The MSU-IIT resident Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG) headlines the Mindanao edition of Tanghal, the national university theatre festival, in General Santos City on February 22 – 24. Tanghal is a flagship project of National Commission for Culture and the Arts when the country celebrates Arts Month.
IPAG will perform “Uwahig, a deconstruction of the Mindanao creation and flood myth, which premiered to acclaim at the UNESCO Int’l Theatre Institute Festival at the CCP and, subsequently, as Philippine representative in the 9th Taipei Int’l Festival in Taiwan. The production sets its sights on more int’l festivals soon.
“Uwahig,” a phonetic adaptation of the Bukidnon “wahig” which means water, presents semiotic significations of water and fire, both elements that have figured prominently in recent calamities, embedded in the Indarapatra and Sulaiman myth.
Inspired by Mindanao lore, “Uwahig” was produced through the collaboration of Mindanao-based artists among them Geejay Langlois and the Mebuyan Peace Project (music), Felimon Blanco and the IPAG Creative Collective (choreography), Boots Dumlao and Vicmar Paloma (designs), and Steven P.C. Fernandez (mise-en-scene and script).
In Tanghal, the best university-based theatre companies display their thespic flair in selected cities around the country. IPAG joins this elite group selected from among thirty-four applicants. Joining veteran IPAG in Mindanao are Guindegan of La Salle University Ozamis and Xavier University’s Xavier Stage.
Fringe productions by local groups support the headline performances in various sites around the city.
Joining Tanghal 6 are Melvin Pascubillo, Leilani Fernandez, Kenn Erwin Velasquez, Juvy Pelos, Wenna Balaido, Hobart Savior, Sheila Canete, Hermie Dico and Paloma (Designs), Glenmark de Gracia and Rodel Abellanosa (Technical Assts.), Arlem Abanes (Production Manager), Lilybeth Maraon (Stage Manager), Blanco, and Fernandez.
IPAG has been invited to join this annual festival five times and has accepted invitations in three of the outings that have headlined the MSU-IIT company with the plays “MingMing,” “SugaTula,” and now “Uwahig.”