood celebrity comedian Steve Martin.

Regina de Vera

De Vera plays newly married Louise, who is bored with her demanding and uptight bureaucrat husband. When Louise jumps up on a bench to see the king go by during the royal parade, her bloomers come loose and fall down around her ankles.

Her husband is frantic that her faux pas will cost him his job and reputation. But suddenly, the room they've been trying to rent out has plenty of takers, and it just might have something to do with the underpants.

To be staged by The Old Globe and directed by Walter Bobbie, the play is an adaptation of German playwright Carl Sternheim's 1910 farce "Die Hose."

Martin's play gives audiences a "a hilarious look at female empowerment, sudden fame, and the idiocy a woman inspires in the men who love her."

Training

De Vera moved to New York in 2015 to pursue graduate training in acting at The Juilliard School-which she has just recently completed.

Credits at Juilliard include Mother Courage in "Mother Courage and Her Children," Irina in "Three Sisters" and Aly in "Queens Boulevard."

Previously in Manila, she had been a resident actress of Tanghalang Pilipino, the resident theater company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, performing in Tagalog-language productions.

"My family, who are all based in the Philippines, flew to New York City to attend my graduation," she says.

"We had late lunch at this Filipino restaurant called Mama Fina's which has excellent sisig. You should try their pusit sisig, it's the best."

Involvement

De Vera became involved with "The Underpants" as a result of work done at Juilliard.

During her last year, at the cast party of her batch's production of "Into the Woods" where she had played Little Red, her director Sarna Lapine expressed interest in recruiting De Vera for a future project.

"By January of this year, I received an audition invitation from New York City-based casting agency Calleri Casting to read for the character of Beth in `Little Women.' That was indeed the play that Sarna told me about. I got a call-back for that production but eventually did not land the part."

However, she received another email from the casting agency in February inviting her to audition for "The Underpants." And later on, she was on her way to the same theater where "Into the Woods" first debuted.

Terrific

"It's been terrific working with The Old Globe so far! This is the first time I have felt so well-cared for and attended to by a professional theater company. It has truly been a treat so far."

And since De Vera has never been to San Diego before, she feels lucky to be able to perform outside of New York "in a city with beautiful weather."

"I am grateful for the cast that comprise 'The Underpants.' I had a good feeling about the group when I met everyone during the first rehearsal. We've already finished the first draft of the staging of the entire play and it's only been less than two weeks of rehearsals. That says a lot about the kind of work ethic that is present in the rehearsal room from everyone." 

"The Underpants" runs July 27-Sept. 1 at Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Balboa Park, San Diego. Visit Theoldglobe.org. 

Filipino Canadian theater director Nina Lee Aquino reaps prestigious awards

By WALTER ANG
July 19, 2019
USA.Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/34648/fil-canadian-theatre-director-reaps-prestigious-awards

TORONTO — Filipino Canadian theater director Nina Lee Aquino has won two awards back-to-back: the 2019 Margo Bindhardt and Rita Davies Cultural Leadership Award and the 2019 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction.

Nina Lee Aquino is the recipient of the
2019 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction.
Photo by Anne-Marie Krytiuk

The Bindhardt-Davies Award from the Toronto Arts Foundation celebrates creative cultural leadership in the development of arts and culture in Toronto and comes with a $10,000 prize.

The Dora Award from the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts is for her work in directing "School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play" earlier this year, a coproduction by Obsidian Theatre and Nightwood Theatre.

Aquino previously received a Dora Award in 2011 for her direction of "paper series" for Cahoots Theatre.

She is currently the artistic director of Factory Theatre.

Own path

Born in the Philippines, Aquino moved to Canada when she was 17 years old. After watching her older brother in a play at his high school, she thought to herself "I can do that, too."

"I started my own path in theater as an actor at a young age. Haven't looked back since," she says. Aquino studied drama at University of Guelph and took up a master's in theatre at University of Toronto.

She became the founding artistic director of fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre, then the artistic director of Cahoots Theatre Projects, before becoming the artistic director of Factory Theatre in the early 2010s.

Passion

Aquino considers winning the Bindhardt-Davies Award as a "meaningful reminder to breathe, to take everything in-accomplishments and screw-ups.

Nina Lee Aquino is the recipient of the
2019 Margo Bindhardt and Rita Davies Cultural Leadership Award. 

"This little pocket of time allows me to look back at my history through a different lens: one that is more forgiving, generous, open and appreciative, to recognize how far I've come in the journey.

"When something is said out loud, publicly recognized at a larger scale, it just makes it a little bit more real than usual. It reaffirms that I'm doing something right."

She notes that the recognition is also a "profound reminder of how much more work there is ahead."

"If this illuminates how passionate I am about theater and how much I believe that it can change the world.I'll take it. It's just really nice, and it's precious fuel for the long road ahead."

Important

Aquino says that for people who work in theater, it is their "passion . this is the thing that grows us, nurtures us, transforms us.

"And whether or not we get the accolades and the recognition that we think we deserve, we will continue to do work . because we believe that theater can change the world . even if it's just one audience member at the time."

For both awards, Aquino went straight to rehearsals the following day after the respective ceremonies. "I suppose I celebrated my wins with more work. Which, to me, is always the best way to celebrate one's victories."

Even so, Aquino does not fail to highlight her appreciation for the support that she receives. "Having a village of family and friends that will have your back anytime you ask for it helps. Having a husband that doesn't mind holding the fort when you're not there helps. And having an astute, out-of-this-world 12-year-old child who understands and randomly texts you 'I love you' throughout the day helps."

How we live

Aquino believes theater is a way of "saying something about the state of where we currently live in and how we live our lives."

"Yes, theater can a be a place of temporary escape, a sigh of relief, a stretch of time where we can laugh and momentarily forget the harsh, cruel realities - that's is one of its more important functions for sure: entertainment.

"But theater can also provoke, offer up, magnify, inspire, shake up, turn around, fight for, shift, fight against, rearrange, transform thoughts, ideas, truths, lies, preconceived notions, assumptions, prejudices, principles, values, feelings."

