Kuris wraps up

VARIOUS theatre groups in Western Visayas converged for a series of performances as the Kuris International Theater Festival and Workshops closed on Saturday at the Orange Project at the Art District in Bacolod City.

The festival led by The Performance Laboratory Inc. held eight workshops, two lectures, a staged reading of nine short plays, an exhibit opening for Order of National Artist and Gawad Manlilikhang Bayan; and 13 performances and poetry reading of about 150 participants and 200 performers and production staff from school and community based theatre groups from Negros Occidental and Panay from Feb. 20 to 23.

The event was held in five venues across Bacolod City – University of Saint La Salle, Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod, Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, Negros Museum, Orange Project and Ayala Mall.

During the closing program, Kuris Festival Director Tanya Lopez thanked all the participants, mentors, and performers that contributed to the success of the event, which involved the 6th edition of Play Festival and Readathon and continuity of the workshops started by International Playwrights Forum (IPF) in 2012.

Among the experts that came to Bacolod this year are contemporary dance educator from (Canada) Paraskevas Terezakis who led the workshop on “Dance Theatre”, dance master Alvin Erasga Tolentino who engaged the participants on “Contemporary Dance Experience and Technique”, Filipina-American Mary Alinney Villacastin and New York-based Angelica Janabajal Tolentino on “embodied Archiving Workshop”; Playwright/director August Melody Andong on “Women Playwrights International (WPI) Satellite Readathon,” designer Carlo Pagunaling on “Costume Design”, theatre director Dennis Gupa on “Creative Artistic Research Workshop”, multi-awarded playwright Glenn Mas on “Playwriting”; Professional events organizer from Manila Ma. Theresa Belleza on “Production/Stage Management”, and Negrense Production Designer Adrian Torres for “Set Design” workshop.

The Play Festival curated by Teatrokon President Rudy Reveche was participated by the following groups: Maskara Theater Ensemble and Santermo Writers Guild from USLS; Kanlaon Theater Guild, Masks, and Teatro from CSA-Bacolod; TeatroLingganay of Sacred Heart Seminary; Association of Performing Artists from Talisay; CADJEN from Kabankalan City; Teatro San Antonio of St Anthony’s College from Antique and USA Little Theater of University of San Agustin – Iloilo.

“This is indeed a year of numbers as we keep on growing with emerging and the next generation of theater artists already writing, directing and producing the plays; and managing the festival,” Lopez said.

The event is a collaboration of The PerfLab, Women Playwrights’ International-Philippines and University of St. La Salle-Bacolod Culture and Arts Program in partnership with Teatrokon: West Visayas Theater Network, International Theatre Institute – International Playwright’s Forum (IPF), and National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Lopez also said that a bigger Kuris Festival is expected in 2020 as PerfLab plans to add the conference component and more workshops held in different venues.

Participants of the Dance Theater workshop of Greek Canadian performance expert ParaskevasTerezakis at GoHing Dance Studio.