If we are keeping score on theatricality, Cebu is most likely at the top of the leaderboard for its Sinulog festival alone—a feast for the senses. Every street is filled with color, music, and dance.
Thus, it is not unexpected that Cebuanos have a deep passion for theatre—the very art form that combines the ingredients of song, dance, and play in a live setting.
It is also not unexpected that Cebu City is holding the first-ever international theatre festival in the Philippines.
The Cebu International Theatre Festival (CITF) is a week-long historic event that celebrates the rich tapestry of global culture, creativity, and collaboration.
Performing arts groups and companies from across Asia will bring to life a series of plays that celebrate and explore their cultural heritage and history. The lineup features captivating performances from Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, each offering a unique glimpse into their traditions and stories.
Artists from these countries gathered for an exclusive opening ceremony dinner in Nustar Resort Cebu last July 1, Monday. The event kicked the week off with excerpt performances from each participating country.
Msgr. Agustin V. Ancajas, CITF Chariman, calls the festival a step to “reviv[ing] the once popular theater culture in Cebu.” The history he refers to includes thee boom of religious theater in the late 1800s moving on and the establishment of realistic plays and theater companies under Vicente Sotto.
While contemporary theater like the balak-dula, street theater, and adaptations of Broadway plays pushed Cebuano theater culture forward, the pandemic stifled its growth. It failed to stifle the excitement, though, as productions resumed immediately when things were safe.
The CITF is a monumental next move for theater’s complete resurgence.
“It is our hope Cebu will also be known in the future as a center for theater in the Philippines,” Ancajas notes.
The CITF is supported by the Cebu City Tourism Commission. Chairman Atty. Jocelyn Pesquera wishes the CITF “engage[s] us to take risks and advocate for new and diverse voices.”
“May this inspire us to dream and believe in what is possible if we put our hearts into action,” Pesquera says. She even flirts with the idea of applying to be a scriptwriter in the coming years as she used to write scripts back when she was a student.
CITF Producer Dr. Hwang Woon Ki actually dreamed up the idea after taking part in Sinulog festivities.
“Music and dance are not only loved by Filipinos but also important in theater,” Ki says. “This event can help make music and dance shine even more.”
Hwang, who has his own theatre company in South Korea, likens theater to a vitamin. Whether he means that it energizes people or heals them, one thing’s for sure: vitamins make us better humans.
Hwang wants the CITF to show “the most human of people’s stories.” Especially important then is the representation of various people from all around the globe.
The different excerpts performed during the ceremony displayed this variety. Each performance group delivered previews of their productions, highlighting pivotal scenes, monologues, and scores that piqued the audience’s interest in the different stories.
Korea’s Theater Gongter Da and Theatre Domo navigate through complicated family relationships. In the former’s “Playing House of the Dads,” a middle-aged parent strives to establish an emotional connection with his daughter. In the latter’s “The Rain,” a husband and a wife feed each other’s addictions while trying to escape the harsh hand life has dealt them.
Japan’s Theatre Angelus and Theatre Konoshitayami traverse through the spectrum of struggles brought about by change. On one hand, Angelus’ “Muddy Water” is a drama based on the chaos after the fall of the shogunate and the rise of Westernization, based on a novel from 150 years ago. On the other hand, Konoshitayami’s “Paper Ballon/The Bear” is a comedy showcasing common marital issues and how couples deal with them.
Malaysia’s Chow Drama Studio presented a scene from “The Man and the Dog,” a tale of a lost woman and a lonely man who encounter an old dog that reminds them of kindness and simplicity.
Singapore’s Opera Academy performed an excerpt of “The Nightingale,” a traditional Malay opera of a prince who captures and imprisons a melodious nightingale.
Three Filipino theater groups delved into the most defining Filipino values: love, religion, and environment. In the “Dolores” play of Teatro de San Pedro Calungsod’s five-act play “Mga Dula sa Gugma,” a woman mourns the way she is treated in her marriage. In Siddhartha Theater Ensemble’s “Siddhartha: The Musical,” Prince Siddhartha renounces the expectations of royalty to seek enlightenment. University of Cebu Theatre Company’s “Sapa sa Calsagan” adapts the mythology of Maria Cacao and incorporates it with the troubles of the modern world.
These plays are all free to watch in the week of July 1 to 6. Only one run is afforded for each production with locations varying for each: Sacred Heart School-Hijas de Cebu, Siddhartha Theater Guang Ming College, Marcelo Fernan Press Center, and Black Box Little Theatre.
Schedules and other details can be found on the official CITF Facebook page.
