Tiny Beautiful Things: Finding Familiar Communities with Anonymous Voice

Making its Philippine premiere, TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS: A Play About Life – In Letters will serve as The Sandbox Collective’s season finale this November 2024, capping off the theatrical company’s 10th-year anniversary season, #SandboxNowandTen.

Straddling the line between fiction and non-fiction, TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS: A Play About Life – In Letters draws its plot from author Cheryl Strayed’s stint as an anonymous advice columnist. Director Jenny Jamora sought to create a set that was at once nebulous and familiar, while never straying from the physical constraints of Sugar’s apartment, noting the collaborative journey both the actors and the artistic team have taken to create the world of TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS. “How much Sugar shares of herself is reflected in how she and the letter writers share the physical space,” she shares. “The space is physically the same, but toward the end of the play the way they use it should also reflect the community this group of people has become.”

"UPSTART 10 FOR 10’ Online Mini-Concert Fundraiser Set On May 9

In line with its 10th year anniversary in the theater community, Upstart Productions proudly presents UPSTART 10 FOR 10, an online mini-concert fundraiser on May 9 – 8 pm at Facebook page – Upstart Productions.

UPSTART 10 FOR 10 shall feature ten artists namely Topper Fabregas, Rony Fortich, Jenny Jamora, Carla Guevara-Laforteza, Lorenz Martinez, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Jill Pena, Felix Rivera, Ice Seguerra, and Reuben Uy.

The repertoire will include ten songs from Upstart Production’s first musical, BREAKUPS & BREAKDOWNS by Joel Trinidad and Rony Fortich. 

The Kundiman Party Back At PETA For Second Run

Acclaimed as one the most meaningful and relevant original Filipino plays in recent times, Floy Quintos’ “THE KUNDIMAN PARTY” comes to the PETA THEATER CENTER for limited run starting May 24.

The play, directed by Dexter M. Santos was first produced by the UP Playwright’s Theater in 2018. It was hailed by critics and audiences alike for the seamless weaving of our timeless Kundiman art songs into a plot that involved discontented millennials and Social Media, EJKs and other current political and social issues.

Red Turnip Theater Closes Its Fourth Season With SCi-Fi Thriller ‘THE NETHER’

Fresh off the critical success of their last outing, the family comedy-drama Tribes, Red Turnip Theater is ready to take audiences into a different theater experience with the sci-fi thriller THE NETHER.

Ever since making their debut four years ago, Red Turnip has already made quite the dent in the local theater scene. By sticking to their vision of producing contemporary straight plays, this young company has almost single-handedly paved the way for the straight play to find equal footing in a landscape formerly dominated by the musical. Younger companies have sprouted and followed suit and there are now more text-driven plays getting produced than ever before. Each of the Red Turnip’s eight productions has gone on to top critics’ lists and garner awards and nominations from both the Aliw and Gawad Buhay Awards, making this company the go-to for outstanding plays that both entertain and move.

ART IS A BANG: "Cock"

What happens when a young gay man falls in love with a woman?

That’s the central conceit behind Red Turnip Theater’s second offering, COCK by Mike Bartlett. A sold-out hit when it first premiered in London in 2009 and subsequently during its off-Broadway run a year later, COCK revolves around a gay couple whose rocky relationship derails when one of them sleeps (and falls in love) with a woman. Debates over one’s sexual identity explode when all three decide to sit down and “duke it out” over dinner. Hilarity ensues when another unexpected guest turns up and loyalties are put to the test. As one character puts it, “It’s the ultimate bitch fight”.

The New York Times calls COCK “a terrific, tense little comedy” while The Huffington Post hails it as “a terrific contemporary play that puts much of other theatre to shame”. This critical darling is the perfect bookend to Red Turnip’s maiden season.