Filipino American Raven Ong designs costumes for first ever Connecticut Shakespeare Fest

By WALTER ANG
June 29, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

HARTFORD, Connecticut — Audiences who will attend the inaugural production of the first ever Connecticut Shakespeare Festival will see the work of Filipino American costume designer Raven Ong. 

Ong's design and costume for First Fairy.

Kicking off the festival's first season at Auerfarm in Bloomfield will be William Shakespeare's romantic comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

In the play's titular evening, humans are preparing for a wedding and rehearsing a play for the reception. When four young lovers run into the woods, a kingdom of fairies who reside there  enchant, transform, and entangle everyone in each other's dreams.

Other Filipino Americans involved in the production include actor Katrien Van Riel, who will play First Fairy. The festival is organized by Playhouse Theatre Group.

Involvement

Ong He has designed for musicals such as "Beautiful: Carole King Musical," "Waitress," "Kinky Boots," "Matilda" and "The Producers," among others. He designed the costumes for Fil-Am playwright Linda Faigao-Hall's "Dying in Boulder." He teaches Costume Design at Central Connecticut State University.

Filipino American costume designer Raven Ong.

Ong's most recent involvement with the Playhouse Theatre Group was actually with its Playhouse on Park theater company just before the pandemic imposed restrictions on public gatherings last year. He had designed the costumes for the group's staging of Kate Hamill's adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice."

When festival Artistic Director Sean Harris offered the chance to design this production, Ong accepted right away.

"I am very excited! More than a year of not being able to design any professional work allowed me to recharge. Now it's time to conquer again!" he says.

Excitement

For this particular telling of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the collaborators of the show wanted to convey a particular vision according to Ong. "We wanted excitement and energy translated into design spectacle."

Ong's Asian-inspired silhouettes for Theseus and Hippolyta.

After all, "this is the first production of the inaugural season and the first project that most of us are working on after the pandemic," he says.

He explains that director Emma Went shared research images of the world she wanted to achieve. "She shared images of outfits with corsets and bustles, hoop skirts and panniers, so we determined that our world could be timeless but also romantic. We picked the Victorian era as a jumping off point."

"The lovers will be in Victorian outfits while the fairies will have more of an 18th-century silhouette to show that they've existed long before the people of Athens have.

"For example, Oberon's vest is inspired by rococo waistcoats with embroidery but his version will have cording, lace flowerets and ball fringe.

"Puck will be in a green Victorian tailcoat to establish his ever-playful character and ability to put on a disguise. He is the one who orchestrates the motion on stage."

Archetypes

Using the Puck character as an example, Ong points out that Shakespeare plays are known for archetype characters. 

Ong's design and costume for Oberon.

"When I attended a course at Shakespeare's Globe in London, we were asked to move according to what archetype we picked and to imagine what clothing we wore. That was very helpful to me as a costume designer."

He also explains that actors usually play multiple characters in Shakespeare plays. "And they sometimes change right before the audience's eyes, so costumes play a very important role in telling the story."

"What's fascinating to me as a costume designer is the ability to put together the qualities of different fabrics and materials that help in the storytelling process and help build the world in a poetic way."

The inaugural season of the festival is themed "Shakespeare and Sondheim" and begins July 7. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will be followed by Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods," "Shakespeare 4 Kids: Dream Scheme" and concludes with "Snow White."

Visit Connecticutshakespearefestival.org.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/75952/fil-am-designs-costumes-for-first-ever-connecticut-shakespeare-fest

Filipino American Arthur Soriano creates comics of pre-colonial Philippine tales

By WALTER ANG
June 23, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

AUSTIN, Texas — Filipino American Arthur Soriano has created a new comic series that focuses on "the genesis of Philippine history from a Filipino perspective." 

Arthur Soriano with young readers.

"The first issue of Marharlikan Chronicles is one hundred percent Philippine precolonial history and oral tradition," he says.

"In this series, you will not have to read about a Spanish King and outside views that aren't generally interesting to a Filipino reader."

According to Soriano, he created the comic because he wanted to give a better introduction and update to Philippine history "in a way that is appealing to the general Filipino public."

Identity

Born in the US to Filipino parents, Soriano became interested in early Philippine history because he thought it was something he ought to know about his heritage.

And also because "I'm Filipino and I love history in general." He'd learned about Greek and Roman ancient civilizations in college, so "why not the Philippines, too?"

He believes that knowing one's own history is important because "it gives you insight to who you and your people are.  In general, history teaches what happened, why it happened and what we could do better in the future."

Latest discoveries

These days, Soriano studies precolonial Philippine history independently and has the "ability and passion" to acquire books that "most don't have access to." 

Cover of inaugural issue of Maharlikan Chronicles.

"Which is why I share what I find.  I have met with scholars at museums in the Philippines and have bounced thoughts off with [historian] Ambeth Ocampo."

"As I studied precolonial Philippine history, I learned that the information available was very outdated and the latest discoveries would make for a better presentation of our early past."

He wants to "improve the knowledge base of Filipinos of their rich precolonial history."

First

For the inaugural issue, he collaborated with illustrator Faye Villanueva. "She and her husband Aria are comic creators in the Philippines and they own Kawangis Komiks and several titles of comics."

The first issue features Apo Anno the early Igorot leader and Urduja the warrior princess.

"This is an open-ended series since we plan to promote more adventures for Urduja and a wide array of Filipino mythology and folklore."

Response

"We have had a great response for the first issue. Many love the introduction of Philippine history from 'our' perspective, with the added plus of incorporating our oral tradition with known scholarly history and recent scientific discoveries."

Maharlikan Chronicles is sold in retail stores in Texas and Michigan and online for the rest of the US as well as internationally. Readers in the Philippines can visit the comics' website for the latest updates on availability.

"The second issue will be a continuation of precolonial Philippine history centered around the Visayas and the beginning of an adventure series for Urduja," says Soriano.

Visit maharlikanchronicles.com.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/75377/fil-am-creates-comics-of-pre-colonial-ph-tales

Filipino American theater director Jennifer Chang helms audio plays on LA landmarks

By WALTER ANG
June 16, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

LOS ANGELES — Filipino American theater director Jennifer Chang is helming a new audio play series that will focus on the city's unsung landmarks. 

Jennifer Chang

Titled "Chalk Lines," the series features five plays that bring to life areas of interest in city council districts 8 to 10, which includes the Metro Expo Line, Leimert Park, Historic West Adams, and Exposition Park.

The series is produced by Chalk Repertory Theatre, of which Chang is a cofounder and was the artistic director until 2016, with funding from the city's Department of Cultural Affairs.

The series' focus on geographic locations builds on the group's origins of staging productions in unconventional locations. Since it was founded in 2008, Chalk Rep has staged shows at sites as grand as the Natural History Museum and as intimate as the garage of a private home.

Chang recently won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) Award for Best Direction of a Play for her work on East West Players' production of "Vietgone." (READ about it here.)

