The Xavier Stage (TXS), a theater company of Xavier University performed “Mamayamban ug Sameyarah,” an excerpt of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) during Pasinaya 2015 on February 15.
Having performed at CCP thrice before, TXS is the only company from Mindanao this year to join more than 3,000 artists in the celebration of the biggest annual open-house festival in the country.
“It is one of the thrusts of TXS to contribute to the development of Philippine theater and to put XU and Cagayan de Oro in the map of Philippine theater,” said TXS executive artistic director Hobart Savior.
Mamayamban ug Sameyarah
Four XU staff members and six students flew in to Manila to perform the skit adapted in Maranao and performed widely in Cagayan de Oro City as part of the third theater season of TXS.
“We believe that the Maranao adaptation [of the play] cuts across cultural boundaries. The story of star-crossed love becomes a language of what life’s choices lead us to,” shared Savior on the choice of play to perform at the festival.
Mamayamban ug Sameyarah tells the tragic yet hilarious story of two lovers—played by male carpenters—who fell in love despite a ‘wall’ separating between them. When they finally agreed to meet and amid the twists, both committed suicide believing the other has died.
Delivered in Bisaya, garbed in traditional Maranao dresses and accompanied by live percussion music, the performance was heavily applauded at CCP by the audience composed mostly of Manileños.
“The humor became the language,” said Savior on the audience response to the performance despite the language barrier.
“The characters dissolved text as language, and sprang the drama and humour through deep sense of intent, motivation and context,” he added.
Apart from the performance, TXS also participated in the ASEAN Performing Arts Market that allowed opportunities for networking, showcasing of performance samplers and business matching of ASEAN performances within the region.
ASEAN Arts Festival
Pasinaya is an annual multi-arts festival of CCP that allows the public to “pay what you can and see all you can” from a showcase of dance, theater, music, literature, film and visual arts all in one day.
More than 100 shows were performed in various venues by over 3,000 artists led by CCP’s resident companies: Philippine Madrigal Singers, Tanghalang Pilipino, Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theater, Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, University of Santo Tomas (UST) Symphony Orchestra, Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, and Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company.
With the theme “Pasinaya grows ASEAN wings,” the festival also featured performances from other ASEAN members: Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia.
This year also noted the participation of different museums at the Pasinaya, holding simultaneous activities in their own turf together with performances in and outside CCP.
With the inclusion of ASEAN performers and expansion of venues, the festival has drawn together more than 42,000 people compared to last year’s 38,000.
Pasinaya is one of CCP’s programs to strengthen the appreciation for the arts, and to cultivate cultural identity and artistry in the face of the ASEAN Economic Integration.