Introduction to Drama Preliminary Exam 2009-2010

Regarding Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Answer the following comprehension questions as articulately and accurately as you can.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

1. Summarize the back story before the play really begins. What actually happens in the play itself? What period of time is covered? How important is setting to this play? In what specific ways?

2. How, exactly, does the chorus function in this play? What is the significance of the chorus being made up of Theban citizens? Which opinions of the chorus are most important to the effects of the play?

3. Characterize Teiresias. How much does the play itself actually tell us about Teiresias? What function does he perform in the plot? In the play’s structure?

4. In what specific ways is the plot of Oedipus Rex tragic?

Choose one of the following writing suggestions and develop it into a three to five page essay.

WRITING SUGGESTIONS:

1. In an essay of about three pages, compare Oedipus at the beginning of the play with Oedipus at the end. Explain the differences in terms of tragic form.

2. Try to recount the events of the play from the point of view of Iokaste. In what sense is the play a tragedy for her? Write a three-page persuasive essay in which you argue that the play is Iokaste’s story.

3. What are the more significant and distinctive elements in the character of Oedipus? In what sense is he responsible for his tragic fate? In what sense is he a victim? How heroic is he? Write a three-page essay appraising Oedipus’s character and assessing his responsibility for the things that befall him.

To be submitted on January 14, 2010. All papers must be written on short bond paper using Times New Roman 12 point font, single space with an empty space between paragraphs.

National Book Development Board November 2009 Activities

This November is all about our talented Pinoy writers, and the publishers of these talented Pinoy writers! Join the NBDB in a month-long celebration of Philippine Book Development Month. If you haven't picked up a Pinoy book recently it's about time you know that ang GALING PINOY, ay dapat BASAHIN!

I. The Writers, Their Works

How to Read… the next generation
A series of readings and intimate talks with young writers in the context of their literary genres and specific works

Venue: Filipinas Heritage Library

1. For poetry (November 10, 9am)
Featuring: Conchitina Cruz, Mikael Co, Mesandel Arguelles, and Joel Toledo
Moderator: Gémino Abad

2. For fiction (November 11, 1pm)
Featuring: Tara FT Sering, Edgar Samar, Dean Alfar, Angelo Lacuesta
Moderator: Jose Dalisay

3. For non-fiction (November 12, 9am)
Featuring: Luis Katigbak, Vlad Gonzales, Rica Bolipata Santos, Louie Cano, Carljoe Javier
Moderator: Antonio Hidalgo

II. Reading Nick Joaquin (November 16, 2009)
A discussion of Nick Joaquin as historian, novelist, poet and his contributions to the literary art form and the Filipino way of life.

1. NJ and his non-fiction
A lecture by fictionist Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo

2. NJ and his poetry
A lecture by poet Afred Yuson

3. Transforming NJ’s works into film
(Lecturer to be announced)

4. A film viewing of NJ’s work turned into a movie
Tentaive Venue: Greenbelt 3's My Cinema

III. Global Pinoy Literature (November 24, 5pm)
Coffee and conversation with three Man Asian Literary Prize winner / finalists Miguel Syjuco, Jose Dalisay, and Alfred Yuson and Gémino Abad, recipient of the Prize Premio Feronia – Citta di Fiano 2009.

Venue: Filipinas Heritage Library, by invitation only
Moderator: Isagani Cruz

IV. El Filibusterismo (November 25, 2009)
A sequel to the reading of Noli Me Tangere, the El Filibusterismo performance reading will be a showcase of talent from different fields of the art as artists and celebrity performers read / perform chapters of this historic and tumultous novel.

Venue: Greenbelt Park

V. Pinoy Story Writing Contest
A month-long story writing contest open to all writers, focusing on specific topics such as Pinoy romance, chick lit, horror fiction, literary fiction. Four winners will be selected and will be awarded P15,000 to be announced during the Books and Art Festival at the Greenbelt Park. Winners also have a chance of being published by Precious Pages, Summit Books, Anvil and PsiCom.

VI. Books and Art Festival (November 23 to 26)
A festival that will showcase the best of Filipino literature and art in one venue. For five days, Greenbelt becomes a haven for artists (literary and visual) and art lovers where they will get to experience this unique mixture of the arts at the heart of the city.

VII. Writing about Philippine Culture, Art, and Food (November 7 to 8 2009)
An overnight adventure for those who want to sample the native culture of Southern Luzon. This will involve a tour to local art galleries, native restaurants, and Ugu Bigyan’s pottery shop.

VIII. Davao Academic Publishing Seminar (November 19 to 21, 2009)
An academic publishing conference for Mindanao-based publishers and universities, with Google’s Erik Hartmann, De La Salle’s Dr. Isagani Cruz, UP Press’ Dr. Luisa Camagay, and ADMU Press’ Maricor Baytion among others.

Venue: Ateneo De Davao University

IX. Tulaan sa Tren 2 launch
The much-loved Tulaan sa Tren is back with more poems and the winners of the Tulaan sa Tren 2 Poetry Contest, judged by no less than the country's top poets National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera, Feronia Prize winner Gemino Abad, and Man Asian Literary Prize finalist Krip Yuson.

Venue: The LRT2 Cubao Station, by invitation

For details, visit www.nbdb.gov.ph!


NOTE TO MY STUDENTS AND FRIENDS: I am one of the featured poets of the Tulaan sa Tren 2. Please attend the launch on November 26, 2009 at 2PM... Hope to see you there!

Ballet Philippines' TALES OF THE MANUVU

CLICK THE IMAGE TO VIEW THE LARGER VERSION OF THE POSTER...

Guide Questions for Ballet Philipines "Master

1. How does the first part of the show, composed of five dance vignettes and excerpts from full-lenghth ballets, highlight the vibrant diversity of Philippine culture and society? Among the five dance vignettes/excerpts, what is your favorite and why?

2. In what way does the second part of the show, made up of three dance numbers, exemplify Susan Sontag's idea that in the art form ruled by Terpsichore a transfiguration occurs and that "the dancer is the dance"? How do these three dance numbers embody Merce Cunningham and Lincoln Kirstein's definition of dance as "a spiritual activity in physical form"?

PHILSTAGE bares first quarter citations for 2009 Gawad Buhay!

PHILSTAGE bares first quarter citations for 2009 Gawad Buhay!

Revivals and restagings dominated the first quarterly citations list of the 2009 Gawad Buhay!, the PHILSTAGE Awards for the Performing Arts.

With fourteen performance and technical citations, Ballet Philippines' Neo Filipino topped the first quarterly race. Coming in as close second with eleven citations, is the Philippine Educational Theater Association' s production of Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?, while Repertory Philippines' A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino received eight citations to claim the third berth. Another revival, Tanghalang Pilipino's ZsaZsa Zaturnah, placed fourth with seven citations.

A dance trilogy that serves as homage to the vast riches of the Filipino cultural heritage, Neo Filipino's Amada, Ulaging – Daog-dog sa Sang Libong Kulog and KatiTaog collectively won citations for outstanding dance production, ensemble performance, female lead performance in dance (Carissa Adea), male lead performance in dance (Biag Gaongen and Ronelson Yadao), featured performance in dance (Marian Faustino and Lucky Vicentino), choreography (Alice Reyes), adaptation or translation (Alice Reyes), musical composition (Kalayo), costume design (Gino Gonzales), lighting design (Katsch Catoy), and set design (Gino Gonzales).

Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?, a psycho-emotional journey into the lives, loves and relationships of three people, earned the jurors' citations for outstanding play production, stage direction (Nonon Padilla), ensemble performance, male lead performance in a play (Lex Marcos, Juliene Mendoza and Jack Yabut), original script (Tony Perez), musical direction (Jed Balsamo), lighting design (Ian Torqueza), sound design (Aries Alcayaga), and set design (Salvador Bernal).

Widely considered as the best Filipino play in English, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino was cited for outstanding play, stage direction (Jose Mari Avellana), original script (Nick Joaquin), female lead performance in a play (Liesl Batucan and Ana Bitong), featured performance in a play (Dido dela Paz), lighting design (Martin Esteva), and sound design (Lamberto Avellana, Jr.).

ZsaZsa Zaturnah, a hilarious tale of the adventures of a gay beautician-turned- Pinoy superhero, was cited for outstanding musical production, ensemble performance, lead female performance in a musical (Eula Valdes), featured performance in a musicale (Nar Cabico and Joey Paras), musical direction (Vincent De Jesus), and original music composition (Vincent De Jesus).

Also cited for individual achievements are Caissa Borromeo for outstanding female lead performance in a musicale and Kyla Rivera for outstanding featured performance in a musicale, both for Repertory Philippines' I Love You Because.

Now on its second year, Gawad Buhay! is the first-ever industry awards exclusively for the performing arts juried by an independent panel of critics, scholars, artists and theater enthusiasts. Outstanding individual and group achievements in various artistic and technical aspects of play, musical and dance productions and performances are honored based on quarterly citations deliberated by the jury who are required to watch all productions of PHILSTAGE member-companies for the entire year. From the four quarterly citations, the jury will select the final nominees qualified to win the awards by the end of the performance season.

PHILSTAGE is the only alliance of professional performing arts organizations in the Philippines. Its members include Ballet Manila, Ballet Philippines, Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), PETA, Repertory Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino and TRUMPETS.

Below is the complete list of the 2009 first quarter citations in various categories:

Outstanding Production of a Play: PETA's Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre? (PETA); and Repertory Philippines' A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino (Repertory Philippines)

Outstanding Musical Production: Tanghalang Pilipino's ZsaZsa Zaturnah

Outstanding Dance Production: Ballet Philippines' Neo Filipino

Outstanding Stage Direction: Nonon Padilla (Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?); and Jose Mari Avellana (Portrait of the Artist as Filipino)

Outstanding Ensemble Performance: The casts of Ballet Philippines' Neo Filipino; PETA's Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?; and Tanghalang Pilipino's ZsaZsa Zaturnah

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play : Liesl Batucan and Ana Bitong (Portrait of the Artist as Filipino)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play: Lex Marcos, Juliene Mendoza and Jack Yabut (Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?)

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play: Dido Dela Paz (Portrait of the Artist as Filipino)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musicale: Caissa Borromeo (Repertory Philippines' I Love You Because); and Eula Valdes (ZsaZsa Zaturnah)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musicale: No citation

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musicale : Nar Cabico and Joey Paras (ZsaZsa Zaturnah); and Kyla Rivera (I Love You Because)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Carissa Adea (Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Biag Gaongen and Ronelson Yadao (Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Dance Production: Marian Faustino and Lucky Vicentino (Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Original Script: Nick Joaquin's Portrait of the Artist as Filipino; and Tony Perez's Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?

Outstanding Original Libretto: No citation

Outstanding Original Music Composition: Vincent De Jesus (ZsaZsa Zaturnah)

Outstanding Adaptation or Translation: Alice Reyes (Amada from Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Musical Direction: Jed Balsamo (Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?); and Vincent De Jesus (ZsaZsa Zaturnah)

Outstanding Original Music Composition: Vincent De Jesus (ZsaZsa Zaturnah); and Kalayo (KatiTaog from Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Choreography: Alice Reyes (Amada from Neo Filipino); and Alden Lugnasin (Ulaging from Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Set Design – Salvador Bernal (Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?); Gino Gonzales (KatiTaog from Neo Filipino); and Gino Gonzales (Ulaging from Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Costume Design: Gino Gonzales (Ulaging from Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Lighting Design: Katsch Catoy (Neo Flipino); Martin Esteva (Portrait of the Filipino as an Artist); and Ian Torqueza (Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?)

Outstanding Sound Design: Aries Alcayaga (Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?); and Lamberto Avellana, Jr. (Portrait of the Artist as Filipino)

Another 16th INWW Article

Region 8 fellows bag awards in national writers workshop
By Neil D. Lopido

Tacloban City (June 2) -- Two fellows in Eastern Visayas won the Jimmy Balacuit Literary Award in the recently concluded 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop held at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) last May 25-29, 2009.

The two siday writers, who both graduated at the UP Tacloban College, were Harold L. Mercurio, from Calbayog City and Jhonil Bajado, from Maydolong, Eastern Samar.

Mercurio landed second place while Bajado placed third in Poetry Category. Cindy A. Velasquez of the University of San Carlos, Cebu City got the first place of the said literary award. Both Mercurio and Bajado received cash prizes and certificates from MSU-IIT and Jimmy Balacuit Foundation to include free registration, travel allowance, and board and lodging.

It Can be recalled that last year's INWW, three fellows from Eastern Visayas were also awardees of the same Literary Award in Poetry and Fiction. These writers were Leonilo Lopido from Dolores, Eastern Samar and Luciano Abia IV from Basey, Samar (Poetry Category) and Efmer Agustin of Abuyog, Leyte (Fiction).

The Iligan National Writers Workshop is one of the three institutionalized writing workshops in the country spearheaded by Prof. Christine Godinez-Ortega through the Mindanao Creative Writers Group, Inc. and MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology funded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Ralph Semino Galan, one of the famous writers and alumnus of the INWW, was invited to give the keynote address to the 16th INWW.

Manuscripts were evaluated by Bro. Karl Gaspar, CSsR, C. Godinez-Ortega, Arlene Yandug, Ed P. Ortega, German Gervacio, Steve Fernandez and Zola Gonzalez Macarambon.

The panelists of this year's workshop were Ma. Rosario Cruz Lucero (UP Diliman), Jaime An Lim (FEU), Merlie M. Alunan (UP Tacloban), Victor N. Sugbo (UP Tacloban), Leoncio P. Deriada (UP Iloilo), German V. Gervacio (MSU-IIT), Steven Patrick C. Fernandez (MSU-IIT), Macario Tiu (Ateneo de Zamboanga), Ralph Semino Galan (UST), and Christine Godinez-Ortega (MSU-IIT).

The awarding ceremony was highlighted by the launching of the 15th INWW Proceedings, 'About Us' edited by Prof. Christine Godinez-Ortega and the Special Issue of the Mindanao Forum which combines the keynote lectures from Lumbera to Enriquez edited by Christine Godinez-Ortega and published by MSU-IIT OVCRE.

The 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop Closes

Launches and Prizes: The 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop
by Steven Patrick P.C. Fernandez

The 16th edition of the Iligan National Writers Workshop wrapped up its sessions last May 29 in Iligan City.

Sixteen fellows went through the experience of having their works scrutinized in the INWW held at the Elena Tower Inn in Iligan City. From May 25 to 29, the panel and the fellows praised or panned poems, short stories, and a play hoping to hone skills and invigorate Philippine writing with new talents and insights.