I am a Filipino

When it comes to the range of her directing output, Aquino says, "I don't do traditional Filipino folk dances or perform indigenous tribal music or present sarsuwelas and komedyas."

Nina Lee Aquino.
Photo by Sean Howard

Nevertheless, she notes that some of these Filipino performance forms have actually influenced some of her well-known theatrical works.

"I also don't do the big, glitzy, spectacular shows like 'Mamma Mia,' 'Miss Saigon' and 'The Lion King.' My work falls somewhere in between forms, past and present, small and large, a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B.

"Some may even find my work not Filipino enough. But I am a Filipino. Look at me," Aquino says clearly. "Whether or not I direct a show that has nothing to do with our Filipino-ness, my work is still Filipino. Period.

Power of theater

Aquino knows the power of theater. She recalls her own experiences working with Filipino Canadian theater company Carlos Bulosan Theatre.

"It was known as Carlos Bulosan Cultural Workshop back then. It was created in the early 1980s as a means to give voice to the anger, frustration, anxiety, pain that the Filipino Canadian community was going through at a time when they felt helpless, being far away from their home country that was going through political strife and turmoil."

The group had been originally the cultural wing of the North America-wide Coalition Against the Marcos Dictatorship organization.

"Petitions, letters, protests were done, executed within the confines of their homes, offices and community centers. But ultimately, activism, the spirit of solidarity, the need to rise up and hope for a better future had to be shown through theater.

"This is how the community tried to save its country. A small, tiny gesture, yes, but even the smallest pebble can make the biggest ripples," says Aquino.

For Filipino Canadians

"Why do I do what I do and why do I do it for the communities I serve, especially Filipino Canadians?

"To make the invisible, visible. To take on the small and big fights that exist in the larger theater community. To make sure that the list of artistic achievements that have shown us many `firsts' grows into seconds and thirds and fourths.

"It's about the work, it's always been about the work, front and center. And our work cannot exist with you, the audience. We do this for you, for anybody who is willing to watch us, listen to what we have to say. And particularly for the Filipino Canadian theater artists, we do it for our people because we might just have something important to say about being part of it or a part from it.

"See our work. Talk about it. Love it, hate it, but talk about it with your friends. And then see our work again. And bring your mom and dad. Because when you do this, you help make the invisible-our work, our artists, us-visible."

Shadow play sheds light on Filipino domestic workers in U.S.

By WALTER ANG
July 16, 2019
USA.Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/34443/shadow-play-sheds-light-on-filipino-domestic-workers-in-u-s

SAN FRANCISCO — The spotlight illuminates Filipino domestic workers based in the U.S. in the 45-minute production "Sigaw: A Shadowplay."

Puppeteers and puppet designers of "Sigaw: A Shadowplay" hold up their puppets.
Photos by Paciano Triunfo

"Sigaw" follows the journey of Marissa from a young girl in a Philippine province to being a domestic worker in the United States. She confronts a life of hard labor, oppression, isolation and abuse-finding comfort only in the children she's helping to raise.

Staged by Bindlestiff Studio, the play is written and directed by the organization's artistic director Aureen Almario.

Her impetus for creating "Sigaw" was the life of Eudocia Tomas Pulido, who had been written about by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Alex Tizon in The Atlantic magazine in 2017.

Tizon had described Pulido as a woman who lived with his family for 56 years, raised him and his siblings for no pay and was "a slave in my family's household."

Composite

Almario also wanted to maintain shadow play productions in Bindlestiff. Just last year, the organization staged the shadow play "Bad Trip."

For this production, collaborators include (puppet design) Nicollete Dionisio, Jessylyn Los Baños (design and puppeteering) England Hidalgo, Tracy Nguyen, Marcius Noceda (puppeteering) TJ Basa, Kimberley Arteche.

"We are part of a group called Brownout Shadow Collective," says Almario. "We were trained by previous Bindlestiff Studio artistic director Lorna Velasco, who was trained by Larry Reed of Shadowlight Productions."

The puppets will be mainly made of paper and transparency sheets. "We are also using glass, mirror and other props for special effects."

Interest

Almario's interest in shadow puppetry stems all the way back to her college days at San Francisco State University.

Shadow silhouette of Aureen Almario,
playwright, puppet designer and director of "Sigaw: A Shadowplay." 

"I was taking an Asian American Community Arts Workshop under Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, who had partnered with several Bindlestiff artists." Among other workshops, Almario took shadow puppetry under Velasco and even became a shadow actor in Velasco's shadow play "Lakbay."

And through the show, she met the late Don Salubayba. The visual artist and cofounder of Manila-based shadow puppetry group Anino Collective had been in San Francisco on an artist residency.

"While I learned the Shadowlight style from Lorna, Don showed me the Anino style of shadow puppetry."

Almario went on to work on other shadow plays such as "The Movement," "Engkanto," "Series of Seriesed Events." In 2015, she joined Lorna Velasco in the cast of the touring production of the shadow play "Feathers of Fire."

Personal

When Almario began writing "Sigaw," she grappled with her own personal experiences with domestic workers.

"I grew up with yayas when I lived in the Philippines until I was 10 years old. The practice of having katulongs is so deeply embedded in Filipino culture. As a person who has also worked in the childcare industry, it's always been a topic that is personal for me."

"I was particularly interested in deconstructing the notion that `Filipinas are innately nurturing and caring.

"I wondered where the lines are drawn between love and labor, especially when they are so intimately connected. Particularly in situations where you have a yaya or nanny raise you up until your adulthood, which was the case with Alex Tizon."

Complex and varied

She also observed that mass media was providing audiences a one-sided viewpoint of domestic workers. "With Alex Tizon and the critically acclaimed film `Roma,' both narratives are told from men's perspectives-men who were raised by their live-in domestic workers."

In her effort to address this imbalance, Almario's concerns includes society's categorizations of domestic workers as well as approaching domestic workers as actual persons.

"There's definitely a class and even racial divide; the indigenous and poor women alleviate the more privileged class women from child-rearing and domestic work.