Recent credits include "The Clitorish" for New Ohio Theatre and "Hannah and the Dread Gazebo" for Fountain Theatre. Chang is the Head of Undergraduate Acting at University of California-San Diego.

Development

The project had already been in development prior to the pandemic. "We had been developing and [had already] done beta testing on an app, kind of like a Pokémon Go, where your location unlocks an 'adventure,'" says Chang.

"In the case of 'Chalk Lines,' the intended goal was to unlock an audio play with your geo-location."

The theater group wanted to highlight the idea that these districts are destinations and that they possess rich history and culture.

Chalk Rep had initially intended for the series to be anchored on the segment of the Expo Line roughly between downtown and Culver City. "We wanted to create a project that would encourage folks to adventure . and that would be accessible with the train."

Pivot

The pandemic's restrictions made the group rethink its approach. "With the lockdown, we couldn't encourage folks to leave their homes and go to places or ride the Expo Line because that could potentially put them in contact with other people."

"We pivoted to putting all our focus on the districts."

In its current iteration, audience members can safely enjoy "Chalk Lines" at home focusing solely on the auditory experience or they can visually augment the experience by visiting each outdoor location and listen on a mobile device.

Chang is excited for listeners to "really hear where the stories take place."

"The sound designers have been so innovative and incredible, doing 3D mapping and wandering through the districts, walking the trajectories of the [plays.] The soundscape was authentically captured."

Diverse, rich

In addition to researching the histories of these locations, Chang's team of collaborators ensured the plays were written by and for the "folks who had strong ties to the districts . talented writers who all were born or lived in the areas."

"We wanted to have a variety of experiences and points of view in terms of gender and age and identity. We have a recent school graduate, a veteran award-winning playwright and multi-hyphenate artists."

The five plays features characters as varied as an orphan with AIDS who is visited by a life insurance sales person, a frank tour guide who goes through 150 years of LA history, a seasoned street vendor and a young college student riding the Expo, and a person preaching about alien life.

Chang will direct "The Great Leap" at Round House Theatre in Washington, DC in the late fall.

"Chalk Lines" launches June 19 for free. Donations encouraged. Visit Chalkrep.com.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/74709/fil-am-helms-audio-plays-on-la-landmarks

Filipino American Hazel Lozano in award-winning satire on race 'An Octoroon'

By WALTER ANG
June 11, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

LOS ANGELES — Filipino American Hazel Lozano is part of a play where actors will be in blackface and redface. 

Lozano (left) plays the Production Assistant in
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' satire "An Octoroon."

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "An Octoroon" is "a spectacular collision of the antebellum South and 21st-century cultural politics, twisting a funhouse world of larger-than-life stereotypes into blistering social commentary to create a gasp-inducing satire."

In the story, Lozano plays the part of a production assistant where a modern-day Black playwright decides to adapt his favorite melodrama play from 1859.

But he quickly realizes that getting white male actors to portray evil slave owners isn't easy. So he decides to perform the white male roles himself-in whiteface.

Incendiary

Blackface is when non-Black performers use darkening make-up to mimic the appearance of Black persons. In the U.S., the practice evokes an offensive and racist history of caricaturing negative stereotypes of Black slaves. Redface is the offensive lampooning of Native Americans.

In the Los Angeles premiere of this work, which will be the inaugural production of Fountain Theatre's new outdoor stage; what ensues is a world where "race and morality are challenged, mocked and savagely intensified."

This Obie Award-winning play has been described as "radical, incendiary and subversively funny."

Other Fil-Ams involved in the production include assistant stage manager Quinn O'Connor and audio engineer Noele Kyle Cunanan.

Start

Born in the Philippines, Lozano moved to Washington state with her family when she was nine years old. "Both of my parents are from Iriga City. Taga-Iriga 'ko, sagkud gusto kong magpraktis ka Irigueño ko. Sari po kamo, mga Irigueño sa LA?! [I'm from Iriga, I'd like to practice my Irigueño. Where are the Irigueño in LA?!]" she says.

She inadvertently got herself into the world of theater when she was in the first grade. "I raised my hand, trying to be helpful to the class. Then I found out I had volunteered to perform a one-person play in front of the whole school."

But since then, she's been hooked. Her previous credits include Administrator in Fil-Am playwright Boni Alvarez's "America Adjacent." Other credits include Iago in "Othello." She produces the Intimacy Choreography In Conversation podcast,

Lozano was intrigued by director Judith "Judy" Moreland's description of using caricature "while maintaining dignity and humanity."

"It was something that I've been reflecting a lot on lately as an Asian Pacific American artist. It's also something that I've found to be a great acting challenge both now and in the past."

Race

"I feel privileged being chosen to work on productions like this: shows that challenge our audiences to really see themselves and the world around them. That make them confront and interrogate biases they didn't think about before. 

Filipino American Hazel Lozano (left)
is in the cast of "An Octoroon." 

"I've been very grateful to this group of collaborators. Judy and Fountain Theatre have assembled some of the most talented folks I've worked with in LA, onstage and off. It's been a beautiful artistic workout every day."

She says she is "very, very hungry" for audiences to see the work. "Because they are the most important character in the show!"

"This play has so much to teach all of us, whether as Philippine immigrants, Philippine descendants, Asian Pacific Islanders who've experienced colonialism, or as Americans who bear privilege and suffering on soil tilled by enslaved African-Americans.

"If we achieve the playwright's and the director's objectives, this play should ignite the audience into any number of strong reactions which will hopefully lead to reflection and change."

The award-winning Fountain Theatre provides a creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. Its projects have been seen across the U.S. and internationally.

"An Octoroon" runs June 18 to Sept.19. Visit FountainTheatre.com.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/74024/fil-am-in-award-winning-satire-on-race

Fil-Am resto serves Filipino classics with vegan twist

By WALTER ANG
June 9, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

SAN FRANCISCO — Filipino American chef and restaurateur Reina Montenegro has opened her new restaurant Chef Reina where she offers Filipino comfort food with a twist. 

Filipino American Reina Montenegro's vegan restaurant Chef Reina
serves Filipino classics with a plan-based twist.

The brick-and-mortar storefront expands on her existing online service where patrons can order dishes that don't look out of place in any other regular Filipino restaurant.

There's lumpia shanghai in the list of appetizers. Under the "Filipino Favorites" section, there's lechon kawali, kaldereta, corned beef and chicken adobo.

She even offers sweet and sour bola bola, and favorites that have luncheon meat such as silogs and fried rice.

Only here, the dishes are all vegan.

Sandwich lovers may also be enticed to try the restaurant's Philly Cheeze "Steak," "Chik'n" Sandwich, BLT and Impossible Burger. And yes, the ube pancakes come with a side of "bacon."

Rewarding

Montenegro moved from the Philippines to the Bay Area in the late '90s. She prides herself as being self-taught in the kitchen and began her culinary career as a personal chef and caterer in 2012. 

Chef Reina's vegan sweet and sour bola bola and luncheon meat.

