Seussical Set To Open Feb. 24-25

2TinCans Philippines, Cebu’s premier theatre communications company, proudly announces the much-anticipated 10th-anniversary celebration with a spectacular production of the whimsical musical extravaganza, "Seussical" set on February 24 to 25 at the CENEWOF Theater of the Marcelo Fernan Press Center in Lahug, Cebu City.

"Seussical" is a fantastical journey into the colorful universe created by the iconic Dr. Seuss, featuring beloved characters from his timeless stories including “The Cat in the Hat”, “Horton Hears a Who”, “Gertrude McFuzz”, among many others, which promises to enchanting audiences with its vibrant characters, imaginative storytelling, and unforgettable music.

Featuring the 2TinCans Theatre Company and the musical theatre students of 2TinCans Theatre Lab, this milestone production not only marks a decade of excellence in the theatre arts for 2TinCans Philippines, but also serves as a testament to their unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality productions that captivates audiences of all ages. 

FEU Theater Guild’s 90th Year Celebration

The Far Eastern University Theater Guild’s (FTG) 90th season opened by exploring the intricacies of love in Tamdula VI: Love-Oratory and now restages Liza Magtoto’s “Agnoia” inspired by Eli Rueda Guieb III’s short story “Horoscope”. First performed in FEU in 2013, “Agnoia” delves into the fateful webbing of relationships and destiny and will be restaged in a more intimate setting. Witness how the themes of love and circumstance take on the characters of the Zodiac signs as the FTG marks this significant milestone in its illustrious history.

CONTROL + SHIFT : Changing Narratives - PETA’s Bold Collection of New Theater Performances

With an unwavering commitment to empowering and enriching society, PETA continues to push boundaries and explore new frontiers in the realm of socially relevant theater. PETA welcomes 2024 with a bold collection of new theater performances that puts the spotlight on the theme of narrative change with CONTROL + SHIFT : Changing Narratives, Reclaiming and Reshaping Stories of the Filipino People. 

PETA artists, together with creative partners and collaborators, have created fresh works that hope to provoke curiosity, spark conversations, challenge assumptions, interrogate, and transform the toxic narratives and harmful depictions that hold society back. 

CONTROL + SHIFT : Changing Narratives features eight new works, devised performances, and the re-staging of KUMPRONTASYON at the PETA Theater Center from January 12-14, 19-21, 2024. 

Shorts & Briefs 9 At Draper Start Up House This August 6-27, 2023

Shorts & Briefs 9 by EKSENA PH, is an independently produced “THEATRE FESTIVAL” of short and brief  Plays (10-12min plays) that features ONLY 1st time theatre makers and performers. It’s been running for 9 years. This year they are back to the LIVE theatre scene celebrating 9 years with 8 live shows on all Sundays of AUGUST. Debuting this season are 8 set of Plays featuring New faces in the theatre Scene. This year SNB 9 will also feature original stories from New and Upcoming Playwrights. 

It will be staged at DRAPER STARTUP HOUSE in Poblacion Makati, All Sundays of August starting August 06-27.  Showtime is at 2pm and 7pm every Sunday. DRAPER is a 80-seater venue, is located at 5048 P. Burgos Street, Poblacion, Makati, Philippines.   

This year SNB 9 will feature original stories from New and Upcoming Playwrights. 

Experiencing “Milestone Anxiety”? tick, tick…BOOM! is your safe space

Adulting sucks; thank God for tick, tick…BOOM! 

According to ExploringYourMind.com, milestone anxiety is defined as “the psychological pressure that people experience when they perceive that they haven’t yet met many of their expectations and life goals.” Some life milestones include buying a home, getting married, having kids and more. Just last year, UK-based organization Relate discovered that this milestone anxiety is rising among millennials and Gen Z members. The early 30s seem to be a real “crunch point”—by age 30, young adults are expected to have their lives together.

Anxious about turning 30 (or getting older)? Say less.

There’s a musical that says it all—one that was written decades ago, but is still relevant to our milestone anxiety-ridden generation. 

