IN CELEBRATION of the arts month, the homegrown theater community Performance Laboratory Inc. (PerfLab) will hold the 8th edition of Kuris International Theater Festival and Workshops in five locations in Bacolod City on Feb. 20 to 23.
Kuris Festival aims to educate and train, young artists, and budding writers on playwriting and dramaturgy and establish a community of local theater groups, through a series of workshops and performances in the four-day event at the University of Saint La Salle, Colegio San Agustin, John Paul 2 Cultural Center, Orange Project and the Negros Museum, all in Bacolod.
The festivals name came from the Hiligaynon term Kuris, which means scribbles, squiggles, and sketches, as PerfLab believes a representation of thoughts, ideas, musings that attempt to articulate the artists sensibilities through theater.
Tanya Lopez, one of the founding members of the festival, said that Kuris came out as a response to the Dramaturgy Workshops where members of IPF voluntarily came to Bacolod to teach aspects of dramaturgy and playwriting.
Kuris became an annual event for young artists to share and showcase their works in celebration of their passion for theatre, she said, adding Before we knew it, we’re 8 years into the workshops and 6 years into the festival.
The event is a collaboration of PerfLab, Women Playwrights International-Philippines and University of St. La Salle-Bacolod Culture and Arts Program in partnership with Teatrokon: West Visayas Theater Network, International Theatre Institute International Playwrights Forum (IPF), and National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
The festival will feature the IPF Dramaturgy workshops, WPI Satellite Readathon and Kuris Play Festival, and will offer workshops on Dance, Dance Theater, Set Design, Costume Design, Artistic Creation Research, Production and Stage Management and WPI Playwriting for Emerging Playwrights.
PerfLab is a community theater based in Bacolod City organized in 2002 which aims to involve in various experimental works, audience awareness and education, and the sustainability of artists in the region through theater and performance.
For more information, you may contact Noel Pahayupan of PerfLab through phone at 0945-966-8095 or e-mail at n.abadapahayupan@gmail.com.