She soon opened a restaurant that focused on her ideal of plant-based and cruelty-free cuisine, touting it as the "first Filipino vegan restaurant in the Peninsula."

She had turned to vegan cuisine initially for health reasons. "But now I am all in for the environment and the animals as well," she says.

The uniqueness of her offering made business boom. So much so that two branches followed.

"Of course, I got a lot of heat from the older Filipinos, but when they tasted the food, they became believers! The most rewarding is when a non-vegan says, I'm not vegan but I absolutely love this food. That's when I know I've done my job."

Chrysalis

She ran her business the past few years, always aware of her different roles as an immigrant and person of color, with no nearby family support.

The pandemic restrictions last year forced her to shutter all three of her former restaurants. Though as it turns out, you can't put a hardworking woman down for long.

With time and space to incubate in the chrysalis she had been growing around herself, Montenegro finally emerged from it with a stronger sense of self and thus, rechristened her culinary services into its now eponymous brand.

Montenegro's taking more ownership and acceptance of her "identity and mission in bringing delicious and sustainable food and culinary activism to more families."

"I am so excited to share myself through the food without a mask or pretense."

Care

In a bit of good news for her loyal customers, the new restaurant takes over the spot of one of her former locations. It has a to-go window for online pick-ups and walk-up orders. 

Sisig and lumpiang shanghai, vegan version. 

In addition to the regular dishes, Montenegro's Chef Reina also offers prepacked bulk vegan "meat" dishes which the restaurant calls "Care Packages." Aside from Pinoy comfort fare such as sisig and tocino, patrons can also purchase beef bulgogi and carnitas by the pound.

"It feels so good to be on my own and doing what I absolutely love without anything or anyone holding me back," she says.

"I feel that finally my life is aligned where I can soar high and do what I am passionate about, which is ultimately to convince people to end suffering, not only to the environment or to the animals, but also themselves."

Chef Reina is at 33 Visitacion Ave., Brisbane, CA. Visit Chefreina.com.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/73847/fil-am-resto-serves-filipino-classics-with-vegan-twist

Filipino Americans Reuben Uy narrates Lysley Tenorio's award-winning ‘The Son of Good Fortune’

By WALTER ANG
June 2, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net 

LOS ANGELES — Filipino American actor Reuben Uy is the narrator of the audiobook format of Lysley Tenorio's award-winning debut novel The Son of Good Fortune. 

Filipino Americans Reuben Uy (left) and Lysley Tenorio. 

Released last year, it won Institute for Immigration Research's 2020 New American Voices Award, which recognizes "recently published works that illuminate the complexity of the human experience as told by immigrants, whose work is historically underrepresented in writing and publishing."

In Tenorio's young adult (YA) novel, Filipino American teenager Excel hangs out with his girlfriend Sab in one of the town's 17 cemeteries when he's not working in spy-themed pizza parlor The Pie Who Loved Me.

He wants to keep a low-profile so he can keep the secret his mother, a former B-movie action star immigrant from the Philippines turned online scam artist, has revealed to him about their family.

The book has been praised as "affecting" (The New York Times), "captivating" (Asian Review of Books), "sharp and compassionate ... powerful" (USA Today), "timely" (San Francisco Chronicle), "masterfully constructed" (Kirkus Reviews), and "mordant and moving ... a wonderful achievement" (Publisher's Weekly).

Stage to page

In a Facebook post, Uy wrote, "Extremely honored to have narrated Lysley Tenorio's 'The Son of Good Fortune.' It's a story that made me cry while narrating it!

"Every Filipino should read it as we all have either left or have a loved one who was forced to work overseas for greener pastures."

Uy had been part of a musical for composer and playwright Min Khang. During the production, he met an audiobook director who arranged for the cast to do a demo for Deyan Audio, an award-winning audiobook producing company.

"They were looking for Asian talent for upcoming audiobook projects. I auditioned for two books by Lysley Tenorio." In addition to The Son of Good Fortune, Uy also tried out for Tenorio's 2012 collection of short stories Monstress.

Uy was offered to narrate both, with co-narrating duties for Monstress with Fil-Am actress Chelsea Javier.

"The Son of Good Fortune took me three days to record and Monstress took two and a half days."

Three stories from Monstress have been adapted for the stage.

"Presenting ... The Monstress" (written by Fil-Am director Sean San Jose) and "Remember the I-Hotel" are adaptations staged by American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

"Felix Starro" is a musical adaptation staged by Ma-Yi Theater Company in New York with libretto by Jessica Hagedorn and music by Fabian Obispo.

Current

"It was a lot of fun because you get to do all the different characters," says Uy of the experience of bringing the book to life with just his voice. "You get to try a variety of accents and voices to give life to all of them." 

Lysley Tenorio's award-winning debut novel The Son of Good Fortune.

Uy's recent credits include "OliverRio" and "The Emperor's Nightingale" for Lewis Family Playhouse, "Akuma-Shin" for Sacred Fools Theatre and "Pacific Overtures" for Chromulume Theater. Television credits include a recurring character in Amazon's "Bosch."

Uy shares his own experiences of reading works by Gregorio Brillantes and Nick Joaquin in college. "As great as they are, the lives of their protagonists are in a world that I no don't or no longer recognize.

"Lysley's stories are so current that it's almost uncomfortable, like someone knows the secrets you keep inside.

"It's a very bizarre feeling to see and feel yourself in a book. Lysley loves to write about Filipinos and their obsession with America, and the constant conflict of wanting a better life, but having to make a choice between home and a new land in order to attain it."

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/73086/fil-am-narrates-award-winning-the-son-of-good-fortune

Filipino American comedy fundraiser against anti-Asian hate

By WALTER ANG
May 26, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net 

SAN FRANCISCO — An unapologetically Filipino American story about art, family, and culture will serve as a fundraiser for the Bay Area's Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. 

From left: Jeffrey Lo, Victor Malana Maog,
Jomar Tagatac and Moses Villarama. 

In the play, Jay has writer's block, he's lost his job and his girlfriend has just left him. Now he's stuck sleeping on the couch after being forced to move in with his Filipino immigrant mother. He must finally come face to face with the pressures and dreams of his parents while finding the bravery to find his voice as an artist of color in America.

Fil-Am Jeffrey Lo's play "Writing Fragments Home" will star Fil-Am thespians Jomar Tagatac and Moses Villarama. Fil-Am director Victor Malana Maog helms the production.

Lo is the director of community partnerships and casting director at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, the group that will stream a benefit reading of his play on June 5. The production will then be available by streaming on-demand from June 6 to 9.

Donations

This reading will benefit Compassion in Oakland, a nonprofit formed in response to the surge of anti-Asian attacks and dedicated to promoting safety and community in Oakland Chinatown and beyond. (Visit compassioninoakland.org.)

Viewers can sign up at TheatreWorks.org to receive a link to view "Writing Fragments Home."

Donations are encouraged, with levels starting at $10 in tiers named for popular Filipino dishes such as Lumpia Platter, Lechon, Pancit and Adobo.

Sharing

"One of the big themes in this play is loneliness and how sharing stories is a way for us to cure loneliness and build empathy in our world," says Lo.

"With the tragic rise in hate crimes against the AAPI community, I can't help but think about how scared, anxious and alone our community feels right now; how these hate crimes were activated from a lack of empathy for people with different backgrounds and identities.

"My hope is that this project, in addition to financially supporting the incredible work of Compassion in Oakland, can inspire hope and make the members of the AAPI community feel a little more understood."

Lo's directing credits include "The Language Archive," "The Santaland Diaries," "Vietgone," "Peter and the Starcatcher," and "Eurydice." Awards include Leigh Weimers Emerging Artist Award, Emerging Artist Laureate by Arts Council Silicon Valley, and Theatre Bay Area Director's TITAN Award.

Writing Fragments Home" was a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and a semi-finalist for the O'Neill Playwright's Conference.

Collaborators

Jomar Tagatac's credits for TheatreWorks include "The Language Archive," a role for which he won a San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle Award. Other credits include productions Jessica Hagedorn's "Dogeaters" at The Magic Theater and "Monstress," based on short stories by Fil-Am short story writer Lysley Tenorio, at American Conservatory Theater.

Moses Villarama's credits with TheatreWorks include "tokyo fish story."  He is a company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and teaches acting at Southern Oregon University.

Victor Malana Maog has worked at the Public Theater, Second Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Classic Stage Company, Drury Lane Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Rep, Cal Shakes. He has taught and directed in training programs across the country He is currently Visiting Professor in Theatre at St. Mary's College of California.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/72379/fil-am-comedy-fundraiser-against-anti-asian-hate

Filipino American TV stars Isa Briones and Ellen Williams in new play

By WALTER ANG
May 12, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

LOS ANGELES — Filipino American television actors Isa Briones and Ellen D. Williams are headlining a staged reading of "Mama, I wish I were silver," a new play by Filipino Romanian American playwright Amanda Andrei. 

Clockwise from top, Fil-Am theater artists director Fran de Leon and
actors Ellen D. Williams and Isa Briones
in an online rehearsal session for
Amanda Andrei's "Mama, I wish I were silver."

Briones recently starred opposite Patrick Stewart (playing twins) in the cast of "Picard" and was the youngest actress to be cast in the touring production of the Lin-Manuel Miranda hit musical "Hamilton," where she played Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds and understudied the Eliza Schuyler-Hamilton role. (READ about it here.)

Williams was recently in the sitcoms "Baskets" as Nicole Baskets, and "How I Met Your Mother" as Patrice.

Helming the reading is Fil-Am actor and director Fran de Leon. "What's been really amazing about working with this team is seeing all the different facets and multiplicities of our Filipina diasporic experience across generations, and it's wonderful how much we understand each other and the richness of memories they bring to . the play," says Andrei.

Birth

In the play, estranged Fil-Am half-sisters Ariel and Sofia reunite in Virginia to clean out their recently deceased mother's photographs and letters. They discover much more when they find a cassette tape seemingly recorded during martial law in the Philippines (when Ariel was born).

"Essentially, the play touches on giving birth during the pandemic in the United States and during Marcos' declaration of martial law in the Philippines.

Andrei gave birth middle of last year. "I was reflecting over giving birth during a time of pandemic and civil upheaval-how it must be so scary for first-time moms to be birthing, what kind of world are our children being born into.

"I drew strength and inspiration from stories about my mother and grandmother and the turbulent times when they gave birth. Has it always been turbulent for us as Filipina women?"

Reflections  

Nevertheless, it is strength, inspiration and, ultimately, joy, that led to the germination of this play.

"The Vagrancy Writers Group put out a beautiful prompt for us . `tell a story inspired by the theme History Repeats Itself . provide an antidote to the current uncertainty we are all experiencing by reflecting elements of joy.'

"I feel fortunate that my Filipina American doula joined me. Because of my child's birth, 2020 will always have a flood of joy and grace amidst everything going on."

In addition to having just given birth, Andrei and her family also moved, forcing her to confront her own mother's ephemera. "I had all of these boxes of my mom's journalism archives from her time abroad.

"It's an incredibly intimate act to go through someone's letters. I was struck by how clearly my mom's voice came across in the letters.

Ideas for the play came quickly to her. "I suppose because I was also thinking about how to deal with a mother's legacy, how to mother and bring life into the world during `unprecedented times' and how the Filipina can take up space, both in life and in death, and how fluid those boundaries can be."

Different structure

Andrei is also experimenting with structure with this piece. "The play has the kishotenketsu structure, an Asian four-act story shape meant not to highlight conflict, but rather disparate elements coming together in harmony."

Prior to this production, Andrei's "Culture Night" had a staged reading online for Echo Theater Company helmed by Fil-Am director Daniella Wheelock with an all-Fil-Am cast.

The Vagrancy will release recordings of the staged readings every Tuesday May 25 to June 29 with livestreamed talkback sessions on its YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, after this production, Andrei will prepare for a production of her Fil-Am adaptation of Euripides' "Hecuba" and one more play scheduled for the end of the year with an LA theater group that will feature Filipino and Fil-Am themes.

Visit Fb.com/thevagrancytheatre.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/70655/fil-am-tv-stars-isa-briones-and-ellen-williams-in-new-play

Filipino American mom-daughter 'trapped together' in new play

By WALTER ANG
May 6, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

NEW YORK — What happens when a Filipino American mother and daughter who both have problems with work, relationships and anti-Asian sentiments quarantine together during the pandemic? Fil-Am playwright Cherry Lou Sy unfurls desires and miseries in "Not For Long." 

Francesca McKenzie rehearsing a scene.

A staged reading will be presented by newly formed theater group the International (minor feelings) Trading Company just a few days after Mother's Day. A panel discussion will follow.

Obie Award Winner Ching Valdes-Aran will play the mother alongside Francesca Fernandez McKenzie as the daughter. Both thespians are Fil-Am.

"I keep asking myself: how do we live with people we love when they hold views so different from our own?" relates Sy.

"Playwrights are artists. Artists, according to James Baldwin, are here to disturb the peace. But what is peace right now?"

"Others might think that it's too on the nose to write about the pandemic during the pandemic, but there was so much uncertainty then, and even so now. I wanted to capture the tension of that time as  . experienced by Asian female bodies in a Filipino household when there's racism and prejudice even in one's own house."

Personal grief

The play is gleaned from her own experiences of loss and frustrations.

She had been invited to a playwrights group and was working with a prompt to write about family. "I didn't think I could write anything because I was still grieving the death of one of my close friends."

She was also dealing with her own mother's differing political opinions as well as the increasing climate of anti-Asian hate in her neighborhood.

"I didn't know how else to deal with everything. The deadline and focus that [was] provided helped me put words together to write this play, which is about composite characters in the generational divide partially based on me and my mother."

