BGC Arts Center to be Launched with 2-Day Arts Festival
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Firing off a passionate start for 2017, the BGC Arts Center will celebrate its identity as the home of the Filipino artist. True to its word, it will launch a 2-day Arts Festival on January 14-15, hosting performances and events that will illuminate the many layers that modern Filipino artists are animating to give voice to the range of the human condition.
The BGC Arts Center is the centerpiece of BGC’s Cultural District. A project of the non-profit, Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc., it is the first and only stand-alone theater established through private donations. It is dedicated to providing a cultural and educational experience that will inspire the public to explore their creative side and embrace Filipino artistry. A collaboration by award-winning architects and designers, the BGC Arts Center is composed of the Maybank Performing Arts Theater, the Alveo Central Plaza, and the Sun Life Amphitheater.
The BGC Arts Center Festival is aligned with how the Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) recognizes the integral role of culture, the appreciation of art and its meaning, in a city’s identity. Aiming to keep art alive and accessible through various cultural activities, BAFI endeavours to make art a way of life that everyone can share together.
Making BAFI’s mandate come alive is the range, from totally original Filipino creations to brilliant local adaptations of works with universal themes, that the BGC Arts Center Festival is offering.
As such, the festival will have children’s plays from Artist Playground and Kids Acts Philippines, several dance performances by STEPS, staged readings of selected scenes by The Egg Theatre Co., a performance of an original play by Artist Playground, a supremely engaging performance by a pioneer Filipino Improv group, SPIT Manila, an acclaimed local production from Twin Bill Theater, an award-winning original Filipino musical from Philippine Stagers, and opera pieces from MusicArtes, Inc.
Completing the Arts Festival are art talks, outdoor events such as BGC Art Mart that regularly feature the work of local artisans and other surprise offerings at the Sun Life amphitheater.
Check out the BGC Arts Center Festival event page on Facebook for the schedules and details of the performances.
About the BGC Arts Center
The BGC Arts Center is the centerpiece of BGC’s Cultural District. A project of the non-profit, Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc., it is the first and only stand-alone theater established through private donations. It is dedicated to providing a cultural and educational experience that will inspire the public to explore their creative side and embrace Filipino artistry. A collaboration by award-winning architects and designers, the BGC Arts Center is composed of the Maybank Performing Arts Theater, the Alveo Central Plaza, and the Sun Life Amphitheater.
Location
The BGC Arts Center is located along 26th Street between prime Ayala Land developments and is walking distance from various retail shops, restaurants, and Gallery Parkade, a 1,000-slot parking building.
Email
info@artsatbgc.org
Website
www.bgcartscenter.org
Social media:
Bgcartscenter | Facebook Instagram YouTube
Bonifacio Global City
Rich in history and culture, Bonifacio Global City has evolved into one of the most sought after cities for its prime offerings on business and lifestyle. Featuring impressive architecture and lush, green landscapes, BGC possesses an energy of its own, a unique essence infused into every brick and stone. Here, everyone can find a place to live, work, and play; it’s a city that never sleeps, is ever-changing, and is ever-improving. With all it has to offer, BGC has found a home in the hearts of local businessmen, foreign investors, artists, athletes, families, and many more. It is a meeting place for ideas and creativity to interact; here, you have a way of life that is rich, invigorating, and contagious.
Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc.
An integral part of any city’s identity is its culture, its appreciation of art and its meaning. In Bonifacio Global City, you’ll see beautiful works of art sprawled all over, making its seemingly ordinary features – city walls, corners, and streets – something much more. Behind the striking murals, engaging street performers, and science coming to life through The Mind Museum is the city’s center for arts and culture: Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. (BAFI).
Together with the city and its public art program, Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. aims to keep art alive and accessible through various cultural activities – from exhibitions to workshops to city-wide festivals. Here, even the most passive bystander can’t help but be drawn into what the city has to offer. Here, art isn’t confined – it is a way of life that everyone can share together.
Maybank Performing Arts Theater
This is the main building of the BGC Arts Center composed of the following spaces:
Globe Auditorium
The auditorium is a flexible space for theatrical productions, corporate events, symposiums, personal celebrations, studio photography, and more. It has retractable seats, a modular resilient platform, and an orchestra pit. A catwalk system is available on the fourth level with two balcony levels for viewing, a manual counterweight fly system, and curtain drapery.
Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall
This 120-square meter hall is perfect for rehearsals and intimate performances. It features resilient open flooring, a double ceiling height, a mirrored wall, and a portable barre.
NutriAsia Del Monte Lobby
The lobby is designed to be a flexible space ideal for welcoming guests, pre-show receptions, and intermission cocktails. It is equipped with a concession area wherein guests can easily get refreshments and special souvenirs. The lobby also features a small platform for simple performances. Exhibit panels can also be easily installed for hanging artwork.
Classroom & Exhibit Space
This multi-purpose space is designed to be a venue for workshops and classes, while also doubling as an exhibit space for different kinds of artwork. The space also features large windows that enable viewers to look into the Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall below.
Sun Life Amphitheater
The amphitheater is an open area perfect for outdoor screenings, music festivals, and other open-air activities. It can comfortably accommodate 300 people for a show.
Alveo Central Plaza
Located at the heart of the lot, the central plaza features a park of lush green landscaping with wide, open spaces. True to BGC’s commitment to the environment and community engagement, the Alveo Central Plaza serves as the new home of the BGC Offsite Gallery and the BGC Art Mart – places where people can connect with each other and simply enjoy the beauty of the outdoors. The entire BGC Arts Center is serviced by a 24-hour operational McCafe.
The Shows of the BGC Arts Center Festival
PERFORMANCES AT THE GLOBE AUDITORIUM
PINOCCHIO | KIDS ACTS PHILIPPINES
Kids Acts Philippines proudly presents “PINOCCHIO” with script, lyrics and direction by LUIGI NACARIO, and music by EUGENE BELBIS. The group won an award from ALIW Awards through Hansel and Gretel as Best Production for Children wherein all featured actors of the musical were kids. Belbis and Nacario’s collaboration of creating children’s musicals can be considered works of the masters, that may lead them to be christened as Fathers of Philippine Children’s Theatre.
ANG KINANG NI KAHLIM | ARTIST PLAYGROUND
Ang Kinang ni Kahlim, with book and libretto by Jose Jeffrey Camañag and original music by Jesse Lucas, tells the story of Tatay God who just finished creating a colorless world. He assigns Archangel Michael and assistant Miguelito to gather the Anghel ng mga Kulay so that they bring color to Tatay’s wonderful creation putting an end to all the dull and drab.
KATIPS | PHILIPPINE STAGERS FOUNDATION
KATIPS is a Musicale depicting the dynamic tale of love and sacrifice amidst the uproar and wide mass desolation. Apparently, the love story crosses the threshold of a historical backdrop. The musical will show the unique language, fashion and culture in the 70s. But more important than the superficial factors, the musical will show the young people’s desire to effect change in the society during that era. This murky period of history is elusive in our history books or rarely discussed in the classroom. But it is a social blunder to totally disregard the lessons of the past. Hence, this musical has an objective of educating the young audience with the use of music, a universal language that binds us all. Four- time Aliw awardee, Three-time Broadway World Awardee and Outstanding Manilan Vincent M. Tanada directs the play and wrote its libretto
SUICIDE INC. | TWIN BILL THEATER
Twin Bill Theater (TBT) is staging Suicide, Incorporated, a dark comedy written by Andrew Hinderaker about a company that writes suicide letters for its clients. The group is tackling the morbid subject matter not just because it is challenging “the taboo that is attached to suicide in the Philippines”, but also to allow audiences to explore the related topics that surround it. Directed by Steven Conde.
OPERA GALA | MUSIC ARTES
Opera Gala features international Tenor Arthur Espiritu and some of the most outstanding young classical artists in the country today_ a rare concert celebrating the glory of the human voice, highlighting music from famous and successful operas and operettas. Directed by theater stalwart Leo Rialp.
GLOBE AUDITORIUM SHOW | STEPS
Steps Dance Studio is a professional and progressive dance school that teaches all styles of dance for all ages. Now on its 23rd year, its showcases pieces that were mounted through 2016 that won in local competitions as well as choreographies that were premiered in its last summer concert. Steps is known for its high level of training and versatility of its students.
PERFORMANCES AT THE ZOBEL DE AYALA RECITAL HALL
HAPPINESS IS A PEARL | ARTIST PLAYGROUND
Artist Playground opens its 2nd season with “Happiness is a Pearl,” an original play penned by Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Famer Rody Vera. The play revolves around Kenji, Maria, and Mari, whose lives are intertwined because of their struggles in finding the true meaning of love and happiness. “Happiness is a Pearl” features Ruth Alferez, Tomas Miranda and The Players, Artist Playground’s very own group of artists. Directed by Paul Jake Paule,
LA VOIX HUMAINE | MUSIC ARTES
La Voix Humaine by Francis Poulenc, is a one act french operatic monologue (complete with English supertitles) about a woman on the telephone_ her last conversation with her lover who now loves someone else. This passionate dramatic piece features soprano Kay Balajadia Liggayu and concert pianist Rudolf Golez, directed by international artist Dr. Anton Juan.
KUNG PAANO MAGHIWALAY | THE EGG THEATER COMPANY
The Egg Theater Company presents a staged reading of excerpts from its upcoming production, Kung Paano Maghiwalay, a Palanca Award-winning work by George de Jesus III. When one falls out of love, how does one end a relationship? KUNG PAANO MAGHIWALAY tackles the subject of love in scenes that capture moments when break-ups happen. From the hysterically funny to the clinically blasé, the play captures snapshots of relationships disintegrating: a husband decides to split with his wife after recovering from a heart attack, a couple jokes around about breaking up and actually does, a gay couple tries to have a friendly separation, another couple cries through their break-up. The play does not follow a chronological structure but will be emotionally threaded by the pathos, anger, and pain of breaking-up like a symphony that fractures into rippling movements, a tribute to the loss of love and the painful confrontations to truth.
ZOBEL DE AYALA RECITAL HALL SHOW | STEPS
Steps Dance Studio is a professional and progressive dance school that teaches all styles of dance for all ages. Now on its 23rd year, its showcases pieces that were mounted through 2016 that won in local competitions as well as choreographies that were premiered in its last summer concert. Steps is known for its high level of training and versatility of its students.
You can buy tickets here.
For more details about what’s happening in the Manila theater scene, please view our Theater Calendar.