"I was interested in them as a human being with hopes and dreams, not just a story that about the exploitative nature of domestic work-What was their childhood like? How was it for them to cope with the shift in their role when the children become adults, and their purpose has changed. How did they advocate for themselves?"

She adds, "I was also especially concerned about the topic of mental health as these women are separated from their families and are isolated."

"The story is fictional," says Almario of her shadow play. Nevertheless, "Marissa is a composite character of the narratives, articles and interviews I've compiled of current domestic workers today to understand their complex and varied experiences."

"Sigaw: A Shadowplay" runs July 18-28 at Bindlestiff Studio, 185 Sixth St., San Francisco. Visit Bindlestiffstudio.org.

Filipino American Jomar Martinez rebels in 'Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella'

By WALTER ANG
July 11, 2019
USA.Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/34135/fil-am-stars-in-rodgers-hammersteins-cinderella

LOS ALTOS HILLS, California — Filipino American Jomar Martinez is playing rebel lover Jean-Michel in Foothill Music Theatre's production of "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella."

Jomar Martinez (left) plays rebel Jean-Michel
in "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella"
Photo by David Allen

A new character in this updated version by Douglas Carter Beane of the classic musical, Jean-Michel is a passionate peasant rebel who is in love with Gabrielle, one of Cinderella's stepsisters.

("Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" and "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella" are different versions of the musical.)

Jean-Michel and Gabrielle oppose the kingdom's oppressive laws-which have been approved by the orphan prince as he has been misled by the villainous prime minister-which inspires the couple to start a revolution.

This production will have a full orchestra. Music Director is Daniel Feyer, with choreography by Lee Ann Payne.

Fil-Am prince, crony

Unlike Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's other musicals, "Cinderella" was not originally written for the stage. It was created for television broadcast and featured Julie Andrews in the lead role.

Jomar Martinez

In the 1997 television adaptation of the musical, Fil-Am actor Paolo Montalban played the prince. He then reprised the role in the 2000-01 national tour of the musical's stage adaptation.

Sharing the stage with Martinez in Foothill's production is fellow Fil-Am actor Juan Castro, who is playing the prime minister's crony Lord Pinkleton.

Credits

Martinez's recent credits include "Allegiance," "West Side Story" (Contra Costa Civic Theatre), "In the Heights" (City Lights Theater), "The Addams Family" (Palo Alto Players), "Urinetown," "Altar Boyz" (Cabrillo Stage), among others.

Martinez (right) in a scene from Foothill Music Theatre's production
of "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella."
Photo by David Allen

A native of Oakland, California, Martinez began performing at a very young age, dancing to Michael Jackson music videos at home.

As he was growing up, he played a number of instruments in school bands and ensembles, eventually writing lyrics and composing music for his ska and punk band in high school.

Joining theater

He credits a teacher at San Jose State University with bringing him into the fold of theater.

"Janie Scott was my professor in one of my classes during my first year. She introduced me to Musical Theater. She had me audition for the musical theater company Company One and cast me.

"At that point, I hadn't really done much other than perform in high school band. I immediately changed my major to Musical Theater and became a `theater kid.'

Underdog

Martinez says the feels lucky to be working with Foothill Music Theater once again.

"My first show with them was 'Side Show' in 2017. It has been wonderful coming back. I have always been a big fan of how director Milissa Carey works. It's always a blessing to get to work with one of best."

He finds the addition of the Jean-Michel character to the classic Cinderella story relevant to current events. 

"What this character adds is really emblematic of what is currently going on in our real world. Jean-Michel is an underdog relentlessly fighting a social class system. Who doesn't love an underdog? Especially one who-spoiler alert-wins."

"Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella" runs July 18- Aug. 4 at Smithwick Theatre, Foothill College, off I-280 and El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills, California. Visit Foothill.edu/theatre.

Filipino Americans in comedy on love and language barriers

By WALTER ANG
July 9, 2019
USA.Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/33969/fil-ams-in-comedy-on-love-and-language-barriers

LOS ALTOS, California — Theater director Jeffrey Lo's connection to Tagalog helped prepare him to direct the quirky comedy "The Language Archive" for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.

Jomar Tagatac (left) plays a linguist who is
at a loss for words in "The Language Archive."
Photo by Kevin Berne

Written by Julia Cho, the play is about the whimsical, life-affirming chronicle of George, a linguist fighting to preserve the dying languages of far-flung cultures, while he himself is at a loss for words when it comes to his other passions.

Fil-Am actor Jomar Tagatac plays George in this production that kicks off the theater company's 50th anniversary season.

"As I was preparing for the show, one of the things I found so moving about the piece was the play's exploration of language and its relation to heritage," Lo says.

"The character of George, in particular, talks about his grandmother and how she spoke a language different than his."

Bonding with mom

With that on his mind, Lo researched on Tagalog and other Filipino languages that he was not as familiar with.

During his research, he came across an online article. "It listed beautiful Filipino words with no direct English equivalents.

"I then visited my parents to make sure I heard from them what these words do and can mean and how to say these words in their original accents.

"It was a really lovely experience to sit with my mom and talk through these different words and see how their direct definitions could be vastly different from their implied meanings.

"It was a real nice way to get myself in the right frame of mind for the language-based themes of the play."

Beauty

Lo recently directed "The Santaland Diaries" for TheatreWorks. Other directing credits include "Vietgone" (Capital Stage), "Peter and the Starcatcher" (Hillbarn Theatre), "The Crucible," "Yellow Face" and "Dead Man's Cell Phone" (Los Altos Stage Company).

Jeffrey Lo directs the comedy "The Language Archive"
for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.
Photo by Tasi Alabastro

As the Casting Director at TheatreWorks, Lo is part of the organization's season selection committee.

"I've been waiting for the opportunity to direct this play for a long time," he says. "As different shows in our season began to fall into place, it became clear that `The Language Archive' fit well with the rest of the season."

"I shared it with our Artistic Director Robert Kelley who quickly read it and decided to place it in our season. The season selection process for any theater is quite a complicated process so I appreciate that Kelley saw both the beauty in the play and the passion I had for it."

Expressing love

Lo points out that the play does specify what cultural background any of its characters come from. He therefore wanted to maximize the various backgrounds of the cast members.