9 Works Theatrical presents Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick… BOOM!

Fear or Love, Baby?

tick, tick…BOOM!: A Must-Watch for All Artists and Creatives

If you’re a struggling artist or creative, odds are, you’ve found yourself asking this question: Will you pursue the passion that makes your life worth living? Or will you pursue a career that makes a living?

This is the story of our protagonist Jon in the musical tick, tick… BOOM! Jon is an aspiring composer who is about to turn thirty and is growing increasingly anxious about his future in theater. Pressure mounts when his girlfriend, Susan, hounds him about leaving New York to start a family and seek a more stable profession. Tensions also rise when his best friend Michael—an erstwhile actor-turned marketing executive—tries to convince him to join the fold.

Amidst it all, Jon hears a constant ticking–a reminder that he is getting older, with little to show.

Meet the Cast of 9 Works Theatrical’s tick, tick…BOOM!

tick, tick…BOOM! restaging to star Jef Flores and Khalil Ramos

Jonathan Larson’s rock monologue comes alive once more!

9 Works Theatrical (9WT), one of the Philippines’ premier production companies, is reopening its theater doors after a three-year hiatus with a restaging of Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick…BOOM! After a successful run in 2016, and hot on the heels of the critically-acclaimed Netflix adaptation, 9WT has chosen Larson’s rock monologue as its comeback production. Theater fans and even film enthusiasts couldn’t be more excited!

tick, tick… BOOM!  follows the story of Jon, a struggling musical composer who is turning 30 but has yet to make his mark. Uncertain if pursuing his artistic ambitions is worth the struggle, he navigates life by composing musicals while juggling his relationship with his girlfriend, Susan. Susan—a dancer, who teaches ballet to “wealthy and untalented children”—experiences the same artistic/existential crisis, and longs to move out of New York to find a more stable and secure future. The show also introduces Michael, Jon’s best friend, an erstwhile actor who has chosen to pursue a more lucrative path as a marketing executive. 

PETA Summer Workshop 2023 Brings In-Person Theater Learning Back

The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) is back to offering its face-to-face summer theater workshops starting May 2023! 

The year marks an important milestone for Philippine theater as this is the year stages reopened and live performances returned for Filipino audiences post-pandemic. As PETA celebrates its 56th year in the industry, and wraps up its last month of the successful and highly-anticipated run of its newest original musical, Rody Vera’s Walang Aray (a farcical adaptation of Severino Reyes’ class zarzuela Walang Sugat), we can expect more theater activities in store for everyone in the coming months! 

Dulaang UP’s Kung Paano Nanalo sa Karera si Rosang Taba

After two years of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has led to a global health crisis, Dulaang UP reopened its doors through the staging of Floy Quintos’ The Reconciliation Dinner at the University Theater Main Hall Stage in November 2022. 

After the successful run of The Reconciliation Dinner, Dulaang UP’s first offering for its 45th theatre season, we are excited to be back on stage with an adaptation of Dean Francis Alfar’s How Rosang Taba Won a Race, a children’s story that amplifies the voices of the oppressed. The adaptation Kung Paano Nanalo sa Karera si Rosang Taba is written by award-winning playwrights Maynard Manansala and Rody Vera, and directed by José Estrella in collaboration with her mentees Issa Manalo Lopez and Mark Dalacat. Lopez is currently DUP’s Artistic Director while Dalacat is a graduating BA Theatre Arts student from the Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts.

Xavier School Nuvali is Philippine Theater’s New Breeding Ground

Broadway, the West End, and even the Manila theater scene are worlds away to theater kids in Laguna. Whatever theater exposure they have usually comes in the form of YouTube videos or Spotify albums on repeat. So what do you do when you’re bitten by the theater bug?

Xavier School Nuvali, the youngest Jesuit school in the Philippines, is the latest breeding ground for the future of Philippine theater. The Jesuits, known for their affinity for the arts - especially drama - are seriously investing in honing the talent of their students. 

