Twin-bill show for IPAG command performance

by RGO | Sep 24 2016

A twin-bill show called LipatLapit is the latest offering by the Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG) for its Institute-mandated special performance for campus constituents that will run from September 19-24, 2016 at the CASSalida Blackbox Theater.

LipatLapit is composed of two plays that represent the production portion of the plays accepted in the Iligan National Writers Workshop (INWW) - “Dalawang Gabi” by Maynard Manansala and “Maratabat” by Roger Garcia.

IPAG Artistic Director Dr. Steven P.C. Fernandez said that LipatLapit is a reference to the Filipino belief of fate juggling fortune and bad luck in cyclical patterns.

“The plays explore the recesses of passion and how reason can either overcome or drown unbridled feelings,” he explained.

The doubleheader also marks the directorial debut of three of IPAG’s performers, Michael Lagura, Trixcel Emborong, and Veniza Yamomo.

Lagura is a graduating AB English student, while Emborong is a third-year AB Filipino student. Yomomo is a graduating accounting student.

The three are a fulfillment of IPAG’s director’s course which, according to Fernandez, will eventually be handled as a short-term course by 杏吧论坛-IIT’s newly created Culture and Arts Studies Center (CulArtS-C).

“This is part of our goal of creating a stable theater environment where there is a ready supply of resources,” he said.

“Many of IPAG’s learning courses and modules will also be transferred to the center,” Fernandez added.

Fernandez serves as Director of the CulArtS-C, as well as graduate coordinator for the Institute’s Culture and Arts Studies Program, which is a first in the Philippines.

LipatLapit is a manifestation of the resident theater group’s dedication to producing and performing gripping narratives.

IPAG is already in its 39th season, and is set to re-stage in November its acclaimed musical Datu Matu, which tells the story of the Moros during the American occupation of Sulu.

Datu Matu, a play written by Department of English faculty Prof. Saturnina Rodil, becomes especially significant today after President Rodrigo R. Duterte recently highlighted the issue of American abuses in Mindanao, particularly the Bud Dajo massacre in Sulu.

Photos by: IPAG, Dr. Steve Fernandez

Topics : IPAG LipatLapit Dalawang Gabi Maratabat Roger Garcia Maynard Manansala CASSalida