PR: Three, Two, One, ARAI

Independent Philippine Art Ventures, Inc., presents an afternoon of contemporary and classical guitar music with three outstanding artists from Japan who will play solos, duets, and trios at 530 pm on March 20, at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium in UP Diliman.

Concertgoers are encouraged to enjoy the UP campus that bustles with activity on Sundays. People hike, bike, walk, picnic, fly kites. The family-oriented concert will be a good way to cap a Sunday.

Featured artists: Tomonori Arai and Duo Trussardi

TOMONORI ARAI was born in Shibuya, Tokyo. He started guitar studies at the age of six with his father Kazuo Arai. In 1991, he began to take lessons from Yoshinobu Hara. Tomonori won First prize at Junior Guitar Competition, Student Guitar Competition, and Spanish Guitar Music Competition that year.

In 1992, he entered the Cologne Music University where he received his diploma in 1998. He continued to study in Aachen and finished Concert Examinations in 2000. During his stay, he has studied withTadashi Sasaki, Zoran Dukic , Thomas Müller-Perring.

Tomonori won many prizes at numerous guitar competitions in Europe such as the Austria International RUST 2000. He has held recitals in Germany, Austria, France, Czechs Republic, Belgium, and Italy, and the Philippines. He is now expanding his carrier as concert guitarist and teacher. Tomonori has also recorded at least 5 outstanding CDs.

DUO TRUSSARDI

Both born in 1985, Eisei Tanigawa and Takashi Endo studied classical guitar and music theory under Japanese guitarist Tomonori Arai. After taking a liking to classical Brazilian music, especially the work by composer Egbert Gismonti, they started playing as a guitar duo focusing on Brazilian music. They have performed all over Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagasaki,and Kanagawa and have received rave reviews.

In 2015, they played in the Pattaya guitar festival in Thailand with Tomonori Arai to outstanding acclaim.

In June 2015, they premiered " Journey to the far Valley," composed by Hirokazu Sato, one of the most talented Japanese guitar composers, who dedicated the piece to them.

In October 2015, they released their first CD, "Double Roots" featuring both Brazilian and Japanese repertoire, prompting Gendai Guitar magazine to hail them as "one of the most talented and sophisticated young guitar duos" in Japan.

As solo players, they have garnered prizes in several domestic and international guitar competitions in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Manila.

As a duo, they have taken master classes from such players as Duo Melis, and Maccari-Pugliese---one of the best guitar duos in the world.

They have also taken private lessons from virtuoso Japanese guitar players Shingo Fujii and Yasuji Ohagi.

CALL TICKETWORLD at 8919999.

Early Bird Promo (Until February 29) 

VIP: P 1,776.50

Patron: P 888.25

Regular: P 444.13

Regular Prices (Starting March 1)

VIP: P 2,090

Patron: P 1,045

Regular: P 522.50

PR: PETA Summer Program: Theater Workshops For All Ages

The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), one of the Philippines' pioneer theater groups known for its original productions and community workshops, opens its annual Summer Program this coming April 4, 2016.

The PETA Summer Program is an annual series of workshops formulated for children, teens, and adults programmed by PETA during the summer season. What sets this Summer Program from previous years is the additional special courses that open up new growth opportunities for aspiring theater performers and artists. Aside from the regular courses offered by PETA,  the theater company mounts two special courses for visual artists and for senior citizens looking for a refreshing theater experience.

The PETA Summer Program will be available at PETA's home theater in Quezon City and a sattelite venue for aspiring enrollees in the South to be announced by the start of February.

A wide variety of courses

Opening a total of 8 courses, PETA starts off their workshops with the Children's Theater workshops. The Children's Theater workshops will be made available to kids from ages 6 to 8, and 9 to 12. The workshops will give the kids a chance to open up their creativity and imagination to create stories which they will be performing at the end of the workshops.

The Teen Theater workshops are tailored for ages 13 to 16 wherein they will get to learn the different disciplines of theater from writing, visual arts, dance, and music. The Teen Theater workshops present an environment wherein teens can express and relate experiences with the other enrollees.

For young professionals and working adults, PETA offers Theater Arts for beginners, Basic Acting for experienced performers, and Creative Musical Theater for the musically-inclined. All adult workshops are scheduled to fit the hectic hours of work and school of young adults and professionals with sessions happening mostly after work and school.

Talented creatives who are more inclined to working on canvass are invited to join the Visual Arts course. Taught by a seasoned PETA artist-teacher focused on drawing and painting, enrollees of the Visual Arts course will get a chance to learn how the lively and energetic character of theater can be emanated through pencil, paper, and canvass.

Another special course that will offered this coming year is Theater Arts for Seniors. Individuals aged 60 and above are promised a refreshing creative experience that will surely inspire and get them moving. The course encourages seniors to relive memorable moments through the lenses of theater and art.

All courses will have a final output where the enrollees are able to showcase all the skills they have acquired in the workshops.

Experience based approach

Another notable aspect of PETA's workshops is its unique integrated theater arts (ITA) approach. This approach assures enrollees of a holistic theater experience as it discusses the varied elements of theater from creative writing, visual arts, creative drama, creative music, to body movement and dance.

Aside from the ITA approach, PETA uses the enrollees' own experience to draw out a production. With the production being based from the enrollees' own stories, students of the workshops feel more comfortable and open to the process of theater education.

Enrollment is ongoing for the PETA Summer Program. Interested enrollees may avail of the early bird discount until February. Those who would like to enroll may contact PETA at 725 6244, 0905 369 6003, or petatheater@gmail.com to schedule their enrollment. Additional information on the workshops such as the schedule, fees, and course descriptions are available at www.petatheater.com/summer-workshop/.