As face-to-face schooling comes back, so do the curtains rise in Xavier Nuvali. Almost every day of the week, the school is abuzz with student-actors singing, dancing, and acting in the corridors. Apart from the daily grind of academics, which each student-actor prioritizes, the excitement of after-school theater programs is a favorite of many a Xaverian. 

PETA marks theater comeback with Batang Rizal

After Philippine Educational Theater Association’s (PETA) big digital breakthrough during the pandemic: a string of successful online show streams and virtual workshops, the pioneering Filipino theater company is making a big theater comeback for its 55th Theater Season! 

The return to the theater features no less than a PETA classic, Christine Bellen’s Batang Rizal! First to launch online via streaming from October 14-16, the well-loved musical will be the first show to open PETA’s theater stage in November.

Co-written, directed for stage, and choreographed by Dudz Teraña, with musical direction, arrangement, and composition by Vincent de Jesus, Batang Rizal is a remarkable piece because of its ability to resonate with audiences across generations. Its power rests in its simplicity and relatability, while carrying a deep challenge for audiences to become everyday heroes.  

Even after a decade and a half, the magic of Batang Rizal has not wavered. PETA artistic director, and Batang Rizal video director, Maribel Legarda, says that one of the most powerful aspects of the show is “how Rizal’s story is told not through the eyes of an adult but that of a child’s.” 

Tanghalang Pilipino rolls out new online productions this August to celebrate Buwan ng Wika

The beauty of the Filipino language takes centerstage as Tanghalang Pilipino releases performances that are based on Philippine literary works,  in celebration of Buwan ng Wika. These performances will be streamed online under 'PansamanTanghalan', found at the official TP Youtube channel.

'Pamanang Pahina' consists of dramatic readings of Filipino children's books from OMF Library-Hiyas, which will be performed by members of the Actors Company, with Anino Shadowplay Collective providing the striking visuals. Starting off the storytelling series is “Ang Bagong Kaibigan ni Bing Butiki” written by Yna Reyes (with Illustration by Jason Moss)  and adapted for this performance by Nono Pardalis. This episode, about an encompassing friendship between unlikely characters, is now available online.

“13th of SEPTEMBER” - Official Entry To the 9th Festival International de Théâtre de Mont-Laurier

“13th of September” - the Philippine’s official entry to the 9th Festival International de Theatre De Mont-Laurier is all set for its international gala performance on September 9 – Monday 4 pm at the Espace Theatre located at 543 Rue du Pont Local, Quebec, Canada.

Produced by Be Our Guest Theatricals, “13th of September – A Reimagination of Lanie Robertson’s “The Insanity of Mary Girard” was adapted by playwright Eljay Castro Deldoc and directed by Riki Benedicto.

The 9th Festival International de Theatre De Mont-Laurier is a biennial theater festival which will be held from September 5 – 11 with a total of only 25 companies from 19 countries as participants. The Philippines is the only country from Southeast Asia who was selected to join the festival since its launch in 2003.

The complete list of countries are as follows: Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Romania, and Syria.

Free Admission To 11th Gawad Buhay Awards On May 28

The 11th Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards is all set on May 28, Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Onstage Theater, Greenbelt 1, Makati City.

It will be open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The awards show, with the theme “Generations,” will be hosted by Carlo Orosa and Kakai Bautista, and will feature an original song aptly titled “Buhay na Buhay,” jointly composed by veteran writer-director Freddie Santos and musical director Ejay Yatco.

Philstage President Audie Gemora, who is directing the event, says, “The dream of the founding members of Philstage companies — the likes of Zeneida Amador—was to build 

a thriving performing arts industry. That dream is now a reality, with several theater companies having been established in the last decade. Workshops are teeming with youngsters while theaters in the campuses are vibrant. 

Have Your Own Theater At SM Cinemas' Event Cinema!

If you want something really unique and fun to do for your events like birthdays, anniversaries, or even a simple gathering of friends or co-workers, why not rent a theater? Yes! This is possible with the special theatrical space by SM Cinema that can be used for a full movie experience without the need to rent the whole thing.

This is SM Cinema’s Event Cinema.

