VLF 2020 KAPIT Lab in the Time of Covid (A Virtual Labfest Edition) SYNOPSES OF THE PLAYS FEATURED WORKS DOGGY By Dustin Celestino Directed by Roobak Valle Cast: Che Ramos Cosio Chrome Cosio Synopsis Jane doesn't like certain sexual positions, especially "Doggy." For Mark, this peculiarity about his fiancée has always been a source of repressed anger. Mark's frustrations surface after a game of "Never Ever Have I Ever," when he learns that Jane was more sexually adventurous with her previous lovers. Playwright Dustin Celestino is a film director, a composer, and a multi-awarded fiction writer, screenwriter, and playwright. He has won first prize in the Carlos Palanca Awards three times for his plays, "Ang Duyan ng Magiting," "Ang Pangahas na si Pepe Rodriguez," and "The Story of This Father." He also received the Special Jury Prize during the Cinema One Originals Film Festival 2019 for his directorial debut film, "Utopia." Director Roobak Valle studied Mathematics in college yet chose a career in the arts. He is an actor, a director, a choreographer, writer and workshop facilitator. He is presently the Resident Director for the Gantimpala Theater Foundation. He rarely hesitates to accept work from other theater companies. Actors Che Cosio is a former scholar of Tanghalang Pilipino’s Actors Company. Winner Gawad Buhay Best Actress in a Featured Role. Nominee Gawad Urian Best Actress. Actor for stage, tv and films. Wife, mom aand fitness trainer. Chrome Cosio is an Actor for Theater, TV and Film. He is Certified Muay Thai instructor under PMTFP (Professional Muay Thai Federation of The Philippines) and also a Fitness instructor. He is a Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company Alumnus, member from year 2005-2009. He is part of the Virgin Labfest from 2005 until the present. PILOT EPISODE By Floyd Scott Tiogangco Directed by Giancarlo Abrahan Synopsis A young gay man just quit his job through a text message. Now his parents attempt to de-escalate his extreme manic-depressive episode. Playwright Floyd Scott Tiogangco is a queer writer and a visual artist specializing in performance, installation, and conceptual art. They are an alumni of award-winning filmmaker Jun Robles Lana's Cine Panulat Screenwriting Lab and one of the writer-contributors of 'Queer Asia: Decolonising and Reimagining Sexuality and Gender'. Floyd's art and activism earned them a prestigious recognition at the first human rights awards in the country, the Amnesty International Philippines' Ignite Awards for Human Rights. They were awarded as the Most Outstanding Young Human Rights Defender. Floyd is an active member of DAKILA and one of the writers for Manilennials, an IWant Originals Series. Their one act play 'Pilot Episode' was chosen for this year's Virgin Labfest 16, their first attempt in writing for theater. Director Giancarlo Abrahan. Nagtuturo ng Scriptwriting at ng Narrative sa University of the Philippines Film Institute si Giancarlo Abrahan. Direktor sa Dagitab (2014), Paki (2017), at Sila-sila (2019);manunulat sa I’m Drunk, I Love You (2017) at Transit (2013); at prodyuser naman sa Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus (2018) at Never Tear Us Apart (2018). Miyembro si Abrahan ng Asia Pacific Screen Academy at Quiapo Collective. Direktor ng Palihan ng Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA) sa kasalukuyan, at alumnus ng Dulaang Sibol, Asian Film Academy, Locarno Filmmakers Academy, Talents Tokyo, Berlinale Talents, ASEAN Film Leaders Incubator. Actors Phi Palmos is a graduate of Mass Communication from Universidad De Manila where he also currently teaches Theater and Art Appreciation. He is a singer, actor and advocate. He received outstanding reviews in his well-crafted portrayal of Jewel in PETA’s smash-hit and award- winning musical Rak of Aegis. He also played the gender bending role of Rosanna, in the critically acclaimed musical Mula sa Buwan, Pule (Young Mabini) in Mabining Mandirigma, and as one of the newest addition in the 2019 re-staging of the highly successful Ang Huling El Bimbo playing the role of Young Anthony. He was last seen in the musical adaptation of Lualhati Bautista's novel, Dekada '70. On Feb 2018, he finished a successful run of the first one-man musical in the Philippines entitled Nobenta Nostalgia: A Monomusical as part of Fringe Manila. In 2014, he was included in Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Best of Theater’s annual list of Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Rak of Aegis. In 2019, he was again cited as Best Actor in a Play for Laro and as Best Actor in a Musical for Ang Huling El Bimbo. He has appeared on TV most notably on ABS-CBN’s On the Wings of Love (OTWOL), and the International Emmy-nominated Wansapanataym episode, Candy’s Crush. He also appeared in cameo and starring roles in movies under major and independent movie outfits in the country. He was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Kev in the Cinema One