Arts Festival
BGC Arts Festival
Jan. 14 and 15
BGC Arts Center, 26th St. corner 9th Ave.,
BGC, Taguig City

WITH PERFORMANCES ranging from a children’s show, to opera, to serious drama, a two-day arts festival this weekend at the newly opened BGC Arts Center celebrates the venue’s identity as “a home of the Filipino artist.”

Opera and improv and ballet and musicals and a whole lot more fill the BGC Arts Fest
Artist Playground’s Ang Kinang ni Kahlim

A project of the nonprofit Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. (BAFI), the BGC Arts Center was launched as the centerpiece of Bonifacio Global City’s cultural district on Nov. 23, 2016. It is located at 26th St. corner 9th Ave., BGC, Taguig City.

Established through private donations, the three-story building is composed of three main venues: the Maybank Performing Arts Theater, the Alveo Central Plaza, and the Sun Life Amphitheater. Another venue is the Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall.

“We wanted a space that would be welcoming to local artists, as well as foreign,” BAFI’s art program manager Monica Llamas-Garcia told BusinessWorld. “Our vision is to be able to populate it… At the heart of it, BAFI is about being able to make art relatable, approachable, and accessible.”

For the BGC Arts Festival, BAFI prepared a program that includes children’s plays, original and local productions, improv, musicals, and opera pieces.

Opera and improv and ballet and musicals and a whole lot more fill the BGC Arts Fest
Kids Acts Philippines’ adaptation of Pinocchio

Shows at the Globe Auditorium are: Kids Acts Philippines’ adaptation of Pinocchio, the tale of a puppet who wants to be a real boy (Jan. 14, 9 a.m.); Artist Playground’s Ang Kinang ni Kahlim, about what happened after Tatay God finished creating a colorless world, with book and libretto by Jose Jeffrey Camanag and music by Jesse Lucas (Jan. 15, 9 a.m.); Philippine Stagers Foundation’s Katips: Ang Mga Bagong Katipunero — A Filipino Musical, a musical about Martial Law written and directed by Vince Tañada (Jan. 14, 8 p.m.); Twin Bill Theater’s Suicide, Inc., a dark comedy by Andrew Hinderaker about a company that writes suicide letters for its clients (Jan. 15, 2 p.m.); and, Music Artes’ Opera Gala, featuring international tenor Arthur Espiritu and young classical artists (Jan. 15, 6 p.m.).

Opera and improv and ballet and musicals and a whole lot more fill the BGC Arts Fest
Philippine Stagers Foundation’s Katips: Ang Mga Bagong Katipunero — A Filipino Musical

The STEPS Dance Studio’s Dance Showcase will be held on Jan. 14, 2 p.m. at the Globe Auditorium, and on Jan. 15, 3 p.m., at the Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall.

Other performances at the Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall are: Artist Playground’s Happiness is a Pearl, Rody Vera’s play about three people with intertwined lives finding true love (Jan. 14, 2 p.m.); Music Artes’ La Voix Humane, a one-act French operatic monologue (with English subtitles) about a woman on the telephone holding her last conversation with her lover who now loves someone else (Jan. 14, 6 p.m.); and, The Egg Theater Company’s Kung Paano Maghiwalay, a staged reading of excerpts from its upcoming production (Jan. 14, 8 p.m.).

Other performances over the weekend are a dramatic reading of 20 Questions ni Juan Ekis (Jan. 14, 9 a.m., Exhibit Hall); KARL CASTRO: Talks on designing Ricky Lee’s book (Jan. 14, 4 p.m., Exhibit Hall); WRITE OUT LOUD by Words Anonymous, a spoken word and open mic night (Jan. 14, 7 p.m., Exhibit Hall); band performances by COMIC, The Bedtime Stories,

The Strange Habits, and KISSLING (Jan. 14, 6 p.m., SunLife Amphitheatre); The Fourth Players and Lipstick Theraphy by Third World Improv (Jan. 15, 4 p.m., Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall); Theater Teaser Class by Third World Improv where the audience can learn the basics of improv (Jan. 15, 4 p.m., Exhibit Hall); and, SPIT Senor by SPIT Manila, a long form improv show (Jan. 15, 7 p.m., Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall).

Admission to certain shows is free, others require tickets (available through TicketWorld and on-site on Jan. 14-15), and the SPIT performance requests pre-loved but well-maintained toys for the Philippine Toy Library for the benefit of children affected by Typhoon Nina.

Meanwhile, the BGC Art Mart, featuring works by local artists, will be held all weekend at the Alveo Central Plaza.

“At BGC Arts Center, the only limitation is your imagination… If you notice with [BAFI’s] public art, it’s very universal in theme. It’s easy to understand. That’s what we hope for her as well,” Ms. Llamas-Garcia said.

For more information on the programs and schedules, visit the BGC Arts Center Festival event page on Facebook. — Camille Anne M. Arcilla

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