"I became excited by the opportunity to explore the ways different cultures express love and how the way our parents do or do not express love to each other effect how we communicate as adults.

"We have a beautifully multicultural cast and as I put as much of myself into this production as I can, our cast is doing the same.

"We have a group of artists in the room that have real big hearts and that heart is already showing in the rehearsal room." 

"The Language Archive" runs July 10-Aug. 4 at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Visit TheatreWorks.org.

RELATED STORIES:

Jeffrey Lo celebrates TheatreWorks' Tony Award

Jomar Tagatac wins 2018 Theatre Bay Area Award

Coming-of-age play features queer Filipino American protagonist

By WALTER ANG
July 3, 2019
USA.Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/33539/coming-of-age-play-features-queer-fil-am-protagonist

NEW YORK — Filipino American playwright Roger Mason's coming-of-age play "The White Dress" will premiere Off-Broadway this July.

Scene from "The White Dress," a play about Jonathan's journey of self-acceptance. 

The play is about Jonathan, whose father is black and mother is Filipino, as he forms his own relationship to sex, gender and his way in the world amidst opposition from his parents.

Along the way, Jonathan falls in love with his transgender friend Winnie, who challenges his ideas of commitment, attraction and family.

"In this gender-queer story, we follow Jonathan from eight years old to 24 as he goes on his journey accepting himself as a gender-nonconformist and pansexual and all kinds of lovely, delicious things," says Mason.

(Gender-nonconformity is behavior or appearance that does not conform to prevailing cultural and social expectations of what is appropriate to a respective gender. Pansexuality is sexual, romantic or emotional attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity.)

While the play highlights self-acceptance, the roadblocks and detours leading to it are what inspired Mason to create this semi-autobiographical play.

Policed

Mason recalls when he was 12 years old, a pediatrician told his mother, "Your son is a faggot. You need to fix him."

Filipino American playwright Roger Mason. 

"For the doctor, it was a tactless reaction to my 'feminine' self-expression . the usual: high voice, flamboyant hands, a hip swish or two, the classic, tell-tale signs.

"For my Filipino Catholic mother, it was confirmation of ... why I was 'different' from my classmates at school."

For Mason, it was the beginning of an arduous adolescence where his sense of self was constantly questioned and shamed by people around him, including his own family.

"Until I left for college, I was made to feel that how I acted and who I was were embarrassing and wrong."

Mason's "personal journey to overcome shame, permission" and also to "embrace desire" is mirrored by Jonathan's "quest for a space in which to live out loud."

Dance, movement

After a fruitful time of discovering himself, Mason started writing "The White Dress" while he was in graduate school (where he took up writing for screen and stage) in Chicago.

Mason now celebrates all the different aspects of who he is, to wit: "black, Irish, Filipino, gender-queer, plus-sized and fabulous!" he declares.

This all-encompassing stance is reflected in his approach to his creative output as well. "Before I started writing for theater, I was a pianist, I was a visual artist and I did modern dance. So, my work is constantly playing with how I can experiment with form."

This has led to Mason's incorporating movement into "The White Dress" by collaborating with director and choreographer Adin Walker. "The White Dress" is now described as "part religious rite, part dance/performance."

Mason's other produced plays include "Peter Pan." He has also written "The Wind People," "Onion Creek" and "Orange Woman."

Acceptance

"Jonathan's desire to exist unapologetically mirrors not only my own, but also the dream of countless queer people in the US and across the globe," says Mason.

"We are in the fight of our lives for visibility and acceptance. 'The White Dress' posits that the fight starts at home-in our mother's boudoirs, on our playgrounds, in those psychic spaces to which we retreat when we're told we are wrong.

"The fight is long and hard. It's internal and external. And it's always painful.  But we emerge. And when we do, we know unequivocally that we are fine just the way we are.  And no one can take that away from us."

"The White Dress" runs July 5-20 at Access Theater, 380 Broadway, New York. Visit Thewhitedressplay.com.

RELATED STORY:

Fil-Am Roger Mason writes a whole new 'Peter Pan' musical

Filipino Canadian play teaches kids how to grieve, cope with loss

By WALTER ANG
June 26, 2019
Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/33119/fil-canadian-play-teaches-kids-how-to-grieve-cope-with-loss

TORONTO — Filipino Canadians Andrea Mapili and Byron Abalos have created a children's play, "Through the Bamboo," that will go on stage as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival this July.

Angela Rosete (center) as the smart Filipino Canadian child Philly,
during rehearsals with her co-actors. 

Inspired by Philippine folklore, the play is an action-packed adventure about the value of storytelling and how families deal with the loss of loved ones.

The play is about a smart 12-year-old Filipino Canadian child whose grandmother has recently passed away. The independent, sarcastic and driven Philly is sorting through her grandmother's items when she suddenly finds herself in the fantastical land of Uwi, a place where storytelling is forbidden.

Philly helps two duwende restore storytelling in Uwi. Along the way, she meets a tikbalang, a kapre, an ekek and other creatures. At the end of her quest, she learns to grieve for her grandmother.

Filipino Canadians involved in the production include director Nina Lee Aquino, sound designer Maddie Bautista and the entire cast, which has Angela Rosete as Philly and Carolyn Fe as Lola.

Epic

"We wrote this play to fill a void," says Mapili. "We wanted to write a Filipino play for young audiences-an epic tale using Philippine mythology that featured women, young and old, as the central characters.

Byron Abalos and Andrea Mapili co-wrote
the children's play "Through the Bamboo."
Photo by Jenna Harris 

"We wanted to write something for our nieces and nephews and wanted to write a Filipino story with a scope that could rival the worlds in Chronicles of Narnia and Wizard of Oz."

When she was a child, Mapili had received a book about the Samal (one of the indigenous peoples in the Philippines) myth of the love story between the human woman Tuan Putli and sky deity Manik Buangsi.

"We used that story as inspiration and then had fun reimagining other mythological creatures in the world," says Abalos.

