TWO major cultural groups have announced the cancellations of their performance seasons due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Repertory Philippines (Rep) will resume its theatrical productions in 2021, Rep’s Board of Trustees announced in a statement published on Facebook on May 7. Meanwhile, the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) has also said that it is cancelling its 2020-2021 season due to the pandemic.

“We had no choice but to take this step to comply with the government’s regulations on mass gatherings and to ensure the safety of the MSO community and supporters,” the MSO said in a statement released to the press.

“Despite the current situation and limitations, we remain committed to bringing fine orchestral music to you,” said the MSO. “We are finding other ways to continue serving you through performing music that provides comfort and solace during these difficult times. We have recently created videos while in quarantine which we have dubbed ‘Tagpi-Tagping Damdamin: MSO in quarantine video series.’’ The videos are available on the MSO YouTube channel.

So far, the video series includes a performance of Ennio Morricone’s “Nella Fantasia” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceKQHi-9OKQ); “Tifa’s Theme” from Final Fantasy: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yls4gqDNkdw); and the Beatles song “Let it Be” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA33vfMIYMU).

The Rep Theater for Young Audiences (RTYA) production of Snow White and the Dwarfs, which was originally scheduled to run from Sept. 12, 2020 to Jan. 10, 2021, has been postponed for September 2021.

“[The] Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Health (DoH) have deemed it unsafe for students to go out on field trips and tours this year, even after the resumption of classes this September. Since [the] majority of the RTYA audiences are students, Rep will duly hold off this production to next year,” the announcement said.

Rep’s production of the musical Carousel, which was originally scheduled for May 1 to 24, has also been pushed back to February 2021 as the opening production of its 84th season.

Meanwhile, this year’s Workshop for the Performing Arts is also canceled. Online workshops will be offered to interested students in July.

Rep will stay connected with audiences online through REPisodes, a series of digital shows on its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/repertoryphilippines/).

The second REPisode, titled “Stage Kiss and Tell,” features the cast and production team of Rep’s production of “Stage Kiss” — this year’s season opener — on May 11 (8 p.m.). Participants in the behind the scenes roundtable discussion include director Carlos Siguion-Reyna; set designer Ohm David; and cast members Missy Maramara, Tarek El Tayech, and Jamie Wilson. The project is in support of the Open House fundraiser (https://www.facebook.com/OpenHouseFundraiser/) which gives aid to displaced performing arts workers during the COVID-19 crisis. To donate, visit http://bit.ly/DonateOpenHouse.

Rep is also exploring possibilities of showcasing full length shows online.

The theater company also announced that season passes for the 83rd season may be refunded or applied for use for the 2021 season. For more information about this, e-mail marketing@repphil.org or repphilfoundation@gmail.com.

For more updates on the MSO, visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/manilasymphony/.

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