Thought-provoking plays at UC’s Panagtipon Cebuano Theater Festival 2024

Dread, bittersweet, sadness and reflection. Those are the four moods that I would describe the four thought-provoking Cebuano plays shown during the second week of “Panagtipon Cebuano Theatre Festival 2024” by the University of Cebu (UC) Students Cultural Services at the Cebu Coliseum.

“Panagtipon” (gathering) is UC’s annual festival that stages Cebuano plays that are open to the public. The theater scene in Cebu is underrated, yet it’s full of wonderful talents, so the fact that this is a tradition from the university is pleasing to witness. The scene is gaining some appreciation in recent years, with institutions being built to help foster Cebuano theater talent.

They had different shows staged throughout its three-week run. For its second week specifically which ran from March 21-23, the shows featured were “Amigo”, “Keks and Pastries”, “Ang Dugay nang Gipangayo” and “Nganong Lisud Usapon ang Binangkal.”

Amigo

Written by Alfie Mosqueda and directed by Alan Rico, “Amigo” focuses on a ballet dancer who is an obsessive perfectionist. One tiny mistake forces her to repeat the performance to find that impossible perfection.

While practicing, she encounters a man who might be her childhood friend that she lost touch with. They converse about whether giving it all in your performance at the expense of mental wellness is worth it.

Some viewers might be reminded of films such as “Black Swan” and “Whiplash” which tackled similar themes, but “Amigo” provides a unique Cebuano twist in the cultural context of how arts seem to be severely underappreciated in the Philippines and whether it is truly worth it to be harsh on yourself for a flawless performance, even if it will still be appreciated if your heart is in it.

 Keks and Pastries

This play penned by Emman Mante and directed by Mosqueda is more comedic in tone for the most part as it centers on gay best friends Karol and Raymar who live under one roof. Karol is a baker who sells pastries for a living and is proud of her feminine gay identity. Rayman, on one hand, is a teacher who is reserved about his sexuality and has a more cynical perspective of the world.

They deal with two guests: First is a mysterious hunk Eric who is looking for a place to stay for the night while the second is Karol’s fabulous mother who visits from London to catch up and convince Karol to come with her back to the UK as a nurse – something he refuses to do despite missing his mother.

Don’t be fooled by its lighthearted tone as the latter half of the play gets more intense. After the mother leaves their house, Karol and Raymar suddenly get into a heated argument about their past conflicts which leads the latter to reveal a past trauma that ended with Karol walking out of frustration. In the end, Raymar is suddenly placed in a dangerous situation that leaves his fate up to the interpretation of the audience.

It might be abrupt that the play ends in a darker tone, but the foreshadowing was there from the beginning when Karol was frightened by a radio news report of a serial killer haunting their area.

The play also speaks honestly of the complexities of what it means to be gay in the Philippines in the Generation Z era, tackling nuances in a way that speaks to today’s fears and hopes for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Ang Dugay nang Gipangayo

The third play written by Cynette Balodo and directed by Derek Salazar and Marithe Antoinette Emia is about a disabled single mother living in the slums where she is struggling to make ends meet to raise her son alone.

Things take a sudden turn when her estranged father Jose drops by, allowing for old wounds to re-open as they discuss the remorse that the mother felt about her estranged family over an incident that left her to use a crutch. In the end, mother and son get a sense of epiphany as they see a full moon shine outside their window.

This is the saddest play shown throughout the entire series as it speaks honestly of a dysfunctional family that might be relatable to this generation depending. It’s best to treat the story with nuance and understanding of the characters’ perspectives, rather than treating it with black-and-white morals on who is right and wrong.

Nganong Lisud Tunlon  ang Binangkal

The final play from Rudy Aviles and Everild Catugal centers on best friends Joey and Victor who are lesbian and gay, respectively. Their friendship is tested when Joey suddenly reveals that she is pregnant and wants Victor to be her husband and the father of her child because she fears she might lose her job as a public school teacher for rules under “morality.” But Victor opposes the idea.

This is perhaps the funniest play in the line-up but packs a lot of heavy thinking as it tackles the difficulties of LGBTQIA+ individuals living in a society that still imposes traditional ideas of gender identity and expression. It’s a timely topic with the SOGIE Equality Bill still being debated in 2024.

It also criticizes why women, regardless of all sexualities, need to worry about losing their jobs for being pregnant and if having a baby without a husband automatically means they are “immoral.” It’s a much-needed slap in the face for conservative and sexist expectations against Filipino women.

These stage presentations may have wrapped, but you can catch the final week of Panagtipon – this time a Cebuano adaptation of Bienvenido Noreiga Jr.’s “Kasal sa Likod sa Simbahan” translated by Aviles, taking place from April 4 and 5, at 6 pm, and April 6 at 3 pm and 6 pm at the Cebu Coliseum.