The Iligan workshop, one of three institutionalized in the country, culminated with the Jimmy Y. Balacuit Sr. Awards to the most promising works.

The INWW distinguishes itself from the other workshops because it has repositioned regional literature from the fringes to the mainstream. This workshop draws participants from across cultures ensuring equal representations from Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. A bursary, too, from the Manuel E. Buenafe family prescribes that the 16th fellow be a Muslim or a lumad.

The scheme for a multi-lingual and multi-cultural workshop identifies the Iligan writeshop. Distinguishing the workshop, too, is the meticulous way proceedings are documented and published so that a run of the process of writing, criticism, and rewriting is kept for scholars to pore through. The Iligan workshop is the only workshop in the country that publishes its critiquing process.

This year, the INWW launched About Us, proceedings from last year’s workshop, and the Mindanao Forum (both edited by Godinez-Ortega), that anthologizes all fifteen keynote speeches from the start of the INWW in 1994. The speeches include those of National Artist Bien Lumbera, Cirilo Bautista, Ric de Ungria, Gemino Abad, Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta , Erlinda Alburo, Merle Alunan, Chari Lucero, Isagani Cruz, Deriada, Bautista, and those names that matter in contemporary Philippine Literature.

One other distinction: the INWW has initiated the practice to let former fellows who have made names in Philippine Literature deliver the keynote address during the opening program. This year, poet-critic Ralph Semino Galan delivered the address joining other alumni fellows who previously addressed past openings: Charlson Ong, Vicente Garcia Groyon III, Michael U. Obenieta, and Rebecca Anonuevo.

Tradition, too, calls for a performance of a literary work by the MSU-IIT Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG), and this year, IPAG transcreated Godinez-Ortega’ s poem “Camp Bushra on Inquirer Page One” in a mix of dance, drama, film, and performance art.

The merry mix of languages and genres brought together writers-critics- scholars who are well established in their language turfs. Joining Deriada and Galan were Tony Enriquez, German Gervacio, Victor Sugbo, Mac Tiu, Alunan, Lucero, Godinez-Ortega, An Lim, and this writer.

The INWW awards are named after the late Jimmy Y. Balacuit Sr. who, as Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension, adopted the management of this workshop to anchor a writing program within the vision of the MSU-IIT. In his memory, his family has endowed cash prizes to the most promising writers in all genres awarded yearly by his wife Prof. Rosalinda C. Balacuit.

The 2009 Jimmy Y. Balacuit Sr. winners are:

Poetry FIRST PRIZE
Labyog / Sirkiro / Ang Pagpaabot sa Paglipot sa Aninipot
CINDY A. VELASQUEZ (Cebuano)

SECOND PRIZE
Balud / Ayaw Pagpudla an Tuog / Bump Cars
PHIL HAROLD MERCURIO (Waray)

THIRD PRIZE
Mga Dalan / Duyan-duyan / Iihapon Ko
JHONIL C. BAJADO (Waray)

Fiction
FIRST PRIZES
“The Order of Things”
GABRIEL P. MERCADO (English)

“Kataw”
MA. FE DE GUIA (Filipino)

SECOND PRIZE
“Alunsina’s Sky”
TIMOTHY JAMES M. DIMACALI (English)

The 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop Opens

The 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop opens at 9 a.m., May 25, at the MSU-IIT Mini Theatre. Works in poetry, fiction, and drama in English and our regional languages by 16 fellows from around the country will be read and discussed by a distingushed panel of some of the most respected writers in Philippine Literature.

The Iligan workshop has set the tradition of publishing its proceedings and of inviting alumni fellows to give the keynote address. This year's keynote address will be given by poet-critic Ralph Semino Galan, alumnus of the 4th workshop 12 years ago.

This year's workshop will be highlighted by the launch of About Us (Christine Godinez-Ortega, ed.) and a compilation of all the keynote addresses (Mindanao Forum, 2009) since the workshop first opened in 1994. (The workshop was organized through the efforts and visions of workshop director Godinez-Ortega, Jaime An Lim, and Cirilo Bautista).

The workshop too pays tribute to the late poet-biologist Ed Ortega in afternoon ceremonies during the program's first day.

The Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG) performs a multi-media transcreation of Godinez-Ortega' s poem "Camp Bushra's Mosque on Inquirer Page One." (direction and music: Steven P.C. Fernandez, choreography: Kenn Erwin Velasquez, and installation art by the IPAG Creative Collective).

The Workshop is one of 3 institutionalized writing programs of the National Commission for Culture and the Art (NCCA). Partners of the NCCA are the Mindanao Creative Writers Group, Inc., the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, and the MSU-IIT Office of Multi-Media Information and Dissemination Unit Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension.

POETRY RE-FORMED, POETRY PERFORMED

The verses were performed. Shapes were palpable, and the actions real.

Sitting through an hour-and-a-half of poetry, young audiences filled the theatre of the 11-run show Tula Tugma sa Sayaw at Dula wide-eyed at the spectacle impressing the theatre makers that the poems were indeed appreciated.

Tula re-formed and performed the poems of poets who were nurtured in the South: Anthony Tan, Christine Godinez-Ortega, Ralph Semino Galan, Don Pagusara, German Gervacio, and Marge Pernia-Evasco. The audience later dialogued with the poets. Joining this already-eminent roster of poet-conversants were Victor Sugbu and young writer Zola Gonzalez.

Collaborating with the poets were choreographer-performers Leilani Fernandez, Amado Guinto, Melvin Pascubillo, and Kenn Erwin Velasquez, and designer Vicmar Paloma. Providing performance and production support to the IPAG were the Stagecraft classes. Steven P.C. Fernandez composed the music, scripted the scenarios, and evolved the production from his concept.

Tula performed March 2-7 (3 shows a day) at the MSU-IIT Mini Theater. Its production was supported by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. IPAG prepares its touring schedules to schools in the coming season.

16 fellows to the 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop

16 fellows to the 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop

The National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) in cooperation with the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT)-Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Extension’s Multimedia Information & Dissemination Unit and the Mindanao Creative Writers Group, Inc., announce the 16 writing fellows to the 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop (INWW) to be held on May 25-29, 2009 in Iligan City. The writing fellows are:

LUZON:
FICTION (English): Timothy James M. Dimacali, UP Diliman/Pasay City; (Filipino): Ma. Fe de Guia, UP Los Banos/Caloocan City; POETRY (Filipino): Jason G. Tabinas, Ateneo de Manila University/ Pasig City; Arvin T. Ello, De la Salle University/ Paranaque City; PLAY(Filipino): Marianne Mixhaela Z. Villalon, UP Diliman/Quezon City.

VISAYAS:
POETRY (Waray): Phil Harold Mercurio, UP Tacloban/Calbayog City; Jhonil C. Bajado, UP Tacloban/Maydolong, Eastern Samar; (Cebuano): Russ Raniel A. Ligtas, UP Cebu/Cebu City; Cindy A. Velasquez, University of San Carlos/Cebu City; and (Hiligaynon): Sam S. Prudente, UP Diliman/Iloilo City.

