VLF 2020: From TV to online

Anthony Kim Vergara’s Virgin Labfest (VLF) 2020 entry, The Boy-Boy and Friends Channel, follows four friends who make a new career as YouTubers after they lose their jobs as production crew members due to the untimely shutdown of their TV network. Boy-Boy, together with his friends, take on an insane challenge on their channel which changes their friendship.

In a video call with BusinessWorld on June 9, the play’s director Joshua Tayco said that The Boy-Boy and Friends Channel was not going to be staged this year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent movement of the Cultural Center’s theater festival online. However, the playwright decided to push through with it due to recent events in the country.

“A part of our play tries to explore the interaction between the online audience and the performance since audiences can comment during the show,” he said.

With the decision to “stage” the play, Mr. Tayco was invited to direct in early May.

“We’re attempting to push the boundaries of what can be done,” he said, noting the limitations of what can be done in the digital medium as the production team faced challenges with internet connections.

“One of the things we have to accept as artists is to look at what we have gained rather than what we have lost,” Mr. Tayco said.

The set designer became a layout designer, stage managers are now screen managers, and actors have set up their own sets.

In the cast are Norbs Portales, Anthony Falcon, Jerald Napoles, Nicco Manalo, and Gabo Tolentino.

“Sana’y sumakit ang tiyan nila sa kakatawa hanggang sa mabilaukan sa katotohanan (Hopefully, their stomachs hurt from laughing until they grasp the truth),” Mr. Tayco said of the audience.

The Boy-Boy and Friends Channel will stream live on June 12, 8 p.m. and June 23, 8 p.m.

Recorded versions of the shows will be streamed on Vimeo website and app beginning June 14 to 28. Viewers can set up an account then search for “Cultural Center of the Philippines” or “VLF Kapit” for access to the shows.

The VLF Playwright’s Fair online, where this year’s playwrights will talk about their work, will screen on June 11-14, 17-20, 25-27 at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, the Virgin Labfest 2020 Writing Fellowship Program will culminate in an online staged reading of the fellows’ works on June 28 at 2 and 5 p.m. For instances of schedule overlaps, the featured performances will stream on CCP’s official Facebook page while the VLF Playwright’s Fair will stream at the official VLF Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/thevirginlabfest).

For more details and show schedules, visit https://www.facebook.com/watch/TheBoyBoyAndFriendsChannelVLF/, https://www.facebook.com/culturalcenterofthephilippines/, and https://www.facebook.com/thevirginlabfest/, or join https://www.facebook.com/groups/VLFTambayan/. — Michelle P. Soliman