Mindanao Theater Festival and Congress Held
MINDULANI SA MILENYO DOS
A Festival of New Mindanao Theatre Productions, A Congress of Mindanao Theatre Workers
A National Commission for Culture and the Arts-supported Theatre Festival was held in Cagayan de Oro City on November 22 to 25, 2008. A significant component of the event was the holding of a Conference on Theatreworks-cum-Congress of Theatre Practitioners.
Close to a hundred cultural workers, educators and theatre practitioners as well as members of the cultural community participated in the Thematic Theatre Congress. Three themes resonated throughout the Congress: Revisiting Mindanao Theatre; Re-framing / Re-valuating Mindanao Theatre; and Re-affirming Mindanao Theatre. This triad theme spurred a flurry of reflection, theory, re-invention and re-invigoration of theatre work. The new breed of young directors in Mindanao theatre sat and were heard—as the Panel of Reactors. In the same vein, the six full length productions and experimental theatre productions featured in the festival were highlighted as case studies of the papers being presented.
The overriding goal of the Congress is to firm-up the conditions for a “reinvigorated Mindanao Theatre that is vital for the sustained development of the island region. The discussion substantiated the irreversible role of Mindanao theatre not only as a mirror of society but also an engine of growth - serving as the expression and embodiment of our society’s identity and an affirmation of a vision for a fairer world and meaningful future.”
After the Congress the following conditions of outcomes were envisioned:
- Mindanao artists from all over the regions actively engaged in sustainable theatre work;
- The core-competencies of artists and cultural workers are raised through the Institutionalization of MINDULANI Network;
- More than 40 Theatre Organizations and programs operating in Mindanao are guided by a sharpened strategy and clearer aesthetic vision.
NESTOR T. HORFILLA
Festival Director