Vision and creation

Despite the personal losses Sy has experienced (her father also recently died a few months ago), she and two other colleagues chose to actively pursue optimism.

Ching Valdes-Aran in rehearsals. 

"My friend the director Eugene Ma and I decided to create our own international theater company, the International (minor feelings) Trading Company, because it's so important to create a future of hope and manifesting that vision. He's based in Hong Kong while our other friend, actor Hidetaka Ishii, is based in Toronto."

"Because of Zoom technology, we've been able to meet and try to engage in our version of the theater of the future, post-pandemic." They have already begun to explore Sy's body of work.

Meanwhile, in June, Sy's "Panic Room: An Unkindness of Ravens" will be shown online. Originally scheduled for last year, it is a finalist for the 2021 AEG Barbour Playwriting Award.

Collaborators

As for "Not For Long," Sy reconnects with the cast she worked with when testing out the draft of the play.

"I worked with Ching and Francesca last year when I wanted to hear the play for the first time. It was great. I've seen both of them perform during the before days of the pandemic and they are powerhouses. They are dream collaborators and consummately skilled in their craft."

Francesca Fernandez McKenzie is an actor, producer, and educator. Before graduating from Yale School of Drama, she was a theater maker in New Orleans. She has shared her work in NYC (59E59, Daryl Roth Theater, The Lark) and regionally (CalShakes, Magic Theatre, Horizon Theater, Southern Rep, Mu Performing Arts).

Ching Valdes-Aran has worked intensively in NYC on Broadway, Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, and in major regional theaters throughout the U.S.

She has also directed, danced and performed in many international festivals. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors' Lab, Actors's Center Workshop Company and is on the advisory board of Ma-Yi Theater Company.

"Not For Long" is supported by the Rapid Response Honorarium Program of Brooklyn College's Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, in partnership with Stonehenge NYC Still Standing Artist Residency.

"Not For Long" runs May 12. Visit Fb.com/wolfeinstitute.  

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/70078/fil-am-mom-daughter-trapped-together-in-new-play

Milwaukee Filipino Americans speak up for cultural visibility

By WALTER ANG
May 4, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Filipino American theater artists and community leaders will be in panel discussions hosted by Milwaukee Repertory Theater for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. 

(From left) Filipino American theater artists
Paolo Montalban (still from "Cinderella"),
N'Jameh Russell-Camara and A. Rey Pamatmat. 

To kick things off, Fil-Am theater actor Paolo Montalban will give the welcome remarks. Theater fans know him for his role as Prince Christopher in the 1997 made-for-TV adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "Cinderella" that recently became available on the Disney+ streaming service.

Milwaukee Rep's series of activities under its "Making the Invisible Visible: A Celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Culture, Arts and Activism" aims to offer opportunities to hear from AAPI community members, more so in light of recent violent attacks on Asian Americans.

Fil-Am actor N'Jameh Russell-Camara, Milwaukee Rep's new Associate Director of Engagement, spearheaded and shepherded this year's activities.

She will moderate a panel discussion on May 11 focusing on the importance of representation and support for the AAPI community. The session will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.

Included in this panel is Fil-Am playwright A. Rey Pamatmat, co-director of the Ma-Yi Theater Company's Writers Lab, a support group for Asian American playwrights. Pamatmat's credits incude "Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them" and "House Rules."

Leaders

Later in the month, there will be another panel discussion with AAPI community leaders from the Milwaukee area on how arts, activism and legislation come together to help AAPI representation in the arts.

Moderator will be Fil-Am MacArthur Antigua, Senior Director of Collective Impact at Imagine MKE, a socio-civic arts advocacy organization.

Fil-Am panel members include Alexa Alfaro, co-owner of Meat on the Street restaurant and Angelito Tenorio, common council alderperson of West Allis City's first district, a suburb of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Reflections

For Camara, who is Gambian Filipino American, looking back at 2020 provides perspective for her new responsibilities at Milwaukee Rep, which includes being in the organization's first official department of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

She says last year has been one of the best and worst times of her adult life. "I have witnessed abundance and have felt the most powerful that I have ever been. Yet, I've experienced the most mourning, fear and constriction at the same time," she says, referring to the pandemic as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.

Related to her theater work, she began to actively follow information provided by a collective of theater artists of color called We See You White American Theater, which seeks for more equitable treatment in the industry.

All these reckonings with racism led her to reflect on her own place in society and in her profession. "[It] caused me to ask myself, `What is my purpose? What is this moment in time revealing to me about the transformation or evolution of my calling?'"

Fulfilling

"In what ways can I use my voice to affect systems off the stage? I see the power that the arts can do. How can I pitch ideas, create opportunity, be a leader, and be `in the room where it happens' so that I understand these systemic issues from the inside?"

Camara had done work as an actor, recently in productions such as the national tour of "The Color Purple," an Off-Broadway staging of "Macbeth" and as an audiobook narrator.

And now, this new role she's stepped into has proved fulfilling for her. "I am thrilled to be in this leadership position. I'm learning so much and am using my voice in ways that feel right. I feel like I am inching the needle forward.

"While I have been able to curate and facilitate a plethora of high quality intentional conversations for virtual audiences across the country, I'm also proud of the responsiveness of the community that I have had the privilege to engage and lead in."

Visit Milwaukeerep.com.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/69801/milwaukee-fil-ams-speak-up-for-cultural-visibility

Filipino American May Adrales is new artistic director of NYC’s Lark Theater

By WALTER ANG
April 30, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net 

NEW YORK — Filipino American theater director May Adrales has been named as the new artistic director of The Lark, an international play development laboratory. 

May Adrales

Adrales is the organization's second artistic director, succeeding the founder. She was selected by a committee composed of the group's artists, staff and board members.

She became The Lark's Director of Artistic Programs in 2008 and led in designing several programs that are still in use.

Adrales is known for her administrative and teaching work. She served as an Artistic Associate and faculty member at the Public Theater, spearheading its Shakespeare Lab. She has directed and taught at Juilliard, New York University, Brown University, and Yale University, where she received her master's degree in directing and theater production.

Adrales was born in Covington, Virginia to Filipino parents. She was most recently associate artistic director of Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

In addition to her administrative chops, Adrales is known for her directing prowess. Her freelance work spans across the country. In 2018, she won the Alan Schneider Director Award

Transformative  

In an interview with American Theatre Magazine, Adrales described 2020 as, "one of the most transient and transformative years of my professional career."

Online programming opened opportunities. She worked on over 21 world-premiere plays, produced an audio play series, music videos, classical performances, conversation series, and online concerts, overall employing 218 artists. "Even as I struggled to entertain and care for my then-10-month-old during Zoom rehearsals and meetings, I felt energized by the immediacy of my work.

"Suddenly, the ability to connect with artists and audiences, regardless of geographic location, democratized theater in an unprecedented way. My family from all over the world could see for the first time the fruits of my directing labor.

She even got to direct a 45-minute music video of Fil-Am composer Paulo Tirol's "Called," working with a team across five different time zones. "My creativity only expanded, even as the resources around me diminished."

"Artists found ways to connect and innovate in profound, brazen, and mischievous ways. As the traditional models of theatre languished . individual voices . respond[ed] immediately to the health and economic crises, and the nationwide reckoning with systemic racism and anti-Blackness, in real time."

Purpose

"More importantly, the pandemic has exposed societal, political and organizational ills; it shone a glaring unforgiving light upon the inequities embedded in our society . Now it is my sole calling and purpose: to support the changemakers who challenge and innovate beyond the old models to imagine and dream anew."

In a statement, Adrales said, "The Lark, which, by creating a dynamic, radically supportive and inclusive space for living theater makers, has influenced and shaped me to be the artist I am today.

"My vision for The Lark is to wholly empower artists and encourage their fullest potential by providing artistic, financial and career building support.  My hope is that the work created [here] reveals the widest range of human experience and works towards an equitable, compassionate, and imaginative world. These artists . are the first to show us how to be the change we want to see."

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/69286/fil-am-is-new-artistic-director-of-nycs-lark-theater

Filipino American Top Chef Sheldon Simeon releases cookbook

By WALTER ANG 
April 29, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

MAUI, Hawaii — Filipino American chef Sheldon Simeon, popularly known for competing in the 10th (Seattle) and 14th (Charleston) seasons of reality cooking competition show "Top Chef," winning Fan Favorite both times, has released Cook Real Hawai'i:  A Cookbook. 

Sheldon Simeon with his family. 

Simeon is the owner of Tin Roof restaurant, which he opened in 2016. He also opened Lineage at the posh The Shops at Wailea mall in 2018 before stepping back last year.

The photograph-filled cookbook, co-written with Garrett Snyder, features a hundred recipes that blend Simeon's native Hawaiian cuisine with influences from Filipino, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese flavors.

The chef's Instagram account (@chefwonder) has a post showcasing a behind-the-scenes music video of how some of the photographs were taken for the book.

He has also been inviting chefs on Instagram Live sessions for cooking demonstrations of recipes from the book. Guests have included Fil-Am chefs Charles Olalia and Dale Talde.

Personal

The book features victuals such as pork dumplings made with biscuit dough, charred huli-huli chicken with sweet-savory butter glaze and crispy cauliflower katsu.

With sections titled Heavy Pupus, Hibachi Styling, Fry Action, Sim Simmer, Rice and Noodles, Mean Greens, Sweets and Drinks, and Odds and Ends, the range of recipes reflects the variety of viands and refreshments prepared in Hawaii's homes, cookouts and iconic mom and pop shops.

The recipes are interspersed with personal stories of Simeon's journey as a chef, such as how he learned to create new dishes inspired by a variety of cultures.

Having started off as a busboy at Walt Disney World, Simeon went off to Maui Culinary Academy, then climbed the ranks in the industry before starting to gain notice in the early 2010s when he became the chef at Star Noodle restaurant.

Community

It was Simeon's experiences with the public's perceptions of what Hawaiian cuisine actually is and isn't that inspired him to craft this cookbook.

Filipino American chef Sheldon Simeon has released
his cookbook Cook Real Hawai'i: A Cookbook.

As he kept sharing his passion for the cuisine during his stints on popular competition shows, he began to realize that a majority of people are still under the impression that simply including pineapple in a dish makes it Hawaiian.

He wanted a venue to explain Hawaii's distinctive fare and its special heritage.

In an interview with Thrillist.com, Simeon explains that the cuisine he offers is the result of many different cultures immigrating to and living harmoniously in Hawaii. "It's a cuisine of adaptation that relies on ingredients that flourish on the tropical islands."

He explains that when immigrants initially landed in Hawaii, they could only bring a finite number of ingredients and "they didn't have Google. They couldn't call their mom" and therefore had to "go purely based on memory and utilize what was available."

He likens the resulting cuisine to the island's own pidgin language, a blend of different sources but yet a unique product on its own.

However, at the end of the day, Simeon points out that when it comes to cooking Hawaii cuisine, specific ingredients and techniques are not as important as instinct and feelings.

"It's based on ohana and it's based in community. Food is a part of our life and sharing with our families and gathering with our friends-that, to me, is cooking real Hawaii."

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/69202/ohana-based-cuisine-stars-in-fil-am-top-chef-sheldon-simeons-cookbook

Filipino American entry to Global Forms theater fest probes Filipino identity

By WALTER ANG 
April 22, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net 

NEW YORK — Filipino American theater artists Regina de Vera and Gaven Trinidad are mulling the lasting effects of Spanish, Japanese, and American imperialism "on contemporary Pilipino identity and what it means to be Pilipino/Filipinx today." 

Regina de Vera (left) and Gaven Trinidad

In "Sa Aming Puso / In Our Hearts," De Vera will perform excerpts from three plays by Trinidad at the upcoming Global Forms Theater Festival.

Organized by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, the festival celebrates the work of international and immigrant theater artists living in the United States and abroad.

Presented in English and Tagalog, the piece will explore "belonging, citizenship, decolonization, and the continuous search for what unites all people of Pilipino descent."

Project

In addition, "Sa Aming Puso / In Our Hearts" serves as a precursor to "Ma'am Lys," Trinidad's Filipino language adaptation of the ancient Greek antiwar farce "Lysistrata."

His version, which has been commissioned by theater group The Song Collective, is inspired by the 2011 sex strike of the women's sewing cooperative of Dado Village in Mindanao, which ended insurgent violence in less than a week.

Trinidad is a native of New York whose directing credits include "Joker" (National Queer Theatre), "Are You There Truman?" (Pride Plays and  Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre). He has worked at Musical Theatre Factory, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and National Queer Theater.

The Mindanao incident sparked Trinidad's memories of the women in his own family. "The women's sewing collective had rows of antique Singer sewing machines; my lola also had one.  As a young person, I was deeply moved and inspired by the feminist and community work of my tita Theresa Balayon, former executive officer of the Philippine's Women's Crisis Center. It influenced me in my own community and social justice work through the performing arts.

"Propelled by these two forces, I always had a Pilipino Lysistrata brewing in the back of my head." He had been working on the translation and adaptation when he met the actress he wanted to play the part.

While he was working at The Juilliard School, De Vera was completing her MFA in Acting there under the Raul Julia Memorial Scholarship in Drama and the Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship. A native of Manila, she recently played the lead in Steve Martin's "The Underpants" at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.

Develop

"By sharing excerpts and our historical research, I hope to be engaged with Pinoys from all over the world," he says. "Through this dialogue, we can further develop `Ma'am Lys' with depth, nuance, and comedy that I hope resonates for any Pinoy theatregoer."

Trinidad shares that one of his biggest insecurities growing up was being "considered Pilipino" by the community. "As a moreno queer Fil-Am theater maker, I already feel ostracized by certain Pinoy circles; my Americanness in particular made me illegible by some of my own family."

