Bacolod celebrates Arts Month amid pandemic with Kuris theatre international festival and workshops

The Performance Laboratory, Inc. (PerfLab) in partnership with the Women Playwrights’ International – Philippines, Teatrokon: West Visayas Theater Network, International Theatre Institute – International Playwright’s Forum, and the University of St. La Salle will once again hold the Kuris Theater International Festival and Workshops in Bacolod City on February 17– 20, 2021. The celebration is pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 683 dated January 28, 1991 titled Declaring the Month of February of Every Year as National Arts Month.

Kuris Theater International Festival and Workshops has become a creative and empowering nest in encouraging theater awareness, collaboration and strengthening network through workshops, symposia/conferences, performances and play festivals. Throughout the years, Kuris has gathered and nurtured a strong network of playwrights and theater organizers who produced an array of new works.

PerfLab through KURIS will hold the festival through online platforms and intimate live performances with the belief that, in these trying times, theatre is integral to personal and collective healing. It is a powerful tool in preserving human connection, raising social and cultural awareness, encouraging art appreciation and providing creative release.

Tanya Lopez, Festival Director and one of the founding members of the festival, said that this year’s theme “Theater Above Borders” or TAB represents a space for continuous growth, development and collaboration amongst its audiences and participants.

The 8th Kuris Theater Festival will feature performances of university- and community–based theater groups, Online Lectures and Staged Readings featuring works of renowned international playwrights in partnership with the International Playwrights Forum of the International Theatre Institute, A Readathon and Workshop for Emerging Women Playwrights and in collaboration with the Women Playwrights International, Theatre Workshops, and Online Streaming.

For more information, you may contact Noel Pahayupan of PerfLab through phone at 0945-966-8095 or e-mail at theperformancelaboratory.inc@gmail.com