"This is not Philippine myths as you would hear it in its truest form," they point out. Instead, in their capacity as theater makers, they've crafted a Filipino Canadian reimagination of Philippine culture, story and artistic traditions.

Collaboration

Born and raised in Toronto, Abalos' playwriting credits include "Remember Lolo," "Brown Balls" and "Monday Nights." He also has acting credits with numerous theater companies.

Mapili moved to Canada when she was four years old. In addition to acting and dancing, Mapili also does choreography, with recent credits such as "Asiansploitation: We Will Wok You," "Asiansploitation: The Text Generation" and "Cassettes 100."

Over the years, "Through the Bamboo" has had developmental stage readings at Filipino American theater Bindlestiff Studio in San Francisco and Filipino Canadian organizations Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture and Carlos Bulosan Theatre, both in Toronto.

Though the couple have been developing the script for more than six years, they've known each other for far longer.

"We've actually known each other since elementary school. Our dads became friends on the neighborhood tennis court," Abalos says.

They were cast as romantic leads in a show at the Next Stage Theatre Festival in the late 2000s and were married in 2010. "We've been collaborating on various projects ever since."

Comforting children

The couple did not set out to write just any play for young audiences. They also wanted to address a specific subject matter.

"After experiencing death and loss in our own family, we were inspired to write a play about grieving from a child's perspective. Something that would comfort children and help them understand what it means to grieve," says Mapili. 

They consulted with grief counselor and psychotherapist Andrea Kwan and incorporated her inputs.

In a poignant coincidence for the playwrights, the premiere of their children's play (about death) is coinciding with the birth of their own child.

"We've been working on this play for about the same time we've tried to get pregnant. And now both are coming into the world within a couple of weeks of each other," they say.

"We're thinking a lot about family, ancestry and legacy. This play is dedicated to our family and ancestors, and to the child we are about to bring into the world."

"Through the Bamboo" runs July 3-14, 2019 at Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst St., Toronto. Visit Throughthebamboo.ca.

Justin Huertas’ musical all about Filipino American ‘octopus-wrestling mom’

By WALTER ANG
June 19, 2019
Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/32630/justin-huertas-musical-all-about-fil-am-octopus-wrestling-mom

SEATTLE — Filipino American composer and actor Justin Huertas has created a new pop-rock musical about a Filipino American family whose matriarch is a wrestler of octopi from the Pacific Ocean.

 Justin Huertas is composer and librettist of
"The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion,"
a musical about a Filipino American family
in Seattle whose matriarch wrestles octopi.

For "The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion," Huertas takes inspiration from his heritage and upbringing, blending Filipino culture and Seattle history into a "modern myth of love, family, and transformation."

He gives an overview of the musical's premise, "Grace competed in and won the World Octopus Wrestling Championships 18 years ago. But she didn't release her octopus back into the water; she secretly kept it.

"Now, Grace's daughter is coming of age, falling in love, and exhibiting strange new abilities. Meanwhile, Grace is trying to defend her family from an ocean that holds a grudge against her."

Filipino Americans

Filipino American actor Corinna Lapid-Munter will play Grace. Other Fil-Ams in the production include actor Christian Quinto, set designer Lex Marcos and choreographer Alyza DelPan-Monley.

"I wanted to write a musical about a mom who's also a superhero in her own right," says Huertas. "It's just my luck that Corinna Lapid-Munter is a musical theater actress, a mother, and a real-life superhero-she knows karate, drives a motorcycle, and has one of the most incredible singing voices in Seattle.

"She's also Filipino like me. So in a sense, I get to write about my own mom, my own family and my own cultural experience while I invent new Seattle-based mythology."

Development

Huertas's previous musicals include "Lizard Boy" (music, lyrics, book) with Seattle Repertory Theatre and "Howl's Moving Castle (music, lyrics) with Book-it Repertory Theatre.

The musical will be staged by ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery. Musical arrangements and orchestrations are by Steven Tran. The show is helmed by ArtsWest artistic director Mathew Wright, who commissioned Huertas to create the musical.

"Mat and I have been huge fans of each other for years. For two years in a row, he commissioned me to co-curate an immersive theater experience for ArtsWest's annual gala. Now that I think about it, that might have been my audition," says Huertas.

"Our collaboration was so easy and yielded some pretty tremendous art, so he straight-up asked me to pitch him a musical to put in the 2018-19 Season. I sent him two pitches, and he chose the weirder one."

Spin

Huertas wanted to create a "modern myth musical" set in Seattle and infused with its culture.

Corinna Lapid-Munter (front) and Christian Quinto
are in the cast of Justin Huertas' "The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion." 

Inspired by stories he had heard as a child about a giant octopus that lived under the Narrows Bridge in Tacoma, he started researching online.

"I went down a Google rabbit hole that led me to the World Octopus Wrestling Championships. It took reading a few articles to believe it was actually real. I was so surprised I'd never heard of it until that point."

In octopus wrestling, a diver grapples with a large octopus in shallow water and drags it to the surface. It was very popular in the 1960s and an annual championship was held in Puget Sound.

"I took what I learned of that history and put my own spin on it for this story."

Relatable, joy

Huertas believes that fantasy and science fiction are "truly just different lenses to look at the world that's already around us." 

"I fell in love with superheroes and sci-fi growing up because it gave me a vocabulary to think about myself and the world around." (Huertas' first musical "Lizard Boy" also has superhero elements.)

"`The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion' has magic and battles, but at its heart, it's about a mother and daughter and about first love, which are things we all can relate to in one way or another."

"I'm so excited about the Filipino presence in this production and in this story. The narrative centers on a Filipino family, they speak Tagalog, they eat Spam, Grace constantly asks, 'Did you eat?'"

"It's been a joy to bring that aspect of my identity to this musical."

"The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion" runs Jun. 20-Jul. 28 at ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. SW, Seattle. Visit Artswest.org.

Filipino American artist Maia Cruz Palileo reclaims U.S. colonial images of PH

By WALTER ANG
June 15, 2019
Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/32366/artist-maia-cruz-palileo-reclaims-u-s-colonial-images-of-ph

WASHINGTON, DC - Filipino American painter Maia Cruz Palileo is responding to images of Filipinos that were created during the US colonization of the Philippines with images of her own.

