By Marc Stanley Mozo, Holden Kenneth Alcazaren
“Paano maging babae sa mundo ngayon?”
Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (Dulaang UP) puts women in the forefront to launch its 46th Theatre Season in Sidhi’t Silakbo. Dulaang UP Artistic Director Issa Manalo Lopez and Virgin Labfest Festival Director Tess Jamias direct this production which weaves together a contemporary reimagining of the classics Medea, Antigone, Trojan Women, and The Suppliants. Sidhi’t Silakbo opens the season in a celebration of the authenticity and validity of varying female realities. To its directors, “It is an awakening, a breaking of the cycle, breaking stereotypes, of women liberating themselves through a series of performances of freedom, fury, wit, rage, love and ruin.”
Featuring five powerful actors: Shamaine Buencamino, Uzziel Delamide, Chic San Agustin, Wenah Nagales, and Adrienne Vergara, the show is fueled by female ferocity and frenzy. These women reclaim female stories and create spaces where a woman can assert her decisions based on what is true, what makes her happy, and what is right for her.
Shamaine Buencamino is a masterful actor whose career spans three decades. She has brought us numerous meaningful and remarkable performances in theatre, film, and television in the Philippines and abroad; and has dedicated herself to breaking the stigma about depression and mental health. Joining her are fellow Dulaang UP alumnae Adrienne Vergara and Chic San Agustin. FAMAS award winner Vergara starred in the Jerrold Tarog movie, Bliss. She has recently gone viral as “Ate Judit” in the Boy’s Love series Gaya sa Pelikula and has been an advocate for queer representation since then. Chic, with a theatre background rooted in Dulaang UP, has delved into a career as an advertising manager and events specialist. Rising theatre and indie film actor Uzziel Delamide is a firecracker who joins in the mix. To complete this ensemble, Wenah Nagales, a familiar face in film and television, shares her talents as a seasoned actor and singer whose theatre background was honed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company.
Catch performances of these fiery women at the KAL-IBG Theatre, University of the Philippines Diliman on the following dates:
Nov. 23, 24, 25 (7:30 pm)
Nov. 26 (2:30 pm & 7:30 pm)
Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 01 (7:30 pm)
Dec. 02, 03 (2:30 pm & 7:30 pm)
Tickets are available at Php 1,300 (regular rate) and Php 650 (discounted rate for UP students). This will be soon sold on the Ticket2Me platform. Sponsorship concerns such as showbuying, audience sponsorship, and bulk tickets may be addressed to Kate Dayag-Nonay at dulaangup.upd@up.edu.ph. Additional information will be posted at the Dulaang UP Facebook page.
Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas has long been at the forefront of producing premiere theatre productions since it was established in 1976 by National Artist for Theatre Tony Mabesa. In its second season since the end of the pandemic, Dulaang UP continues to welcome back students, educators, and enthusiasts to the stage, where greater representation never fails to matter.
*with contributions from Issa Manalo Lopez
