CCP’s Virgin Labfest in Bacolod Showcases Seven Hiligaynon Plays

Bacolod City – The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is featuring seven Hiligaynon one-act plays at The Virgin Labfest (VLF) Visayas held at The Negros Museum’s Blackbox Theater from November 15 to 18. This event, themed ‘Lab-as,’ meaning ‘fresh cut and freshly harvested,’ is the first regional edition of the CCP’s annual theater festival in 18 years.

According to Philippines News Agency, Ariel Yonzon, associate artistic director and head of the CCP Production and Exhibition Department, expressed his admiration for the robust life of theater across the Philippines. During a press briefing at Cinematheque Center Negros, Yonzon highlighted the inherent vibrancy of theater in various sectors, including schools, communities, and non-government organizations. Tanya Lopez, the VLF Visayas festival director and a Negrense, mentioned that Bacolod City is incredibly fortunate to host this inaugural Visayan edition, which aims to spotlight the dynamic theater scene in the Visayas.

The festival showcases ‘untried, untested, and unstaged plays,’ with six original entries and one revisited play. The revisited play, “Ang Pag-ulianon ni Olivia Mendoza,” by Rolin Migyuel Obino, opened the festival. The original Hiligaynon plays include works by Fundador Tipon II, Jasper Villasis, Venise Buenaflor, Vicente Garcia Groyon, Rocky Nicor, and Roger Joshua Venzal. Organizers in Bacolod have plans to restage the VLF Visayas: Lab-as at the University of St. La Salle’s Gallaga Theater between December 2023 and March 2024 to reach a larger audience.