"Woman Leaning on a White Tigress" by Maia Cruz Palileo,
oil on canvas, 2016. 

Palileo's pieces were crafted after a period of research where she studied a collection of photographs taken by American zoologist Dean Worcester from 1899 until 1903.

Palileo wanted to assess images of Filipinos as seen from "multiple points of view"-those of foreigners and of Filipinos-against the backdrop of the Philippine revolution against Spain and the Philippine-American war.

"The Worcester archive is a collection of exploitative and dehumanizing photographs," notes Palileo in a statement.

"I was drawn to the people in the pictures with the impulse to pull them out and away from this historical framework."

Inspiration, honoring

To this end, taking inspiration from Filipinos artists and writers of that era, Palileo reconfigures the images into new contexts.

Maia Cruz Palileo

She found creative prompts from painter Damian Domingo's 1820s watercolors of people in and around Manila and from folklorist Isabelo De los Reyes' 1889 book El Folk-lore Filipino.

Her works will be presented in an eponymously titled solo show at the Katzen Museum curated by Fil-Am artist and educator Isabel Manalo.

"For this exhibition, Maia has included an installation of rubbings on paper from the Worcester archive," says Manalo.

"It's her attempt to re-contextualize these subjects in a way that gives them an identity and humanity beyond what they were in Worcester's eyes-a subject to be educated and civilized.

"It is a way to re-honor who they were as real, living human beings and place them in new environments."

Context  

Currently based in New York, Palileo was born in Chicago, studied Studio Art at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and took up a master's in sculpture at the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

Rubbings on paper by Maia Cruz Palileo,
from a previous exhibition.
Photo by RCH Photography

Her recent solo shows include "All the While I Thought You Had Received This" in Chicago, "The Way Back" in London and "Meandering Curves of a Creek, Pioneer Works" in New York.

To introduce Palileo to viewers as well as to provide a more personal context for her pieces, Manalo composed the exhibition as a mini-retrospective of Palileo's works.

Manalo will be providing viewers a frame of reference for Palileo's thought process by including earlier pieces.

Manalo's recent curatorial credits include "DeCentered." As an artist herself, recent exhibition credits include "Adrenaline," "Celebrating Asia in Maryland" and "Character Abstraction."

Manalo supports Fil-Am visual artists through curatorial initiatives and artist residential opportunities in Berlin, Germany through her project The Studio Visit.

Memory, history

"Maia's paintings and drawings depict historical narratives from the colonial past of the Philippines as well as stories and moments about her own life as a Filipina American growing up in the midwestern United States," says Manalo. 

"Uranium in the Hotsprings" by Maia Cruz Palileo,
oil on canvas, 2016. 

"This body of work is as much about history as it is about memory, and one's discovery of a colonized personal and cultural identity.

"Her works from 2013-15 express feelings of longing and belonging by imagining the Philippines from the perspective of a contemporary Filipina mid-westerner informed by her family's photos and stories.

"From 2016-17, she continued to make works that are influenced by her family archive mixed with the environments of various cities she had traveled to and lived in."

"These works question notions of home, feelings of longing or displacement, and how figures inhabit the natural and physical environment.

"The paintings in this exhibition beg the viewer to delve deeper into how they possibly relate to one another."

There will be an artist talk on June 15 with Katzen Museum director Jack Rasmussen, curator Isabel Manalo and Maia Cruz Palileo.

"Maia Cruz Palileo" runs June 15-Aug 11 at Katzen Museum, American University, Washington, DC.

Filipino Americans of TheatreWorks celebrate Tony award

By WALTER ANG
June 13, 2019
Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/32049/fil-ams-of-theatreworks-celebrate-tony-award

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Filipino American directors and playwrights Jeannie Barroga and Jeffrey Lo have good cause to celebrate. A theater company they have been involved with, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, has been given this year's Tony Award for Regional Theatre.

Jeannie Barroga (right)
with TheaterWorks founding artistic director Robert Kelley.

The honor was presented at the award's 73rd annual ceremony at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Filipino American nominees this year included Robert Brill (Scenic Design/Musical-"Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Life and Times of the Temptations"), Eva Noblezada (Actress in a Leading Role/Musical-"Hadestown"), and Clint Ramos (Costume Design/Play- "Torch Song"). Fil-Am actor Darren Criss was an award presenter.

Led by founding artistic director Robert Kelley, TheatreWorks is celebrating its 50th anniversary season this fall. Kelley founded the company in 1970 initially as a theater arts workshop for youth.

The company has grown to have a 30-member Board of Trustees, more than 8,000 subscribers, and an annual budget of $8 million.

Pre-computer 

"Our founding artistic director Robert Kelley is very happy for TheatreWorks," says Jeannie Barroga. "He has inspired not only myself but also numerous Bay Area and nationwide theater artists of color, a tag setting TheatreWorks apart in its earlier years and visible in their stage content today."

"Overall, I'd been with TheatreWorks for 21 years. I joined as a script reader in 1981."

She recounts how small the staff was back then. "It was Kelley, his wife Ev, technicians Bill and Bruce, office workers Jodi and Liz, and me. I had to stand at a manual typewriter pouring out script reviews, usually five at a time. This was during the pre-computer era." The company now has 40 staff members.

New works

"In two years, I had produced and stage-read 60 readings for local playwrights, including my own play, `Walls' [about the controversies surrounding the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC], which got a standing ovation at intermission! Kelley agreed that I had something there. To this day, he wishes he had premiered it."

Barroga had founded a support group for playwrights called Playwright Forum which was eventually merged into TheaterWorks, which had its own efforts in developing and premiering new works.

"The Playwright Forum by then had been absorbed by TheaterWorks as its Stage II series, in which my play 'Talk Story' [about a Fil-Am journalist's attempt to establish her identity by reliving her father's past] premiered in 1992."

"I moved from script reader to TheatreWorks' first Literary Manager through 2002."