These questions led him into "deep dives into issues that I later realized also affected many [in] the Pilipino diaspora: toxicity of Pinoy masculinity, discrimination driven by colorism, and the lasting devastating psychological effects of colonialism.

"With these in mind, I wondered what connected me to Pinoys throughout the world and what were the connections that made us Pilipino. These are the underlying questions that I hope to ask in our exploration. Regina and I do not have answers.

"What I hope is that we start a larger dialogue that fuels and gives nuance to the issues that are in my adaptation of `Lysistrata.' It's certainly going to be funny, but I want to create a theatrical ritual that heals and bonds the many disparate identities in the Pilipino diaspora."

"Sa Aming Puso / In Our Hearts" runs June 2 to 4. Visit Rattlestick.org.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/68595/fil-am-theater-fest-entry-probes-filipino-identity

Filipino American director’s puppet play tackles anti-Asian aggression

By WALTER ANG
April 20, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

NEW YORK — Filipino American theater director, actor and playwright Ralph Peña has created a puppet play that tackles anti-Asian aggression. 

Still from "Vancouver."

To be shown online for free on April 30 (watch trailer here), "Vancouver" deals with the experiences of a mixed-race family that relocates from Japan to the Pacific Northwest hoping to find more stability and acceptance.

The play is presented by Ma-Yi Studios, the streaming and filming studio of Ma-Yi Theater Company, of which Peña is artistic director. Ma-Yi is an award-winning Off-Broadway Asian American theater company that was founded by Fil-Am theater artists.

Fil-Am creativity

"'Vancouver' was a gut-level response to the pandemic and the shuttering of live theater," says Peña. "We had to find a way to work safely, so I thought of puppets."

Written and directed by Peña, the play was created in collaboration with puppetry director Tom Lee.  Filipino Americans involved in the production include composer Fabian Obispo and director of photography Francisco Aliwalas.

Peña has written plays such as "Flipzoids." His directing credits include "Felix Starro," a musical adaptation of Fil-Am writer Lysley Tenorio's short story, "The Wong Kids," "Microcrisis," and "The Chinese Lady," among others. His work has been seen in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Manila and other cities.

Collaborator

"When Ralph approached me about telling a contemporary Asian American story with puppetry, I leaped at the chance to collaborate with him," said Lee.

"Throughout the process, we were dealing with the pandemic and also the painful and ongoing reckoning in the country about racism. We saw elected leaders openly espouse racist rhetoric and split the country into us and them.

"'Vancouver' is not only about trying to make a beautiful piece of art in challenging times, it is about portraying a story of a mixed-race Asian American family navigating the fraught environment of our country. Telling this story is especially crucial at this moment."

Creative team

Puppeteers include Mark Blashford, Tom Lee, and K.T. Shivak along with the vocal talents of Cindy Cheung as Amy, Daniel Isaac as Lucky, Shannon Tyo as Ashley, and James Yaegashi as Hiro.

"Vancouver" was filmed in September 2020 on location in a rustic barn in Wisconsin. The setting provided a controlled environment that allowed all participants to follow strict social distancing and safety guidelines during the creative process.

Shivak handled puppet design and Blair Thomas was the puppetry consultant. The creative team included Alec Styborski (editor), Jaerin Son (lead scenic design), Chicago Puppet Studio (production design), Aaron Herschlag (grip), Eric Roediger (motion graphics), Jesse Jae Hoon (titles), Paul Lieber (sound design) and Three Crown Studios (sound mastering).

Festival

While the production is free to view, audiences are encouraged to consider a donation by following directions at the website. "Vancouver" is intended for audiences 13 and older.

The play is presented in association with the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, which will also offer a link to the show on its website chicagopuppetfest.org.

Since its founding in 1989, Ma-Yi Theater Company has distinguished itself as one of the country's leading incubators of new work shaping the national discourse about what it means to be Asian American today.

Visit Ma-yistudios.com.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/68390/fil-am-directors-puppet-play-tackles-anti-asian-aggression

Filipino American poet-historian Luis Francia pens new play on Magellan

By WALTER ANG
April 16, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net

NEW YORK — A play by Filipino American Luis Francia exploring the profound consequences and culture clashes that resulted from Ferdinand Magellan's arrival in the Philippines in 1521 will be presented by New York University (NYU). 

Luis Francia 

In "Black Henry," the Portuguese explorer's disastrous encounter with people of the islands complicates the life of his Malay slave, Enrique, who serves as a go-between for the Spanish conquistadors and the islands' peoples, and irrevocably alters the archipelago's character and destiny.

Author of the book History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos, Francia's other plays include "The Strange Case of Citizen de la Cruz."

He is adjunct professor of Filipino on faculty at the university's Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. Francia writes the column "The Artist Abroad" for INQUIRER.net USA and Canada. He's also a published poet.

Global

The virtual presentations are produced by the university's Sulo: Philippine Studies Initiative (Sulo) and the school's King Juan Carlos Center (KJCC). The play is part of a program of events commemorating the quincentennial of the 1521 voyage.

Mirroring the voyage's circumnavigation of the globe, the cast is comprised of actors from across oceans: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and the Philippines.

Directed by Claro de los Reyes, founding artistic director of Atlantic Pacific Theater with costume, scenic and graphic designs by Cynthia Alberto, Francis Estrada and Charles Reynoso.

The presentation on April 25, 6:30pm EST, will be followed by a talkback with the playwright, director and Nerissa Balce from State University of New York (SUNY) Stony Brook's Department of Asian and Asian American Studies.

Coming up

Sulo and KJCC will also be presenting "Visions/Panawin," a film series selected by noted Philippine film curator Gil Quito. The series will celebrate Philippine cinema with a mix of indie and studio films.

The offerings this spring honor the independent outfit TBA Studios. The series continues through the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters with selected classics and contemporary films from Philippine cinema.

Initiative

Sulo is the result of an agreement between the Philippine government and New York University to establish a Philippine Studies program at NYU. The initiative includes programs, events, and funding for students and faculty.

It also seeks to support and partner with other units in the University as well as cultural and academic centers in New York City and elsewhere.

Sulo has contributed to the founding of the Global Philippine Studies Forum at NYU, a Bennett-Polonsky Humanities Lab on Cross/Currents (research work on imperialistic understanding of global interconnection) for academic year 2021-22, and research and travel funds for students.

"Black Henry" runs April 25 to 27 at FB.com/kjccnyu/live. Visit Wp.nyu.edu/spsi/.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/68197/fil-am-poet-historian-pens-new-play-on-magellan

In-demand Filipino American playwright Hortense Gerardo fills calendar with works

By WALTER ANG 
April 14, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net 

BOSTON — Filipino American playwright Hortense Gerardo is on a roll with several different short plays all coming to production in the months to come. 

Filipino American playwright Hortense Gerardo

All four pieces, each 10 minutes long, were commissioned by different theater groups.