Originals Audience Choice and Best Picture winner Sila-Sila. As an advocate, Phi has travelled Asia, Europe, and USA to work on LGBT issues, youth involvement, and HIV and AIDS awareness. On December 2017 and May 2019, he actively participated in Love Gala: Asia's Premiere Charity and Awards Gala on World AIDS Day performing alongside Audie Gemora, Wency Cornejo, Morisette Amon, and Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez - Alcasid. Missy Maramara holds a Master of Fine Arts in Drama (Performance) from the University of Arkansas through the International Fulbright Scholarship Program. She also trained at the L'Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris and at Tectonic Theater Project in New York City. Theatre credits in the United States include performances for TheatreSquared, the New York United Solo Festival, and the New York Improv Festival. She has also performed in Prague, Paris, Berlin and Genova. In the Philippines, she has performed with theatre companies such as Repertory Philippines, The New Voice Company, Dulaang U.P., and CCP's Tanghalang Pilipino, in films for CinemaOne Originals and Cinemalaya, in different television series for ABS CBN, and is a member of SPIT Manila. She has received an Aliw Award for Best Featured Actress for her role as Mitch in the Kundiman Party and a LEAF Award for Outstanding Actress for her role as Callie in Stop Kiss. Missy is currently Assistant Professor of the Department of Fine Arts in the Ateneo de Manila University where she received her BFA in Theater Arts, her MA in English Literature and Cultural Studies, and is currently a candidate for a PhD in English Language and Literature. An alumna of Dulaang Sibol and Tanghalang Ateneo, she now serves as the moderator and director for Ateneo Blue Repertory. Jojit Lorenzo Jojit Lorenzo is an actor and a photographer. DAPITHAPON By Jay Crisostomo IV Directed by Sigmund Roy Pecho Synopsis Dapithapon takes three boys at the end of their High School years and forces them to confront their greatest fears in a single day: flunking out of school, impossible parental expectations, and an unhealthy infatuation with a teacher. They fervently cling to one another, afraid to let go. They try fruitlessly to preserve their friendship before they are forever parted by circumstance. Playwright Jay Crisostomo is a writer and a stage director. He is one of the founding members of the Ikarus Theater Collaborative. He runs an arts and events space in Marikina called DITO: Bahay ng Sining. The last three plays he worked for as a writer were Plastic Trees, Artificial Stars (2019), Manikang Kuneho (A Filipino musical adaptation of the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams- 2019) , and a stage reading of Without the Drama for VLF 15. He currently works in corporate events while still doing theater after hours. Director Sig Pecho is a performance-maker whose works interweave in the cultural ecology of storytelling, theatre, shadowplay, puppetry, education, and community engagement. He is a founding member and the Executive Duwende of KOMUNIDAD X (KX). He is the official Ring Announcer of the Manila Wrestling Federation. He is a junior puppeteer at the UP Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas (UPTMP), and an alumnus-artist of the Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (DUP) and the UP Playwrights Theater (UPPT). He pursues a degree in BA Theatre Arts at the University of the Philippines - Diliman. Sig is a visiting faculty at the Philippine High School for the Arts teaching Technical Theatre and Management. Actors Peewee O’Hara. Gawad Buhay awardee for Apples in the Desert/Mga Mansanas sa Disyerto, (Best Featured Actress for a full length play), a pioneer of Tanghalang Pilipino Foundation, and former Faculty/Chair of English and Speech Dept. and Center for Intensive Language Learning, Trinity University of Asia. Quiel Quiwa is an actor whose performance work revolves around conveying socio-political messages that spark discourse in the community. In his last performance, he was recognized with an honorable mention for Best Actor in Inquirer Lifestyle’s Best of Theater 2019. Khayl Sisom is a performer whose works are best exemplified through his character work of Kolokoy Ghetto batang kalye in Manila Wrestling Federation. He started training in wrestling and has since been active in public performances. Ina Azarcon-Bolivar is a dramaturg and an actor. Her recent works include Nana Rosa (Dulaang UP), Larong Demonyo (VLF XV), and Labor Room (VLF XIV). Jerome Dawis is an AB Multimedia Arts graduate and a scholar of Dulaang Filipino, the resident theatre company of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. His recent theatre productions include Lualhati Bautista’s Desaparasidos (2018) adapted and directed by Guelan Luarca, W. Shakespear’s Romeo and Juliet (2019) directed by Anna Valdes-Lim, and Lualhati Bautista’s Dekada ’70 Musical (2020) adapted and directed by Pat Valera.