With the return to the live stage of the well-loved CCP Virgin Labfest this June, the Playwrights Fair, a staple in the Festival, goes onstage and online for a lively round of panel discussions from June 17 – July 3, 2022.

Here is the schedule of the onsite sessions that will be held at the CCP’s Tanghalang Manuel Conde:

On JUNE 17, 5pm, in Critics’ Choice, two critics, Gibbs Cadiz and Chunchi Cabasaan, share their list of the top ten plays of VLF from its inception in 2005 to the present.

On JUNE 18, 5pm, in Playwrights in the Academe, writers Guelan Luarca, Vladimeir Gonzalez and Urie Clamor share their thought and processes on writing plays in university theatres.

On JUNE 24, 5pm, in Adapting Literature/Fiction to Stage, playwrights Alvin Dacanay, Eljay Deldoc, and May Cardoso share their experiences/creative process in adapting fiction to the stage.

On JUNE 25, 5pm, in Scriptwork: Directors Take on New Work by Playwrights, directors Tuxqs Rutaquio, Roobak Valle, Issa Manalo Lopez talk about their processes and approaches to directing new works by playwrights.

Here is the schedule of the premiere streaming of the online sessions through the following Facebook Pages: Cultural Center of the Philippines (https://www.facebook.com/culturalcenterofthephilippines), CCP Intertextual Division (https://www.facebook.com/CCPIntertextualDivision), and The Virgin Labfest (https://www.facebook.com/thevirginlabfest):

On JUNE 29, 7pm, in Hango sa Totoong Buhay with playwrights Dustin Celestino, Layeta Bucoy and Nicolas Pichay. At 8:30 pm, in Folklore in Playwriting, playwrights Jerry Respeto and Carlo Vergara share their experiences, processes, and insights in writing folklore plays.

On JUNE 30, 7pm, in Playwriting for Children and Young People, writers Luna Inocian and Christine Bellen share their wonderful journey in writing plays for children and young people. At 8:30 pm, you can watch the live recorded session of Critic’s Choice by Gibbs Cadiz and Chunchi Cabasaan.

On JULY 1, 7 pm, in Remembering Rene Villanueva, writers Luna Sicat-Cleto and Jun Lana reminisce about their memories of Rene Villanueva and how he inspired and influenced them. At 8:30 pm, online streaming of Playwright in the Academe with playwrights Guelan Luarca, Vladimeir Gonzalez and Urie Clamor.

On JULY 2, in Writing Musicals, musical director Ejay Yatco talks about his ideas and inspirations in writing music for theater musicals. At 8:30, you can watch the online stream of Adapting Literature/Fiction to the stage with playwrights Alvin Dacanay, Eljay Deldoc and May Cardoso.

On JULY 3, in Teaching Playwriting, playwright Glenn Sevilla Mas discussed the approaches to teaching playwriting both in academe and non-academe settings. At 8:30 pm, online streaming of Scriptwork: Directors Take on New Work by Playwrights with directors Tuxqs Rutaquio, Roobak Valle and Issa Manalo Lopez.

The Playwrights Fair is held under the direction of Rody Vera and coordination by the CCP Intertextual Division.

The Playwrights Fair is one of the components of the VLF, the festival of untried, untested and unstaged plays, established in 2005. It is free and open to public. The online sessions of the PW Fair will be streamed for the entire duration of the VLF.

For its 17th edition, after two years of the pandemic, VLF returns to live stage with 12 new works slated on June 16 to 26, at Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater).

For this year, VLF follows the theme “Hinga” to “underline the need to breathe, to be present and feel alive.”

VLF also brings back the VLF Fellowship Program, with mentor Glenn Sevilla Mas and director Dennis Marasigan and introduces the new Theater Talks, a curated forum series on theater and creative processes.

For more information, visit the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph). Follow the official CCP social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for latest updates.