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)