They opened their first venue at the SM Mall of Asia just beside the IMAX Theater. The cinema is equipped with a 4D theatre and holds a 45 seating capacity. They offer a wide selection of movie titles you can choose that goes well with your events.

Rody Vera's Translation Of Jose Rivera's MARISOL Opens Tanghalang Ateneo's 40th Season On November 15-25

Tanghalang Ateneo, the longest-running theater company of the Loyola Schools of the Ateneo de Manila University, presents Marisol, its first mainstage production for its 40th Season: Sturm und Drang/Bagyo at Bagabag. The play, which earned Jose Rivera a 1993 Obie Award for Playwriting after its premiere in 1992, is born anew with the translation of Palanca Hall of Famer Rody Vera and the direction of up and coming dramatur and director Erika Estacio.

Marisol Perez is caught in the disorder of the world brought about by the senile God as she is left to fend for herself, without her guardian angel. She learns that the angels are waging a war against the Lord, to save humanity and reinstate order in the world. With her best friend June, June’s deranged brother Lenny, and some unusual faces she meets along the way, Marisol has to face the repercussions of the War of the Heavens, grappling with the fact that the faith that she has long relied on can no longer keep her safe.

Qingdao Peking Opera Company's “THE MONKEY KING MAKING HAVOC IN HEAVEN ” To Be Presented At CCP

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China proudly present a special Beijing Opera performance of “ The Monkey King Making Havoc in Heaven ” featuring The Qingdao Peking Opera Company on Friday, 18 May 2018 (Gala Night) at 7:30 pm and Saturday, 19 May 2018 at 7:30 pm at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City.  

Binondo A Tsinoy Musical Set To Open June 20

SYNERGY 88, Rebecca Chuaunsu Film Production (RCFP) and Fullhouse Asia Production Studios, Inc. proudly presents BINONDO, A TSINOY MUSICAL directed by Joel Lamangan and written by Ricky Lee with Gershom Chua and Eljay Deldoc.

BINONDO, A Tsinoy Musical’ tells the story of how LILY, a Filipina night club singer in pre-Martial Law Manila, and AH TIONG, a mainland Chinese scholar returning to Cultural Revolution-era Beijing, embark on a journey of great love and heartbreak that begins one fated, moon-lit night during the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1971 in the heart of Manila’s Chinatown.

Make Summer Exciting With Trumpets Workshop!

Trumpets Playshop. You’ve probably seen them every year, or thought of us when summer workshops come to mind. You’ve pondered whether or not to join a musical theater class, or try your luck at striking poses for the runway! Enrolled in one of ours street dance or public speaking classes, or even upgraded to becoming part of Playhouse – the advanced level of musical theater workshops. But where did it all begin and how it manage to become a home for so many in the theater industry? 

Trumpets Playshop was born as a product of TRUMPETS INC, the Philippine’s first Christian Theater company, and creators of well loved musicals such as Joseph the Dreamer, The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, The Little Mermaid, First Name, and The Bluebird of Happiness to name a few. With Trumpets Inc, led by passionate and brilliant minds - Theater King, Audie Gemora, and business maverick, Butch Jimenez – Trumpets Playshop, its educational arm, was born. Since it’s humble beginnings in 1993, Playshop has proven to be a home that kids, teens, and grown-ups return to every summer to discover and explore their multiple talents in the performing arts such as acting, singing, dancing, hosting and modeling. And since then, it has grown and provided a wholesome, productive and enjoyable experience for its students for more than two solid decades.

Gawad Buhay 2017 Nominations Out - Tanghalang Pilipino 'Ang Pag-uusig And Ballet Manila's 'Ibong Adarna" Take Lead

Through Facebook Live, the Gawad Buhay—the Philstage Awards for the Performing Arts, which marks its 10th anniversary this year—announced the nominations for the 2017 awards, culled from productions and performances by Philstage member-companies last year.

The FB Live event, held at the lobby of The Theatre at Solaire, was hosted by Audie Gemora and Karla Gutierrez, Philstage president and treasurer, respectively.