MINDANAO:
FICTION (English): Gabriel P. Millado, UP Mindanao/Davao City; Justine May R. Torregosa, Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU)/Zamboanga City; Paul Alfonse J. Marquez, ADZU/Zamboanga City; POETRY (English): Anderson V. Villa, Ateneo de Davao University/Davao City; (Chabacano): Edgar Darren G. Bendanillo, Zamboanga State College of Marine Science & Technology, Zamboanga City; and, the Manuel E. Buenafe Writing Fellow (poetry-English): Everlyn T. Jaji, ADZU/Zamboanga City.

Panelists this year are: Ma. Rosario Cruz Lucero, Jaime An Lim, Merlie M. Alunan, Victor N. Sugbo, Antonio Enriquez, Leoncio P. Deriada, German V. Gervacio, Steven Patrick C. Fernandez, Macario Tiu, this year’s keynote speaker, Ralph Semino Galan and the INWW Director Christine Godinez-Ortega.

Evaluators of INWW manuscripts this year: Bro. Karl Gaspar, CSsR; C. Godinez-Ortega, Arlene Yandug, Ed P. Ortega, German Gervacio, Steve Fernandez and Zola Gonzalez Macarambon.

Highlights this year include the launching of the 15th INWW Proceedings, ‘About Us’ edited by Godinez-Ortega and the Special Issue of the Mindanao Forum containing 15 INWW Keynote Lectures [from Lumbera to Enriquez] also edited by Godinez-Ortega. Both are published by the MSU-IIT OVCRE.

All writing fellows are asked to confirm their attendance to the INWW with the INWW secretariat (call Alice) on or before April 24, telefax: (063) 3516131; email: aliciabartolome@yahoo.com & patpcruz@yahoo.com.

Call for Submission of Manuscripts to the 1st J. Elizalde Navarro Workshop for Criticism on the Arts

Call for Submission of Manuscripts to the 1st J. Elizalde Navarro Workshop for Criticism on the Arts

The University of Santo Tomas Varsitarian is now accepting applications to the 1st J. Elizalde Navarro Workshop for Criticism on the Arts to be held April 19-25, 2009 in Baguio City.

This National Workshop in honor of Nationalist Artist for the Visual Arts and art critic J. Elizalde Navarro is offering ten fellowships to promising young critics who would like to enhance their analytical skills. Fellows will be provided free board and lodging for the duration of the workshop, and transportation cost from Manila to Baguio and vice versa.

To be considered for the fellowship, applicants should submit a scholarly, properly documented critical essay (seven- to twelve-pages, double-spaced, 12-point font) on any of the art forms (literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, dance, drama or music) on or before March 31, 2009.

Manuscripts should be submitted in hard copy and on CD, preferably in MS Word, together with a resumé, a recommendation letter from an academic mentor or a literary/art critic, a certification that the works are original, and two 2X2 ID pictures.

Address all applications to Ferdinand M. Lopez and Ralph Semino Galán, Faculty of Arts and Letters, University of Santo Tomas, España Street, Sampaloc , Manila.

Send your queries to Prof. Ralph Semino Galan: aquaboy0221@yahoo.com

For My Art, Man and Society Students SY 2008-2009, 2nd Semester

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS TO SUSAN SONTAG'S "IN PLATO'S CAVE":



1. In what way is photography a new visual code, grammar and ethics of seeing? How do photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at? How do photographs manipulate the scale of the world?

2. Compare and contrast the photographic image with the images in film and television? In what sense are photographs interpretations of the world just like paintings and drawings? Why does a photograph seem to have a more innocent, and therefore more accurate, relation to visible reality than do other mimetic objects?

3. Why is taking a photograph a form of appropriation? Why is there an aggression implicit in every use of the camera? How is the act of taking a picture predatory, a sublimated or soft murder?

4. What are the two ways in which photography furnishes evidence? How do modern states utilize photographs? How does a photograph pass for incontrovertible proof that a given thing has happened?

5. Like every mass art, photography is not practiced by most people as an art. For ordinary people, what then are the three main functions of photography? How important is the camera for the modern nuclear family? In what sense does photography bear witness to an extended family’s connectedness?

6. Why is the camera a necessary gadget for the tourist? In what way is taking photographs a threat to an authentic experience of the world? How does the ubiquity of cameras imply that time consists of interesting events that are worth photographing?

7. In what sense is photography an elegiac art, a twilight art? Why is a photograph both a pseudo-presence and a token of absence? All photographs are memento mori. Explain why this statement in reference to human subjects is true, whether they are grotesque or gorgeous.

8. Why is photography essentially an act of non-intervention, an interest in things as they are, in the status quo remaining unchanged? What are the necessary contexts of feeling and attitude that help create a moral outrage to photographed atrocities? Why does the shock of photographed violence decrease with repeated viewings?

9. How does the camera make reality atomic, manageable and opaque? Why does photography encourage a view of the world which denies interconnectedness, continuity, but which confers on each moment the character of a mystery? In the nineteenth-century, according to the most logical aesthete Mallarmé everything in the world exists to end up in a book. Why does Sontag claim that in contemporary times everything exists to end in a photograph?

PETA and Tanghalang Pilipino plays dominate PHILSTAGE’s Gawad Buhay!

PETA and Tanghalang Pilipino plays dominate PHILSTAGE’s Gawad Buhay!


With four major awards each, the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s Skin Deep and Tanghalang Pilipino’s Golden Child and Kudeta won the most number of production, technical and performance awards in the 2008 Gawad Buhay, the PHILSTAGE Awards for the Performing Arts, held last night at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino.

Ballet Philippines’ La Revolucion Filipina, Repertory Philippines’ Hamlet and Tanghalang Pilipino’s Ang Kalungkutan ng mga Reyna figured in another three-way tie for the second most awarded production with three awards each.

Skin Deep, a musical comedy on ordinary people’s search for beauty and happiness, got the jury’s nod for outstanding musical production, original libretto (Vincent De Jesus), male and female lead performances in a musical play (Robert Seña and May Bayot, respectively).

Golden Child – winner of the outstanding production of a full-length play, stage direction (Loy Arcenas), ensemble performance (the entire cast), and set design (Loy Arcenas) – depicts the conflicts of introducing modern changes to a 20th century traditional Chinese household.

Kudeta, a hilarious take on a coup that toppled a country's president, won for outstanding translation or adaptation (George De Jesus III), lighting design (Dennis Marasigan), set design (Tuqxs Rutaquio) and featured male performance in a play (Bong Cabrera).

Among the big winners for the individual awards categories are Floy Quintos’ Ang Kalungkutan ng mga Reyna, which won the outstanding production of a one-act play and original play, and Vincent De Jesus whose work on Skin Deep and Batang Rizal won for outstanding original libretto and musical direction, respectively.

Dubbed as the first-ever industry awards exclusively for the performing arts, Gawad Buhay! was juried by an independent panel of critics, scholars, artists and theater enthusiasts who were deputized to watch all productions of PHILSTAGE member-companies for the entire year. Outstanding individual and group achievements in various artistic and technical aspects of play, musical and dance productions and performances are honored based on quarterly citations deliberated by the jury.

In his acceptance speech for outstanding original play for Ang Kalungkutan ng mga Reyna, playwright-director Floy Quintos expressed appreciation of the performing arts’ unique quality as a form of creative expression. “We have become the source of talents of other industries like film and television.”

CCP President Nestor Jardin, who was one of the awards presenters, praised the high quality of productions by PHILSTAGE member-companies. “There are many of these, and there can be no better proof of this than in the next category,” referring to the thirteen nominees for the outstanding ensemble performance.

