Rondalla Workshops & The 16th Virgin Labfest at CCP

Due to the developing COVID-19 situation, please note that all programmes listed in this article are subject to changes. For the latest information and updates, please refer directly to the organiser’s website.

CCP National Rondalla Workshop 2020 (28 Apr – 2 May)

The Artist Training Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) will be mounting the 6th CCP National Rondalla Workshop 2020 on April 28 – May 2, 2020 from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in various venues of the Center.

The Workshop is open to rondalla groups all over the country who have been in existence for at least two years including children’s rondalla and other non-beginners. Rondalla Ensembles who have the rondalla instruments which include the banduria, octavina/laud, guitar and bass may apply for the workshop.

Image Courtesy of Cultural Center of the Philippines

The workshops will be led by Elaine Espejo Cajucom of the Celso Espejo Rondalla, the University of the Philippines (UP) Rondalla, and faculty members of the UP College of Music. The workshop modules include sectional rehearsals per rondalla instrument, note reading sessions, individual rondalla ensemble clinic sessions, and plenary sessions wherein all the participants gather together to learn a common piece. This year, modules for Children’s Rondalla will also be included. The workshop will culminate in a performance at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) on 2 May.

For more information, please contact the CCP Artist Training Division by phone at 8321125 loc. 1605 or by email at ccp.artist.training@gmail.com.

“Rurok”, The 16th Virgin Labfest (10 – 28 Jun)

From June 10 to 28, 2020, the CCP with its partners, the Writer’s Bloc and Tanghalang Pilipino, once again mount THE VIRGIN LABFEST, a festival of untried, untested, unstaged works by Filipino playwrights.   Now on its 16th year, the festival re-invents itself with a new leader, a new outlook and new activities.

Image Courtesy of Cultural Center of the Philippines

The greatest testimony to the success of the festival this year was the submission of 290 scripts for consideration compared to 185 entries last year.  Of these, a committee of readers composed of founding Festival Director Rody Vera, current Festival Director JK Anicoche and University of the Philippines Professor Ina Azarcon Bolivar must choose only 12 for full mounting and three for staged readings.

Last year, in celebration of the VLF’s 15th year, the EXTRA VIRGIN LABFEST (EVLF) in the region was launched. EVLF in Mindanao saw light with nine new plays all staged in the Southernmost province of the country, in the language of its people, dealing with themes and stories of the region. This year, the EVLF continues to expand with the continuation of the Mindanao leg and the addition of the festival in the Visayas; making this annual festival of New Works truly a nationwide phenomenon.

Taking the reins as Festival Director from Tuxqs Rutaquio is JK Anicoche, a young, dynamic and unconventional theater persona. With Anicoche at the helm, the festival reaches out to the young, the “woke” generation, and all those who in the 21st century, bring innovation to both theater and literature as an art. While founding Festival Director Rody Vera instigated the festival and remains its guiding light, Rutaquio brought stability and aesthetic excellence to the event.

With its theme “Rurok” or peak, the festival this year focuses on collaboration, on how each of the theatre artists involved in the process of creation learns from each other, how each partner, no matter his age and experience, is able to share and teach so that the works of the VLF 16 will truly be the result of a collaboration of hearts and minds. 

To this end, the post performance interactions will be held, not inside the theater, but in the lobby coffee shop filled with vendors who themselves are theatre artists. The Playwright’s Fair will be revived, and writers will not only sell their works but will also have meetings and conversations with the public.

With the goal of reaching out to the media, one-on-one talks between artists and directors will be arranged to ensure a greater understanding of each work and the process that goes into their creation.

Likewise, the site-specific performances, formerly known as Fragments, will breathe life again so that audiences waiting at the lobbies during intervals will be treated to short but meaningful performances.And of course, 12 new works, three revisited plays from VLF 15 and three staged readings remain the highlight of the festival.

VIRGIN LABFEST 16, RUROK, JUNE 10 – 28 AT THE CULTURAL CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES!