4 University-Based Productions this June 2025
Here are four university-based productions from Metro Manila, Cavite, and Baguio happening this June.
1. Dead Stars by Tanghalang Lykeion (LPU-Cavite)
View this post on Instagram
Tanghalang Lykeion, the official theater company of Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite, will stage an adaptation of Paz Márquez-Benítez’s 1925 short story Dead Stars on June 7. The production was previously staged on April 29 and May 3 at the LPU Cavite Auditorium and returns for a rerun as Tanghalang Lykeion’s season-ender and as a celebration of the short story’s 100th anniversary since its publication.
The story is set during the height of American colonial rule in the Philippines, where Alfredo Salazar, a 30-year-old lawyer, struggles with unfulfilled love and the weight of societal expectations. His engagement to fellow lawyer and socialite Esperanza Laurel clashes with his lingering infatuation for aspiring bodabil star Julia Salas, ultimately reflecting the fleeting nature of desire and the illusion of happiness.
“I’ve been writing this adaptation for over three years now, and to bring the characters of Paz Márquez-Benítez to life is an honor in itself because to me, Dead Stars is simply one of Philippine literature’s greatest tragedies. A lot of research went into fleshing out the story and its characters and I chose to set it in 1937 to highlight the fight for women’s suffrage. In this adaptation, Alfredo is a lawyer, Esperanza is a suffragist and socialite, and Julia is an aspiring bodabil star. The adaptation draws inspiration from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina,” says playwright John Encela.
The cast features Khiro Arbiz and Matthew Trinidad as Alfredo Salazar, Ma. Arra Cecilia Lison and Rania Ameri Asong as Esperanza Laurel, and Hannah Charisse Magat and Koleen Edanielle Odiamar as Julia Salas, with stage management by Yureika Khalee Pillo and John Jhared Plandes. The show is helmed by resident director Janie Marie Peleño.
Dead Stars will run on June 7 at the LPU Cavite Auditorium at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Tickets are priced at P100 for LPU students, employees, and alumni and P150 for non-LPU. Visit Tanghalang Lykeion on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok at @tanghalanglykeion for more information. Proceeds will go to LPU Cavite’s Community Outreach and Service Learning (COSeL) and its beneficiaries.
Interested parties can reserve tickets through the group’s Google Forms: LPU tickets, Non-LPU tickets
2. Nang Magsiping ang mga Sinungaling by Teatro Komunikado (PUP)
View this post on Instagram
Teatro Komunikado, the pioneer organization of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP)-College of Communication, will be staging Nang Magsipingang mga Sinungaling on June 13 at 1:30 PM and 4:30 PM at Tanghalang PUP, College of Communication.
Written and directed by Roy Modina, the one-act play is a piece that blends comedy and friendship while addressing culturally and socially relevant issues. This event marks the farewell show of the senior members and serves as the closing production of Teatro Komunikado S.Y.
2024–2025.
Interested parties can reserve tickets through the group’s Google Form.
3. Curtain Call by Tanghalang SLU (Saint Louis University, Baguio)
View this post on Instagram
Curtain Call is the year-end performance of Tanghalang SLU, the official and resident theater company of Saint Louis University, Baguio City. The show features four short plays—each with its own narrative, theme, and emotion—and will be staged on June 13 at 6:15 PM at the Fr. Joseph Van den Daelen, CICM–CCA Theater at Saint Louis University. The evening also marks the final performance of the company’s graduating members.
Interested parties can reserve tickets through the group’s Google Form.
4. Short Shorts by The UP Repertory Company (UP Diliman)
View this post on Instagram
Ang Short Shorts ay isang vignette play na binubuo ng limang kwento ng kakulangan at hustisya kung saan nagtatagpo ang mga kalsada at landas ng mga tao, sa Cubao.
1. Eraserheads.mp4, sa direksyon ni Jiho Lobiano, sa panunulat ni Emman Degocena
Two ex–boyfriends, both senior high school students in Grade 12, reunite in Cubao Expo to fulfill an old promise: to complete a short film in which they are the lead actors. Despite their awkward history and lingering emotions, they proceed with the shoot.
2. Ang Paglilitis ni Ann Rose sa Kanyang mga Kasalanan Tungo sa Kabisayaan, sa direksyon ni Jea Maru Reyes, sa panunulat ni Ze Montealto
What seemed to be a normal day- Regie, a bisaya gets offended by a microaggressive remark brought by an orgmate, a Tagalog, Ann Rose. And by a sudden absurd change of scenery, gets persecuted because of her microaggressions towards the bisaya. The trial depicts the common arguments of bisaya discrimination from tagalogs, and a brief explanation of the inherent mental war between bisayas and tagalogs.
3. Puril, sa direksyon ni Ace Hernandez, sa direksyon ni Ace Hernandez, sa panunulat ni Althea Lirio
Pawisan at latiti. Magilas ang galaw sa kabila ng pagdarahop at ngalay sapagkat may nakabantay. Sa murang pangangatawan, pasan ay mga sako’t kahon at ang matatanggap na salapi ang inaasam. At sa inagaw na kamusmusan, hungkag ang mga tiyan ngunit mas higit ang sigaw para sa niyakyak na karapatan.
4. Si Tina, Pibi, at ang Huling Yosi, sa direksyon ni Shielo Naluz, sa panunulat ni AC Celebre
Sa usok ng Cubao Expo, isang pagod na corporate worker na may hindi pa natutuklasang pulmonya ay patuloy na naninigarilyo, tila isang karaniwang araw lang-hanggang sa isang di-inaasahang pagkakaibigan ang pumilit sa kanya na harapin ang bigat ng responsibilidad sa pamilya, ang hirap ng pagtaguyod, at ang tahimik na trahedya ng isang buhay na unti-unting naglalaho sa bawat hithit.
5. Buy 1 Take 1, sa direksyon ni Seah Antalan, sa panunulat ni Francis Aguilar
Sa isang ukayan sa Cubao, tumungo ang kolehiyalang magkaibigang Cindy at Mayke para mamili ng damit ng bibilhin. Nang mapukaw ng pekpek shorts ang kanilang atensyon, makikilala at matutuklasan nila ang kwento ni Julie.
Comments