“I am very happy that we are having this award while I am still dancing,” enthused Camille Ordinario-Joson who won the outstanding featured performer in a dance production for her work on Ballet Philippines’ Latin Heat.

The mostly theater practitioner crowd cheered on approvingly as Jose Mari Avellana’s name was announced by presenter Gary Lim as winner of the outstanding male lead performance for a play. Visibly touched and appreciative of the gesture, Avellana thanked the theater community and exhorted them to uphold quality works and continue the traditions of professionalism and family kinship in the profession.

PHILSTAGE President Fernando Josef, concurrent artistic director of Tanghalang Pilipino, expressed elation over the participation of a big number of nominees. “They came with friends and family. This is a historic event as we are witnessing the maturity of an industry that responds to audiences, artists and society.”

Directed by Dennis Marasigan and produced by Elmar Beltran Ingles, the awards ceremonies featured moving performances by Ballet Philippines’ Biag Gaongen, winner of the outstanding male lead performance in dance, and the cast of PETA’s Batang Rizal.

Below is the complete list of proclaimed winners in various categories:

Outstanding Production of a Full-Length Play: Golden Child (Tanghalang Pilipino);

Outstanding Production of a One-Act Play: Ang Kalungkutan ng Mga Reyna (Tanghalang Pilipino);

Outstanding Musical Production: Skin Deep (PETA.

Outstanding Dance Production: Ballet Philippines’ La Revolucion Filipina.

Outstanding Stage Direction: Loy Arcenas (Golden Child)

Outstanding Original Choreography: Agnes Locsin (La Revolucion Filipina);

Outstanding Original Play: Floy Quintos’ Ang Kalungkutan ng Mga Reyna;

Outstanding Ensemble Performance: The Cast of Golden Child (Tanghalang Pilipino);

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play: Jose Mari Avellana (Tuesdays with Morrie);

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play: Shamaine Centenera Buencamino (Ang Kalungkutan ng Mga Reyna);

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musical: Robert Seña (Skin Deep);

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musical: May Bayot (Skin Deep);

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Biag Gaongen (La Revolucion Filipina and Latin Heat).

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Lisa Macuja Elizalde (Ballet Manila’s Le Corsaire)

Outstanding Male Featured Performance in a Play: Bong Cabrera (Kudeta);

Outstanding Female Featured Performance in a Play: Cris Villonco (Hamlet).

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Dance Production: Camille Ordinario-Joson (Latin Heat).

Outstanding Original Libretto: Vincent De Jesus (Skin Deep);

Outstanding Translation/ Adaptation: George de Jesus III (Kudeta)

Outstanding Musical Direction: Vincent De Jesus (Batang Rizal)

Outstanding Set Design: Loy Arcenas (Golden Child) and Tuxqs Rutaquio (Kudeta).

Outstanding Costume Design: Faust Peneyra (Hamlet)

Outstanding Lighting Design: Dennis Marasigan (Kudeta); and

Outstanding Sound Design: Jethro Joaquin (Hamlet).

PHILSTAGE Gawad Buhay! nominees bared, CCP awards rites set on February 18

PHILSTAGE Gawad Buhay! nominees bared, CCP awards rites set on February 18


The Philippine Legitimate Stage Artists Group, Inc. (PHILSTAGE), in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, invites everyone to the presentation of the 2008 Gawad Buhay! The PHILSTAGE Awards for the Performing Arts tomorrow, February 18, 2009, 7:30 p.m. at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino.

Gawad Buhay! is the first-ever industry awards conferred upon outstanding achievements in the performing arts by PHILSTAGE member-companies. Outstanding individual and group achievements in various artistic and technical aspects of play, musical and dance productions and performances will be honored based on quarterly citations deliberated by an independent jury panel composed of critics, performing artists, cultural researchers and scholars, and theater enthusiasts.

Fernando Josef, president of PHILSTAGE and artistic director of Tanghalang Pilipino, said that the awards program is part of PHILSTAGE’s efforts to enhance awareness and appreciation of the performing arts. “It seeks to further professionalize the performing arts industry in the Philippines by engaging our audiences – critics, artists, and the viewing public – in a creative dialogue.”

The other members of the PHILSTAGE Board of Directors are PETA's Melvin Lee, vice president; Ballet Philippines’ Sandy Hontiveros, secretary; Repertory Philippines Gidget Tolentino, treasurer; Actors Actors’ Leonardo Lim, Ballet Manila's Susan Macuja, Gantimpala Theater Foundation’s Tony Espejo, Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit’s Mitch Valdes, TRUMPET's Joel Reyes, and PHILSTAGE Executive Director Elmar Beltran Ingles as Board Members.

Directed by Dennis Marasigan, the awards ceremonies will have the country’s foremost theater personalities as awards presentors. The cast of PETA’s Batang Rizal and Ballet Philippines’ Biag Gaongen will render special production numbers from their nominated performances.

The jury panel is composed of theater and dance critics Exie Abola, Walter Ang, Gilbert Cadiz, and Basilio Esteban Villaruz; academics and cultural educators Arvin Ello, Joy Parohinog and Geofferson Ting; theater, film and television practitioner Rolando Inocencio; poet-critic Ralph Semino Galan; and regular theatergoer Ronald Elepaño III. As jury members, they have been deputized to watch all productions of PHILSTAGE member-companies throughout 2008 and held deliberations to come up with quarterly citations.

Complimentary tickets may be claimed from the Reception Desk 30 starting at 6:45 p.m. Below is the complete list of nominees:

Outstanding Production of a Full-Length Play: Batang Rizal (PETA), Golden Child (Tanghalang Pilipino), Hamlet (Repertory Philippines), and Kudeta (Tanghalang Pilipino).

Outstanding Production of a One-Act Play: Tanghalang Pilipino-Virgin Labfest 4’s Ang Bayot, ang Meranao, at ang Habal-Habal sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte, Ellas Inocentes, Ang Kalungkutan ng Mga Reyna, and Three Sisters, A Noh Play.

Outstanding Musical Production: Altar Boyz (Repertory Philippines) and Skin Deep (PETA).

Outstanding Dance Production: Ballet Philippines’ La Revolucion Filipina, Latin Heat, and New Beginnings.

Outstanding Stage Direction: Loy Arcenas (Golden Child), Chari Arrespacochaga (Altar Boyz), Nor Domingo (Skin Deep), Jose Estrella (Three Sisters), Floy Quintos (Ang Kalungkutan ng Reyna and Kudeta), Tuqxs Rutaquio (Ellas Inocentes), and Dudz Teraña (Batang Rizal).

Outstanding Original Choreography: Bam Damian (Latin Heat); Alan Hineline (New Beginnings); Agnes Locsin (La Revolucion Filipina); Alden Lugnasin (Latin Heat); Max Luna III (New Beginnings); and Jason Zamora (Altar Boyz)..

Outstanding Original Script: Christine Bellen (Batang Rizal); Rogelio Braga (Ang Bayot, ang Meranao, at ang Habal-Habal sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte), Layeta Bucoy (Ellas Inocentes); and Floy Quintos (Ang Kalungkutan ng Mga Reyna).

