My New Play: The Missing Peace (Virgin Labfest 10)

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I was content with my play "Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady" being accepted in last year's Virgin Labfest, with the big bonus of it being chosen as one of the three to be restaged, but that didn't stop me from trying out for this year's festival.

I got in again. Wow. Thanks sooo much to the selection committee!

Here's a brief description of what my new play, "The Missing Peace," is about:

It is the year 2045, and the world is teetering towards explosive widespread conflict, the likes of which it hasn't seen in almost a century. But that won't stop the Miss Universal Empress beauty pageant from taking place in Barcelona, Spain. The pageant is of particular importance to the Philippines, as the South East Asian nation has so far won four of the world's top five beauty competitions. A grandslam seems inevitable, but then there's, well... the prophecy.

I almost decided not to finish it. While I was in the middle of writing the script, news about the conflict in Venezuela was at a high, and a local beauty queen was shot dead during one of the protest rallies. That piece of news disturbed me that I felt it wouldn't be right to see the script to completion, since "The Missing Peace" has a parallel--albeit very slightly--to that real-life event. The plot of the play has a darker tone compared to "...Leading Lady," despite its bits of comedy.

"The Missing Peace" was fortunate to get an acclaimed director, Marlon Rivera, who directed the film festival-trotting feature on poverty porn, "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank." I've attended a couple of rehearsals, and it's always fascinating to witness an expert at work.

Playing the three characters in the play are experienced thespians Noemi Manikan-Gomez and Rem Zamora, as well as theatre newbie Hannah dela Guerra, who has actual beauty pageant experience. I hope this play gets her noticed for more acting roles.

Anyhoos, "The Missing Peace" will be part of Virgin Labfest 10's Set B, which also includes Raymund Reyes' "Ang Naghihingalo," and Ricardo Novenario's "Wendy Wants To Be A Housewife." Set B will perform on the following dates:

June 26, 2014 - 3:00 PM, Thursday
June 26, 2014 - 8:00 PM, Thursday
July 5, 2014 - 8:00 PM, Saturday (SOLD OUT)
July 6, 2014 - 3:00 PM, Sunday

You can get tickets via the Ticketworld website, or through Ticketworld outlets.

And for those who want to see "Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady," here's the schedule of Virgin Labfest Revisited (which also includes Herlyn Alegre's "Imbisibol," and Liza Magtoto's "Isang Daan"):

June 29, 2014 - 3:00 PM, Sunday
June 29, 2014 - 8:00 PM, Sunday
July 3, 2014 - 8:00 PM, Thursday
July 4, 2014 - 3:00 PM, Friday

All plays will be staged at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 

I will be attending all shows in case anyone wants to have their books signed. And copies of the "...Leading Lady" book will be available at the venue.

See you at the theatre!

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