I am open to new ways of telling a story (the recent experiment being the comic book Mervin and I are working on), and lately I’ve been fooling around with Twine.
PS If you want to create your own Twine interactive story or game, you can download the tool for free here. Read up on simple, straightforward instructions here. Happy writing!
See you on July 25 (moved from July 19 due to Typhoon Glenda) at Powerbooks Greenbelt, 4 PM onwards, for the launch of Dwellersand three other Visprint titles.
Come for the books, stay for the excerpt reading, Q & A, and signing.
How To Traverse Terra Incognita, a collection of short stories by Dean Francis Alfar is now available in Uno Morato and Metro Manila book stores.
Dwellers by Eliza Victoria (fantasy, mystery)
Radiant Void by Karl de Mesa (non-fiction)
Alternative Alamat edited by Paolo Chikiamco (anthology)
The Alternative Alamat anthology (where “Ana’s Little Pawnshop on Makiling St.” first appeared) is going to be available as a paperback soon! The print edition contains bonus content, including a new short story of mine called “Remembrance”.
It will most likely be released along with my new novel, Dwellers. I’ll keep you posted!
The Virgin LabFest has been in my radar for years, but I never got the chance to watch any of the plays until now. The LabFest, established in 2005, is a laboratory festival of new plays by emerging and established Filipino playwrights held annually at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
The Virgin Labfest aims to provide Filipino playwrights a venue to present their unpublished, unstaged, untested and untried works to the theatergoing public. The Virgin Labfest is a yearly project of the Manila-based playwrights group Writer’s Bloc, Inc., acclaimed theater company Tanghalang Pilipino, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
VIRGIN LABFEST X
2014
MAIN LINE-UP
1. BETANG – Joanna Katanyag
2. BAGO ILIBING – Maynard Manasala & U Z Eliserio
3. LAST TEN MINUTES – Joy Icayan
4. SA PAGITAN NG DALAWANG KAHONG LIHAM – Layeta Bucoy
5. ANG NAGHIHINGALO – Raymund Reyes
6. SA ISANG HINDI NATATANGING UMAGA, AT ANG MGA ULAP AY DAHAN-DAHAN PUMAIBABAW SA NABUBULOK NA LUNGSOD – Allan Lopez
7. THE MISSING PEACE – Carlo Vergara
8. ANONYMOUS – Liza Magtoto
9. SA LILIM – Reya Laplana
10. WENDY WANTS TO BE A HOUSEWIFE – Ricardo Novenario
11. ANG GOLDFISH NI PROF. DIMAANDAL – Eljay Deldoc
12. MAPAGBIRONG HAPLOS – Kevin Tabora
VIRGIN LABFEST 9: REVISITED
ISANG DAAN – Liza Magtoto
KUNG PAANO AKO NAGING LEADING LADY – Carlo Vergara
IMBISIBOL – Herlyn Alegre
Venue:
Tanghalang Huseng Batute
(CCP Studio Theater)
Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
The LabFest staged three of last year’s one-act plays on June 29. My sister and I had tickets for the matinee show; our thanks to Carlo Vergara for providing us last-minute extra tickets so my sister could watch with me.
It was a fantastic three hours. Congratulations to writers Liza Magtoto, Herlyn Alegre and Carl, to the directors, and to the amazing cast.
In Isang Daan, various individuals driven by their own agenda fight over a small road that will soon become part of a major highway named after a politician. (Of course.) The Mayor, a feisty woman in a red evening gown and red stiletto shoes, street-smart and obnoxious (she calls her staff gender-offensive terms, like “Sexy” and “Pogi”), is a standout performance for me. I’ve never seen a characterization like that before, and I enjoyed watching the character come to life onstage. (My apologies for not getting the actor’s name! I love you!)
Imbisibol is about Filipinos staying illegally in Japan, a tragic play sandwiched between two comedies. At the center of it is a Filipina now of legal status in Japan after marrying a salaryman who spends more time in the office than at home. She starts recruiting Filipinos to work in Japan, young inexperienced men and women who take forever paying her placement fee. She is shrewd and sometimes mean because it is necessary to be hard to survive. I found myself thinking about this story when I woke up the next morning, long after the lights died onstage. Affecting and effective, painful in its truths.
I first encountered Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady as a comic book, so I was a walking spoiler alert, haha. It was great to see this story onstage! The strength is in the cast of three (this is the one-act play in the set with the least number of characters) and their brilliant comedic timing.
Project 17 is now available in digital format on Amazon and Google Play. It will be available in other places soon.
Go get it!
It’s the late 2020s, and robots can do pretty much anything—they can clean your house, they can keep the peace, and if you know where to look, they can even provide “company” to the lonely. Still, there are things only humans can do. Lillian is a college student looking for a summer job, and thinks she’s hit the jackpot when offered a caretaking gig by one Paul Dolores—the pay is awesome, and even gives her a Titanium card for her meals. But why can’t she find any information online about Paul, his brother Caleb, or the weird meds Caleb is supposed to take? Time for a little more in-depth research—firewalls be damned.
Blood of Iron by Christian Renz Torres Panopticon by Victor Ocampo A Cha-cha with Insanity by Vida Cruz Only Dogs Piss Here by Michael Aaron Gomez Last Race by Jenny Ortuoste Oscar’s Marvelous Transformation by Kat Del Rosario Stations of the Apostate by Alexander M. Osias Sikat by William Robert Yasi Deliver Us by Eliza Victoria Miracles under a ConcreteSky by Franz Johann Dela Merced The Unmaking of the Cuadro Amoroso by Kate Osias The Woodsman by Cedric Tan And These were the Names of the Vanished by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz Anthropomorpha by Crystal Koo Sofia by Marianne Villanueva Transcripts from the Investigation on the Life and Death of Alastor de Roja by Vincent Michael Simbulan TG2416 from Mars by Nikki Alfar Mater Dolorosa by Marc Gregory Yu Scissor Tongue by Elyss Punsalan Cogito by AJ Elicaño
Uno Morato is a bar, bookstore, and arts venue. Established by young artists coming from the indie/alternative/DIY tradition of artistic production, the store takes that spirit and creates a physical space for artists to convene, share ideas, and promote their work. The store sells books, comics, music, DVDs, artwork, merchandise, and other art-related products made by Filipino artists. Uno Morato is also a place to hang out and have smart conversations, attend stimulating discussions, and join in a variety of workshops catering to a great range of interests.
Uno Morato is located at Garden Area GYY Building #1 Tomas Morato avenue, Quezon City.
Eliza Victoria 