Outstanding Ensemble Performance: Altar Boyz (Repertory Philippines); Ang Bayot, ang Meranao, at ang Habal-Habal sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte (Tanghalang Pilipino/Virgin Labfest 4); Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street (Tanghalang Pilipino); Batang Rizal (PETA); Coppelia (Ballet Philippines); Ellas Inocentes (Tanghalang Pilipino/Virgin Labfest 4); Golden Child (Tanghalang Pilipino), Hamlet (Repertory Philippines) ; Kudeta (Tanghalang Pilipino); La Revolucion Filipina (Ballet Philippines); Latin Heat (Ballet Philippines); Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (PETA); New Beginnings (Ballet Philippines); and Skin Deep (PETA).

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play: Arthur Acuna (Golden
Child); Jose Mari Avellana (Tuesdays with Morrie); Dido de la Paz and Joe Gruta (Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street); Mario O'Hara (Kudeta); Joey Paras and Arnold Reyes (Ang Bayot, ang Meranao, at ang Habal-Habal sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte); and Jonathan Tadioan (Pamantasang Hirang).

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play: Lovely Balili (Ellas Inocentes); Liesl Batucan (Golden Child); Shamaine Centenera Buencamino (Ang Kalungkutan ng Mga Reyna); Tina Chilip (Golden Child); Jenessa Roque (Ellas Inocentes); and Irma Adlawan Marasigan (Golden Child).

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musical: Red Concepcion (Altar Boyz); Juliene Mendoza and Jett Pangan (EJ: Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson); and Robert Seña (Skin Deep).

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musical: Isay Alvarez (May Bayot (Skin Deep); and Gail Guanlao Billones (Skin Deep);

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Biag Gaongen (La Revolucion Filipina) and (Latin Heat).

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Lisa Macuja
Elizalde (Le Corsaire)

Outstanding Male Featured Performance in a Play: Riki Benedicto and Bong Cabrera (Kudeta); Willy Casero (Batang Rizal); and Nor Domingo (Tosca).

Outstanding Female Featured Performance Mailes Kanapi (Ang Mga Gerilya ng Powell Street) and Cris Villonco (Hamlet).

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Dance Production: Camille
Ordinario-Joson (Latin Heat).

Outstanding Original Libretto: Vincent De Jesus (Batang Rizal and Skin Deep).

Outstanding Translation/ Adaptation: George de Jesus III (Kudeta) and Dennis Marasigan (Golden Child).

Outstanding Musical Direction: Vincent De Jesus (Batang Rizal) and Jojo Malferrari (Altar Boyz).

Outstanding Set Design: Loy Arcenas (Golden Child); Mel Bernardo (Mga
Kuwento ni Lola Basyang); Gino Gonzales (New Beginnings); Mio Infante
(Coppelia and La Revolucion Filipina); and Tuxqs Rutaquio (Kudeta).

Outstanding Costume Design: Ron Alfonso (Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang); Faust Peneyra (Hamlet); Gino Gonzales (Golden Child); Michael Angelo Albay (Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang); and Victor Ursabia (La Revolucion Filipina).

Outstanding Lighting Design: Katsch Catoy (La Revolucion Filipina); Martin Esteva (Hamlet); Dennis Marasigan (Kudeta); and Barbi Tan-Tiongco (Golden Child).

Outstanding Sound Design: Janice Dee (Kudeta); Jethro Joaquin (EJ: Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson); Jethro Joaquin (Hamlet); Shima Takesi (Tosca); and Gidget Tolentino (Altar Boyz); and J. Victor Villareal (Golden Child).

Power and the Beloved

Power and the Beloved


The beloved
in the beginning
has no power,
a sight
whose beauty
is dependent
on the beholder’s
loving gaze.

He gains strength
the moment
he discovers eyes
fixed on him
with longing,
as if he is a statue
of a greek god
come to life.

By then the lover
has lost control
of his momentum,
water flowing
through his hands,
galatea escaping
pygmalion’s
sculptural grip.

But the lover
can always look
the other way,
his vision riveting
on another man,
or looking back
he can condemn
eurydice to shadow.


- Ralph Semino Galan

Baytan's Cartographies of Desire

Baytan’s Cartographies of Desire

by Ralph Semino Galán


The Queen Sings the Blues, Poems 1992-2002 (Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2007, 102 pages), Ronald Baytan’s long-anticipated first volume of poetry, charts the beautiful but bleak landscape of homosexual love and lust, queer desire’s many blissful fruitions and equally numerous frustrations. The 47 poems comprising the compendium map out, as the sequencing seems to suggest, the metamorphosis of a Chinese-Filipino’s gay imaginary from a fairy tale princess to the proverbial queen of the world, a fact that is later confirmed in the illuminating exegetic essay written by the author himself which serves as the tome’s postscript.

Divided into six sections, the collection also immortalizes the queer spaces --- gay bars and bathhouses, cafés and discotheques, backrooms and motel suites, weekend resorts and performance venues --- in Metro Manila and its environs, which are also subject to mutations and permutations. For these liminal places existing in the outermost limits of spatial legitimacy have a temporal if not seasonal dimension, making them vulnerable (and thus valuable to those who will mourn their eventual closure) to the whims of the very same habitués whose epicurean predilection are perversely protean or even mercurial, to say the least.

Cine Café (the topic of discussion in the poem “Seafood” which is dedicated to this fledgling critic) typifies a Filipino queer space in the Metropolis that has undergone not a few transformations due to its former clientele’s lack of loyalty, and the fact that high culture is difficult to market while casual sex (often anonymous) sells like hotcakes. Conceptualized as a venue for the screening of art films, as well as an alternative setting for poetry readings and photo exhibits, Cine Café has then degenerated into a popular blue bar complete with a video room featuring pornographic movies and a shadowy backroom where anything and everything goes in the lascivious dark.

This does not really come (pun intended) as a complete surprise, for as Aaron Betsky articulates in his book Queer Space: Architecture and Same-Sex Desire, “The purpose of queer space is again ultimately sex: the making of a space either for that peculiar definition of the self as an engine of sexuality or for the act of sex itself.”

But I have sashayed too far on the rarefied catwalk of queer theory. So before I get carried away with my critical ruminations, allow me to accompany the poet-persona in his imaginary high heels (Note: There is a black stiletto beside each page number, not to mention a blue one on the front cover.) as he initially makes tentative forays into the better-lit avenues of gay love until he finally delves deeper into the darker alleys of homosexual desire.

The first part of the book titled “He who sleeps in my lap” contains lyrical verses that shimmer like shantung silk for the sheer strength of the persona’s unbridled faith that true love exists, and that failure in passionate connection is but the obverse side of the same romantic coin. The innocent persona in these poems believes in the workings of destiny (“Crossroad” and “Star-crossed”) in determining the beginning and the end of the affair. Nevertheless, being a true-blue romantic, hope springs eternal in his homosexual heart “that when he wakes up/ I shall be his dream.//” [“He who sleeps in my lap”].

In “Procrastinations” and “The Queen Sings the Blues”, the second and third sections respectively, the persona becomes more daring as he explores the steamier if not seamier side of the homosexual landscape. Aside from Cine Café where one encounters “spent phalluses/ That have shed copious tears/ In rooms filled with longing.//,” Baytan also commemorates the other queer spaces that have shaped his Otherness. But most of these remarkable gay landmarks are gone, like “Giraffe” (“Saints in drag abound/ Here, and men/ Await their first taste/ Of brotherly love.//) and “Blue” (It’s drag night once more./ Same old Shirley, Whitney, Tina,/ And Mariah in boas and sequins/ Belting about love, love, love./”).

The fourth section, “A Cycle for Rodney,” textualizes the persona’s gay (but not necessarily happy) relationship with a foreign national, which is emblematic of postmodern love affairs, interracial or otherwise. The five poems trace the trajectory of the homosexual liaison, from its hopeful birthing (“Bless me, Mama,/ Because like you, I know// Love has found me.//” [“Beginnings”]) to its inevitable demise (“You thought Love is forever./ And now all you have/ Is the parting/ Kiss, the last handshake,…” [“Endings”]).

As the title suggests, the fifth part features poetic “retellings” of Chinese legends and tales about the homosexual persona as a faithful lover and/or beloved as he appears in the Middle Kingdom’s history and lore: “The Cut Sleeve,” “Mizi Xia, Jade,” “Long Yang,” “Pan Zhang,” “Ruiji,” “Ruiji, Mother of Chengxin,” “Quan,” “Qinshu,” and “Emperor Wu, Confession.”

Baytan’s affirmative action in showing these heartwarming examples of gay love countervails his initial statement in his exegetic essay that homosexual romance does not last forever. The poems, in his own words, “emphasize love’s endurance and the joys of finding the One. I decided to retell the Chinese legends and tales... to show contemporary readers positive models of same-sex love in the old Chinese world. The men in the narratives may not have heard of the word “gay” nor saw themselves as “homosexual”… yet the power of the bonds between these men should suffice to tell the reader that love is possible.”

In “Crossing Borders,” the sixth and closing section, the wizened but world-weary persona reexamines his sensual and sexual experiences, making him realize in the process some life lessons with regards to homosexual love and lust. He comprehends for instance in “Distance (ii)” that the body has a language and a memory of its own: “And so I learn/ The body is not transient/ Nor forgetful;” and in “Threshold” that “desire/ Is a habit, a calling of flesh/ And spirit to repeat/ Presences…”

But the most powerful piece of this final cluster, if only because it is the most confessional and thus presumably the most honest as well, must be the last poem which derives its inspiration from the verses of both Louise Glück (“The Sensual World”) and Pablo Neruda (“XX: Tonight I Can Write”). Unabashedly titled “La Puta del Mundo,” the poem perfectly capture’s the persona’s eternal search for love through lovemaking and the resultant disillusionment that goes with it when the beloved decides to leave: “Why should it matter then if I could not/ Keep them or count them? I have lost// Faith in the possibility of encounters,/ In the meeting of lost halves.//”

Baytan’s lush lyrics, both in its luxuriant and lustful sense, plot the emotional arc of the Chinese-Filipino’s homosexual heart as it swings like a pendulum between desire and despair, love and longing, sex and solitude.

48th Dumaguete National Writers Workshop

Call for Submission of Manuscripts to the 48th Dumaguete National Writers Workshop

The Dumaguete National Writers Workshop is now accepting applications for the 48th National Writers’ Workshop to be held May 4-15, 2009 in Dumaguete City.

This Writers Workshop is offering fifteen fellowships to promising young writers who would like a chance to hone their craft and refine their style. Fellows will be provided housing, a modest stipend, and a subsidy to partially defray costs of their transportation.

To be considered, applicants should submit manuscripts in English on or before March 27, 2009 (seven to ten poems; or three to five short stories; or three to five creative non-fiction essays).

Manuscripts should be submitted in hard copy and on CD, preferably in MS Word, together with a resume, a recommendation letter from a literature professor or a writer of national standing, a certification that the works are original, and two 2X2 ID pictures.

Send all applications or requests for information to Department of English and Literature, attention Prof. A.G. Soluta, Chair, Silliman University, 6200 Dumaguete City.

PHILSTAGE’s Gawad Buhay! nominees bared...

PHILSTAGE’s Gawad Buhay! nominees bared, CCP awards rites set on February 18

Ballet Philippines’ productions of New Beginnings and Coppelia romped off with seven major nominations in the fourth quarter citations list released by the jury of the 2008 Gawad Buhay! The PHILSTAGE Awards for the Performing Arts.

New Beginnings earned the jury’s nod for outstanding dance production, ensemble performance, choreography (Max Luna III and Alan Hineline), and set design (Gino Gonzales). Coppelia was cited for ensemble performance and set design (Mio Infante).

Tanghalang Pilipino’s Ang Mga Gerilya ng Powell Street earned citations for ensemble performance, male lead performance (Joe Gruta and Dido dela Paz) and featured performance (Mailes Kanapi).

Ballet Manila’s Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang was cited for costume design.

Gawad Buhay! is the first industry awards conferred for outstanding achievements in the performing arts by member-companies of the Philippine Legitimate Stage Artists Group, Inc. (PHILSTAGE). The PHILSTAGE Board of Directors is composed of Tanghalang Pilipino’s Fernando Josef, president; PETA's Melvin Lee, vice president; Ballet Philippines’ Sandy Hontiveros, secretary; Repertory Philippines Gidget Tolentino, treasurer; Actors Actors’ Leonardo Lim, Ballet Manila's Susan Macuja, Gantimpala Theater Foundation’s Tony Espejo, Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit’s Mitch Valdes, TRUMPET's Joel Reyes as Board Members, and PHILSTAGE Executive Director Elmar Beltran Ingles.

While PHILSTAGE administers the awards, the final recipients will be chosen by an independent Jury Panel selected by the PHILSTAGE Board of Directors from a roster of critics, performing artists, cultural researchers and scholars, and the general public.

The public is invited to watch the final awards rites to be held at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater) at 7:30 p.m. on February 18, 2009. Invited to present the awards are the country’s foremost theater personalities.
Below is the complete list of nominees:

Outstanding Production of a Play: Ang Bayot, ang Meranao, at ang Habal-Habal sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte (Tanghalang Pilipino/Virgin Labfest 4); Batang Rizal (PETA); Ellas Inocentes (Tanghalang Pilipino/Virgin Labfest 4); Golden Child (Tanghalang Pilipino); Hamlet (Repertory Philippines); Ang Kalungkutan ng Reyna (Tanghalang Pilipino/Virgin Labfest 4); Kudeta (Tanghalang Pilipino); and Three Sisters, A Noh Play (Tanghalang Pilipino/Virgin Labfest 4).

Outstanding Musical Production: Altar Boyz (Repertory Philippines); and Skin Deep (PETA).

Outstanding Dance Production: La Revolucion Filipina(Ballet Philippines); Latin Heat (Ballet Philippines); and New Beginnings (Ballet Philippines).

Outstanding Stage Direction: Loy Arcenas (Golden Child); Chari Arrespacochaga (Altar Boyz); Nor Domingo (Skin Deep); Jose Estrella (Three Sisters), Floy Quintos (Ang Kalungkutan ng Reyna); Floy Quintos (Kudeta); Tuqxs Rutaquio (Ellas Inocentes), and Dudz Teraña (Batang Rizal).