Barroga's recent credits include "Buffalo'ed," about the African American soldiers sent to the Philippines during the Philippine-American War, and a novel, Marked, about a detective who is aided by her cat and paranormal clues.

Rewarding

"It's incredibly rewarding to be a part of TheatreWorks as it receives the Tony Award for Regional Theatre," says Jeffrey Lo, who is currently the company's casting director.

Jeffrey Lo

"It has helped me reflect on my going on 10 years with the company and take time to appreciate the hundreds of people who were involved in the 40 years before that helped elevate this small theater troupe to what it has become."

Lo's first job with the group was as a sound mixer, then becoming assistant director to Leslie Martinson on numerous shows as well as her associate in the casting department.

"I have been the casting director for just over a year, before that I was the casting associate for three years," he says.

"I love being at TheatreWorks. I feel so fortunate to have landed in this incredible artistic home right out of school," says the alumnus of University of California-Irvine's Drama Department. 

Growth

"They have fostered my growth both as an arts administrator and as an artist." In addition to his responsibilities as casting director, Lo has had opportunities to direct for the company.

Credits include David Sedaris' "The Santaland Diaries" and he is about to begin rehearsals for Julia Cho's "The Language Archive," a comedy about a linguist who is at a loss for words. (Later in the year, he is slated to direct "A Doll's House Part 2" for The Palo Alto Players.)

For playwriting projects, Lo is also currently working with Lisa Ramirez and Carlos Aguirre on a new work exploring the roles of labor leaders Filipino American Larry Itliong and Mexican Americans Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez in the Delano Grape Strike.

"Our founding artistic director Robert Kelley has always been a great champion of my artistic endeavors both within and outside the company, and that support means the world to me," he says.

RELATED STORY:

Three Filipino Americans nominated for 2019 Tony Awards 

Ciarlene Coleman is 'Your Best American Girl'

By WALTER ANG
June 4, 2019
Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/31219/ciarlene-coleman-is-your-best-american-girl

SAN DIEGO, California — Filipino American group MaArte Theatre Collective is staging "Your Best American Girl," a one-person music and dance spectacle written and performed by Ciarlene Coleman.

Ciarlene Coleman

In the piece, Coleman recounts her youth and the ways she sought to figure out the identity of who she "should" be when she grew up. In striving to become the indisputable best, she finds that being the best isn't always what one expects.

The production will be MaArte's entry to this year's San Diego Fringe Festival. Held throughout the world, Fringe Festivals provide "an opportunity for artists to showcase their works and performances with each other and with the local community."

A founding member of MaArte, Coleman is collaborating with fellow founding members Christine "Yari" Cervas, who is directing, and Patrick Mayuyu, who is choreographing.

Filipino kid 

Born and raised in San Diego-her parents are from the Philippines; her paternal grandfather is from Texas-Coleman grew up always singing.

"Being a Filipino kid, of course," she adds, laughing.

"In eighth grade, I was introduced to songs from Bock and Harnick's 'Fiddler on the Roof' in my school's choir class. From then on, I listened to show after show! Later that year I performed in my first-ever theater production 'Bye Bye Birdie.'"

She went on to study music at University of California-San Diego and has performed with groups such as La Jolla Playhouse and Barn Stage Company.

Recent credits include "Guadalupe in the Guest Room" and "Avenue Q" for New Village Arts and "Vietgone" (helmed by Fil-Am director Jesca Prudencio) for San Diego Repertory Theatre.

Difficult

The idea for the piece came to Coleman last year. From her own personal experiences, Coleman says she felt pressure during her youth from different cultural sources.

"Growing up the way I did, I felt like being the 'best' American I could be meant being assertive and likable.

"Being the 'best' Asian woman-as my Asianness is very much attached to my gender-meant being obedient and small.

"Something I wanted to focus on with the show is how difficult living with multiple cultures can be, specifically for mixed-white and Asian American women."

Media influence

Coleman also wanted to grapple with the effects of society's influence and expectations on young Filipino Americans like her.

"I had always been conscious of how Asian and Asian American women are portrayed in American media. I understood it affected me as my acting career continued to grow.

"My spare thoughts and essays on the subject evolved into this show, with my own personal life experiences added in."

As a way to explore this particular subject matter, the show provides Coleman a vehicle to revisit and comment on snippets of mass media audio and imagery from her youth.

The show will use projections of scenes from animated and live-action movies and television shows that Coleman was exposed to as a child.

"I will physically 'shadow' different characters being projected on the screen while lip syncing their dialogue," says Coleman. "This way, I physically 'insert' myself into the stories I grew up with."

Founded in 2018 in response to a deep lack of Asian American representation on stage and in film, MaArte Theatre Collective seeks to create space for the Filipino American experience through fearless storytelling.

MaArte's Summer New Play Festival returns this August, featuring eight new Filipino playwrights and poets. "Mga Alamat Kami" celebrates the stories and myths that make us who we are.

"Your Best American Girl" runs June 6-16 at Worldbeat Cultural Center, 2100 Park Blvd., San Diego.  

Filipino American Regina Aquino wins 2019 Helen Hayes Best Actress award

By WALTER ANG
May 30, 2019
Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/30802/fil-am-regina-aquino-wins-19-helen-hayes-best-actress-award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Filipino American actor Regina Aquino has won the 2019 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play for her work in Theater Alliance's production of "The Events."

Regina Aquino with her 2019 Helen Hayes Best Actress Award.
Photo by Shannon Finney

The ceremony was held at The Anthem performance venue. Now in its 35th year, the awards are given out by the TheatreWashington organization and recognizes outstanding achievement in more than 90 professional theaters across the Washington metropolitan area. It is named for the Washington native and actor Helen Hayes.

When Aquino ascended the stage to accept her award, she immediately greeted her family with "Mommy! Mommy, mahal kita. Mahal kita, mommy. Mahal kita Riana, Malcolm, my children."

In her acceptance speech, Aquino said, "To win this during Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, as a Filipino American . I am so proud to be from DC!"

Love

Aquino played the character Claire in the play written by David Greig. The lone survivor of a mass shooting, Claire yearns to find the compassion, understanding and peace that she needs to overcome her trauma, but thoughts and visions of the shooter haunt her every step.