"The challenges of distilling a story into 10 minutes is that you have to flesh out fully realized characters in a heightened moment in time, in an economical way, that will deliver a gut punch," says Gerardo.

"I love the challenge of these restrictions because they force me to arrive at a truth, but ideally in a way that affects the audience in retrospect, in a way that lingers in the memory beyond the world of those 10 minutes.

Instead of being limited by the time constraint, Gerardo sees it as an invitation to stay with audiences for far longer.

"I love when I write a script that, after only 10 minutes, has the audience discussing it for far longer than the duration of the play itself. This, for me, is part of the addictive quality of being a playwright. I can never get enough of that feeling—and actually seeing—that a person was moved by something I wrote."

Romance

Coming up first in the 23rd Annual Boston Theatre Marathon on April 24 is her "Scentsation," staged by Umbrella Stage Theater.

When Filipino medical doctor Lily learns that her recent ex-partner will be her patient at the walk-in clinic, she conducts a "scentsational" test to help Pino recover more than their lost sense of smell.

"This is a romantic black comedy.  It's about yearning, regret and redemption. Something lost, something gained and all of it hanging somewhere in that netherworld of memory," she says.

Fil-Am theater director Michelle Aguillon will be performing the role of Lily. She previously performed the role in a staging by Vokes Theater in January which she also directed.

Aguillon is doing a different kind of marathon of sorts of her own during this year's Theatre Marathon-where 50 groups stage 50 plays. In addition to acting in Gerardo's play, Aguillon is directing Open Theater Project's entry and producing Asian American Playwright Collective's entry.

Fresh

In May, during Asian Pacific Heritage Month, for Fresh Ink Theater's Boston in Ten project, Gerardo will also be presenting another commissioned play.

"Juni at Ten" will tread the boards on May 15. Mason joins Juni's parents, Keanu and Larry (played by Fil-Am Jude Torres) online, to discuss an intervention for Juni, who has been living in the socially-distanced world imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic that ended ten months prior.

"This is a bittersweet comedy that explores the notion of celebrity culture, the parasocial world that was forced on all of us this past year, and the road back to some semblance of `normal life' post-pandemic."

Ether

For June, she is crafting a monologue for SpeakEasy Stage's Boston Resilience Project.

The project required playwrights to set their stories of resilience somewhere in Boston. Gerardo chose the Ether Monument, also known as The Good Samaritan, in Boston's Public Garden.

"The monologue begins as a testament to the scientific discovery of ether as an anesthetic, and harkens to Boston's storied history as a center for advancement in scientific innovation."

"However, the monologue ventures into the newest form of miasma with a similar name: the Ethernet. The monologue muses about the similar anesthetic qualities induced by exposure to ether, and how it has caused a psychological form of insensitivity to pain for better and for worse."

Masque of the Red Death

Then for July, she is developing a riff on Edgar Allen Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" for Flat Earth Theatre.

"The idea of having survived the pandemic was dark enough. The play focuses on friendships that have helped us to survive, and how the powers of ritual, however insignificant they might be, help us through difficult times."

"The characters in my plays find redemption in the simplest of pleasures. This is a reflection of how I've lived these last several months, and I hope to retain some of that daily consciousness in the everyday."

Visit HortenseGerardo.com.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/67996/in-demand-fil-am-playwright-fills-calendar-with-works

Filipino American Broadway stars sing for Jollibee USA & Canada

By WALTER ANG
April 7, 2021 | USA.Inquirer.net 

NEW YORK — Filipino American Broadway stars congregated virtually to sing a cover of "True to Your Heart," from the Disney animated classic "Mulan," for Jollibee North America's Food, Service, Cleanliness (FSC) Awards ceremony. 

Still from Broadway Barkada's cover of "True to Your Heart."
From left: (top row) Jaygee Macapugay, Marc delaCruz,
Lianah Sta. Ana, Kay Trinidad Karns;
(bottom row) Jeigh Madjus, Adam Jacobs,
Emily Borromeo, Albert Guerzon. 

Fil-Am Broadway leading ladies such as Lianah Sta. Ana (Kim in "Miss Saigon") and leading men Adam Jacobs (Aladdin in Disney's "Aladdin," Simba in "The Lion King," Marius in "Les Miserables") and Marc delaCruz (Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in "Hamilton") were part of the performance.

It was recorded as a music video (watch here) and presented at the virtual ceremony held earlier this year. FSC is an annual private recognition activity held in appreciation for the fast food chain's employees. The song was chosen for its positive lyrics.

The song was used in the movie's end-credits, originally sung by Stevie Wonder and the group 98 Degrees with music by Matthew Wilder and lyrics by David Zippel. Lea Salonga was the singing voice of the title character.

Barkada

The cast of the music video are all members of Broadway Barkada, a support group for Filipino American performers in the Broadway industry. 

Broadway Barkada was selected to perform the song because they embodied positivity and captured the energy that Jollibee North American wanted to share with their awardees. The company also wanted to showcase talented Fil-Am artists.

Broadway Barkada cofounders Billy Bustamante, Liz Casasola and Brian Jose helped build the cast for this video. Other performers include Emily Borromeo ("School of Rock"), Kay Trinidad Karns (Disney's "The Little Mermaid" and "Hadestown," which topbilled Fil-Am Eve Noblezada) and Jaygee Macapugay ("Soft Power," "Here Lies Love").

It also includes Albert Guerzon ("Escapte to Margaritaville," "Honeymoon in Vegas," "Mamma Mia!") and Jeigh Madjus ("Moulin Rouge!")

Behind the scenes

The music video's music arrangement was by Steven Cuevas, who served as the music director for the touring production of "Once on This Island." Salonga played Erzulie in the musical's Broadway production before it went on tour. The show's costumes were designed by Tony Award winner Clint Ramos.

Musicians included Steven Cuevas on piano and organ, Jonathan Cuevas on acoustic guitar and Brandon Ilaw on electric guitar and bass drums; mixing by Jonathan Cuevas. Don Gutierrez edited the video.

Broadway Barkada was founded in 2009. Through art and education, it aims to bring the Filipino experience and a deeper meaning of its culture and artists to a diverse audience.

Expansion

Jollibee Group North America has announced plans to open 28 stores across the US (19) and Canada (nine) this year, working towards an eventual 300 stores by 2024. It opened 12 stores across North America last year.

"We have remained nimble and optimistic which has led Jollibee to defy expectations amidst an extremely difficult year and experience double-digit sales growth across North America," said Maribeth Dela Cruz, President of Jollibee Group North America.

"We would not be weathering these hard times without the support of our customers. We're incredibly grateful for the continued support we've received from across these regions."

Stores currently offer pick-up, take-out, drive-thru and delivery services. Jollibee's 2021 store openings will be announced on its Jollibee USA and Jollibee Canada Facebook and Instagram accounts.

~
https://usa.inquirer.net/67480/fil-am-broadway-stars-sing-for-jollibee-north-america