Outstanding Original Choreography: Bam Damian (Latin Heat); Alan Hineline (New Beginnings); Agnes Locsin (La Revolucion Filipina); Alden Lugnasin (Latin Heat); Max Luna III (New Beginnings); and Jason Zamora (Altar Boyz)

Outstanding Original Play: Christine Bellen (Batang Rizal); Rogelio Braga (Ang Bayot, ang Meranao, at ang Habal-Habal sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte), Layeta Bucoy (Ellas Inocentes ); and Floy Quintos (Ang Kalungkutan ng Reytna)

Outstanding Ensemble Performance: Altar Boyz (Repertory Philippines), Ang Bayot, ang Meranao, at ang Habal-Habal sa Isang Nakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte (Tanghalang Pilipino/Virgin Labfest 4); Ang Mge Gerilya ng Powell Street (Tanghalang Pilipino); Batang Rizal (PETA); Coppelia (Ballet Philippines); Ellas Inocentes (Tanghalang Pilipino/Virgin Labfest 4); Golden Child (Tanghalang Pilipino); Hamlet (Repertory Philippines); Kudeta (Tanghalang Pilipino); La Revolucion Filipina (Ballet Philippines); Latin Heat (Ballet Philippines); Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (PETA); New Beginnings (Ballet Philippines); and
Skin Deep (PETA)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play: Arthur Acuna (Golden Child); Jose Mari Avellana (Tuesdays with Morrie); Dido de la Paz (Ang Mga Gerilya ng Powell Street); Joe Gruta (Ang Mga Gerilya ng Powell Street); Mario O'Hara (Kudeta); Joey Paras and Arnold Reyes (Ang Bayot, angMeranao, at ang Habal-Habal sa IsangNakababagot na Paghihintay sa Kanto ng Lanao del Norte); and Jonathan Tadioan (Pamantasang Hirang).

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play: Lovely Balili (Ellas Inocentes); Liesl Batucan (Golden Child); Shamaine Centenera Buencamino (Ang Kalungkutan ng Reyna); Tina Chilip (Golden Child); Jenessa Roque (Ellas Inocentes); and Irma Adlawan Marasigan (Golden Child)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musical: Red Concepcion (Altar Boyz); Juliene Mendoza (EJ: Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson); Jett Pangan (EJ: Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson); and Robert Seña (Skin Deep)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musical: Isay Alvarez (Skin Deep); May Bayot (Skin Deep); and Gail Guanlao Billones (Skin Deep);
Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Biag Gaongen (La Revolucion Filipina); and Biag Gaongen (Latin Heat)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Lisa Macuja Elizalde (Le Corsaire)

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical: No citation
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play: Riki Benedicto (Kudeta); Bong Cabrera (Kudeta); Willy Casero (Batang Rizal); Nor Domingo (Tosca); Mailes Kanapi (Ang Mga Gerilya ng Powell Street); Raffy Tejada (Tosca) and Cris Villonco (Hamlet);
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Dance Production: Camille Ordinario-Joson (Latin Heat)

Outstanding Original Libretto: Vincent De Jesus (Batang Rizal); and Vincent De Jesus (Skin Deep)

Outstanding Translation/Adaptation: George de Jesus III (Kudeta); and Dennis Marasigan (Golden Child)

Outstanding Musical Direction: Vincent De Jesus (Batang Rizal); and Jojo Malferrari (Altar Boyz)

Outstanding Set Design: Loy Arcenas (Golden Child); Mel Bernardo (Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang); Gino Gonzales (New Beginnings); Mio Infante (Coppelia); Mio Infante (La Revolucion Filipina); Tuxqs Rutaquio (Kudeta)

Outstanding Costume Design: Ron Alfonso (Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang); Faust Peneyra (Hamlet); Gino Gonzales (Golden Child); Jonathan Janolo (Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang); and Victor Ursabia (La Revolucion Filipina)

Outstanding Lighting Design: Katsch Catoy (La Revolucion Filipina); Martin Esteva (Hamlet); Dennis Marasigan (Kudeta); and Barbi Tan-Tiongco (Golden Child)

Outstanding Sound Design: Janice Dee (Kudeta); Jethro Joaquin (EJ: Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson); Jethro Joaquin (Hamlet); Shima Takesi (Tosca); and Gidget Tolentino (Altar Boyz); and J. Victor Villareal (Golden Child)

2009 Maningning Miclat Poetry Competition

CALL FOR ENTRIES TO THE 2009 MANINGNING MICLAT POETRY COMPETITION

The Maningning Miclat Art Foundation is calling on young poets aged 28 and below to submit their entry to the 2009 Maningning Miclat Trilingual Poetry Competition.

The Poetry Competition consists of 3 divisions - Filipino, English and Chinese. An entry must consist of at least eight (8) but not more than fifteen (15) poems. Authors may join all the divisions but can submit only one (1) entry in every division. All entries should be original in every language and not a translation of another entry.

All entries should be submitted in four (4) copies, double spaced on 81/2 x 11 inches bond paper with one inch margin on all sides and with ARIAL or TIMES NEW ROMAN size 12 font. Entry should be submitted with pen name only. Real name and pen name should be submitted in a separate sealed envelop together with a biodata, copy of birth certificate and a notarized declaration of originality and authenticity of authorship of the entry.

Entries must be addressed to the Maningning Miclat Art Foundation, Inc. (MMAFI), 2nd Floor Mile Long Building, Amorsolo St., Legaspi Village, Makati City (Tel No. 816-7490 to 91) not later than 5:00 P.M. of April 15, 2009. Entries sent by mail should be postmarked/invoiced not later than April 1, 2009.

The Maningning Award, handed out yearly since 2003, honors China-born Maningning Miclat, a trilingual poet and writer, and a prize-winning visual artist. She won the Grand Prize in the non-representational category of the Art Association of the Philippines Art Competition in 1992. She celebrated her 28th birthday on April 15, 2000 by launching her trilingual book of poetry, “Voice from the Underworld” (Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2000). It is the first book of poetry in the world in Filipino, English and Chinese languages written solely by one author. Her life was cut short when she passed on in September of the same year.

The landmark book, which was chosen by the Manila Critics Circle as finalist in the 2000 National Book Awards, includes Maningning’s poems in Chinese. She was one of the world’s Top 39 women poets writing in Chinese. Some of the poems were anthologized in a book published in 1995 during the International Women’s Year held in Beijing .

The Maningning Miclat Art Foundation was founded in 2001 to carry on the artist/ poet’s legacy, encourage creativity, and support and award young outstanding poets and artists. Poetry competitions in Filipino, English and Chinese languages are held during odd numbered years while Painting competitions are held during even numbered years.

Maningning Miclat was co-author, if posthumously, of the book, Beyond the Great Wall: A Family Journal, which won a 2006 National Book Award for biography. The Manila Critics Circle citation reads: “From 1971 to 1986, the Miclat family lived in the People’s Republic of China and this gathering of essays from Mario, Alma, Banaue and the late Maningning Miclat flow together in a majestic yet personal recollection of a time and place between times and places. Beyond the Great Wall signifies the act of celebration through memory, and moving on through returning.”

Grand winners in the 3 divisions of the Poetry Competition will each receive P28,000.00 together with a Julie Lluch trophy and the special collector’s edition of the books “Voice from the Underworld,” “Beauty for Ashes: Remembering Maningning,” and “Beyond the Great Wall.”

For more information on the 2009 Maningning Miclat Art Competition, please email maningningfoundation@gmail.com or acmiclat2008@yahoo.com.

Visit www.maningning.com.

And for those with Facebook account, see Manigning Miclat Fan Page.