Staged during fall last year and directed by Colin Hovde, Aquino acted opposite Josh Adams for 80 minutes without intermission in each performance.

"The role of Claire wasn't written as an Asian," she continued. "But it was enriched by my ethnicity. Colin cast me as an American in a play that examines white supremacy, toxic masculinity and the plague of mass shootings.

"I hope that this play was a call to action-as it was for me-for all who witnessed it."

"We must end gun violence," she said, to cheers and applause from the audience. "We must combat toxic masculinity with love. We must dismantle white supremacy. And it begins here in the theater. We can all do it! Salamat, salamat."

Celebrate

To celebrate, Aquino says she danced at the awards party. "Then we went to an after party at our favorite theater bar. We got pretty hungry, so we went to a diner.

Aquino in a scene from "The Events" staged by Theater Alliance. 

"I spent the entire night with Colin, Josh and Kat, my Theater Alliance family, and it was so amazing to be with them."

It was business-as-usual the following day. "I was out very late, went home to sleep for a few hours, then went in to rehearsal at noon."

Great adventure

Aquino became involved in "The Events" when she and Hovde, whom she considers a good friend and longtime collaborator, were working together in a show at the Lincoln Center in New York.

"It began like all the greatest adventures, at 2 a.m. in a dive bar in Hell's Kitchen. We were trying to come up with the next project to collaborate on, knowing it was going to be his last season as Artistic Director at Theater Alliance.

"He told me about `The Events' and I told him I didn't care about the details, I was in."

Preparations

Aquino recounts the preparations the entire team undertook for the production. "There was a lot of dramaturgy on trauma survivors, mass shooting survivors and how they process grief and loss.

"We also had a shooting survivor in our choir, so there was firsthand knowledge on the terror experienced in a mass shooting."

 She adds that the rehearsal process had been "very sobering, very painful, but it led to a very truthful and necessary performance. We wanted to ensure that the play was visceral for those witnessing it."

"While the subject matter was very somber, we all cared so deeply about the play and how it forces the audience to confront the tragedies we seem to be experiencing in America every day."

Despite the serious subject matter, they also always tried to fill their work with hope. "Our choir rehearsals were such fun, the choir had fantastic voices and one of the songs they sung was Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy.'"

"Rehearsing that was such a joy. I really loved every minute of working with this team."

RELATED STORY:

'Pinay Power' drives Washington staging of 'Nell Gwynn'

Titas, poems, trans cousins, hypnosis to spice up Seattle's Pagdiriwang 2019

By WALTER ANG
May 28, 2019
Inquirer.net
https://usa.inquirer.net/30616/titas-poems-trans-cousins-hypnosis-to-spice-up-seattles-pagdiriwang-19

SEATTLE — Poetry and performances will be part of this year's Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival at the Seattle Center on June 1 to 2.

Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival is organized by the Filipino Cultural Heritage Society of Washington.

Now on its 33rd year, the festival will also have food, children's games, martial arts, film showings, a photography exhibit, music, and dance performances.

There will even be a blood donation drive and health fair.

Organized by Filipino Cultural Heritage Society of Washington, the annual celebration aims to be an "ideal setting for presenting art, craft, song, dance, music, history, literature, and culture to promote better understanding of the Filipino cultural heritage."

Poets, musical

Filipino American poets will hold a literary reading of their works at the "Ang Aming Mga Salita" program on the first day of the festival.

Matt Dela Cruz (left) and his mother, Ester. 

Included in the line-up are educator Third Andresen, playwright Robert Francis Flor (Alaskero Memories), journalist Jen Soriano (Making the Tongue Dry and published in Pleiades, Waxwing, TAYO), editor Dujie Tahat (published in Sugar House Review, Bennington Review, Poetry Northwest, Asian American Literary Review) and librarian Gerie Ventura.

Meanwhile, the "Teatro Pilipino" segment includes two one-person shows, a musical, a magician-master hypnotist, and a staged reading of a film script.

Composer and musician Rheanna Atendido and actor Mara Elissa Palma will perform a work-in-progress version of the musical they are developing.

Titled "Tides of Fortune," the musical is about Reyna, a Filipina drag king (women who dress up as men) performer on a cruise ship on her way to starting a new life in the United States. When her dream is threatened, she has to make a choice between doing what's right or doing whatever it takes.

Reyna's best friend and chef, Miguel, will try to cook something up to help her. To complicate things, Nova, a half-Filipina, half-American security officer on-board stands in Reyna's way but sparks fly when they realize they have more in common than they thought.

Performances are scheduled for both days.

Magic, stand-up

Magician and master hypnotist Maritess Zurbano will perform on both days as well with "Mentalism: The Supreme Magic of the Mind."

Maritess Zurbano and her hypnotized volunteers from the audience. 

Zurbano has performed in New York and Las Vegas. Internationally, she has performed in Berlin and Japan.

Matt Dela Cruz will perform his autobiographical one-person shows "Tita Ester" on the first day and "Mr. DC" on the second day.

Subtitled "Motherly reminders from a Filipina mom," "Tita Ester" showcases Dela Cruz's tribute to the wit, wisdom, and loving acceptance of his Ilocana mother, the titular Ester.

"Mr. DC" chronicles Dela Cruz's journey from hopeful young artist struggling in New York to his current endeavors as an educator in Seattle.

Dela Cruz's credits include cabaret shows as well as musicals with theater companies such as Village Theatre, Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Centerstage Theatre and Seattle Musical Theatre.

On the second day, there will be a staged reading of "Kultura," a script for a film by Sean Dagiwa about an artist and his transgender cousin who both attend a wedding and rediscover the traumas that have shaped and bonded them. 

Line-up and schedules subject to change. Contact organizers to confirm.

The festival has been held at the Seattle Center since 1987 and is part of Seattle Center Festal, a series of cultural programs sponsored by the City of Seattle.

Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival 2019 is June 1 to 2 at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle. Visit Festalpagdiriwang.com.

RELATED STORY:

Plays, poetry, food, comedy at Seattle's June Pagdiriwang fest 2018