PR: AQUABEST Opens Its Soup Kitchen Program

It is nice to know that companies nowadays are now doing their community outreach programs to give back to society.  AQUABEST, the country's premier water station franchise is reaching out to its local community by opening a soup kitchen for indigent people.

Every Friday afternoon the company operates a soup kitchen dispensing hot meals to the poor at its head office along Quezon Avenue. Since it started operating this February, the soup kitchen regularly serves dozens of underprivileged people.  

The soup kitchen is part of the company's efforts to give back to society and is a reflection of the Christian values that underpin the company's operations. "As a company we have to strive to make a positive influence in our community. And our efforts here however small can help our underprivileged brethren that other people still care about them" says Carson Tan the company's President and CEO.

The Story of the Man Through His Child Experiences

Seeing the man today will somehow give you a glimpse of his childhood.  Some would say that Roman Romulo is charming, a good speaker, a gentleman and a for-the-people type of individual.  To translate that in a child-image, you can then say that he is a charming charmer who is well-mannered. 

Not often would one have the opportunity to talk with the best resource person there is when it comes to how Congressman Roman Romulo, now running for a senatorial seat, was a child.  The meeting may have been truly unplanned but Mrs. Lovely Tecson-Romulo, ever so gracious, was kind enough to fit us in her schedule and share the story of her son.

Mrs. Lovely Tecson-Romulo,
mother of Cong. Roman Romulo

What is the story of Roman’s childhood? 

Born from a family whose roots dates back in local history, Roman is truly a service oriented individual; always there to listen to the concerns of the people of Pasig, ready to find ways to help others and willing to have just a few hours of sleep just to help those who needs assistance, so say Mrs. Lovely. She recalls the time that she would find people lined up outside their house waiting to have a moment with Cong. Roman.  Mrs. Lovely would candidly mention the time that her plants would nearly got trampled on during his annual community reach-out – something that Cong. Roman has been doing for 8 years now; all out of his own pocket.

This practice of the congressman does not surprise Mrs. Lovely.  She recalls a time then that as a student, Roman was quite a sports person that in one of his out-of-the-country competition of squash he gifted her, upon his return, a crystal figurine out of his own allowance.  The act alone was a treat but the fact that the child Roman took time to save-up a portion of his allowance to buy a gift that he knows would truly be appreciated and kept is a sign of the things he would do in the future.

As a student, Roman truly values education according to his mother.  He is good in his academics and was even able to compete and won an elocution contest held in Ateneo De Manila University. One thing that Cong. Roman doesn’t tolerate is bullying because he knows how it feels to be a victim.  Like any other parents, Mrs. Lovely was not aware of the finer things that is happening her child’s life when in school.  It was through a mother of a classmate that she got an inkling and decided to ask the child Roman what the story is and that was when she found out that he was being bullied.  Instead of confronting the bully, the child Roman opted to skip classes just to avoid another encounter.  This led them to transfer him to Southridge where he finished his formative years in education still in good standing.

This background of educational importance led him to create bills and push it into laws thus the birth of the UNIFAST and ISKOLAR ng Bayan.

As a baby, he is what one can be considered as a babe bathed in love; love from his parents, his doctor, the people around him when he was born.

Born in 1967 by unfortunate circumstances, he contacted a virus that became an epidemic in the hospital that he was in at that time.  From an initial weight of 12 lbs, he slowly lost half and then another 2 lbs was gone due his illness.  He cannot take in any type of milk. It was a downhill battle for him for six months.  But the people around him never gave up!  His pediatrician at that time, the late Dr. Fe Del Mundo, truly made her medical oath as a personal battle cry during these early stages of baby Roman’s life.  Prayers never stopped pouring in.  Alternative source of milk was tried.  A wet nurse was even hired to give him nutrient to no avail.  It was believed that he will not survive the ordeal.

By the grace of the Father and that of the persistence of the late Dr. Fe Del Mundo, baby Roman slowly accepted nourishment into his system.  What weight he lost was slowly being gained back again.  What love he gained was showered still, especially that of a late aunt of Mrs. Lovely Romulo who candidly mentioned that the crease on the baby’s head as “crown yan” (that’s a crown) – a sign of great things to come and to be achieved by the child.

His baby experience may not be similar to most but it sure did started painting things as a fighter and a survivor.

His bid for political seat started as a surprise for the family for no one knew that he was running.  He may have lost the first time but was available to win the hearts of his future constituents thus earning the lone congressional seat of the City of Pasig.  Now he is trying to win the heart and trust of the whole nation as he try to win a senatorial seat.

Will he win?  Honestly, only FATE can say but one thing is for sure no matter what, he will fight the good fight like that when he was a baby getting his new breathe in life.

PR: DOG SEES GOD: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD SETS ASIAN PREMIERE FEB. 11-26

Twin Bill Theater proudly presents “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead ” as its maiden offering in the local theater scene beginning February 11.

"Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead ” by Bert V. Royal is a very cleverly written exploration of modern teen angst as seen by Peanuts characters.  As an “unauthorized parody, ” audiences will be taken on a journey by eight teenagers whose characters are so cruel, so harmful, and how they breathe a breath of reality on today's social issues of sexual relations and identity, bullying, teen violence, drug use, child sexual abuse, suicide, eating disorders, rebellion, and more.

In 2004, “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” was one of the breakout hits at the New York International Fringe Festival, winning the Excellence Award for Best Overall Production, as well as Theatermania's Play Award of 2004, the GLAAD Media Award for Best Off-Off-Broadway production, Broadway.com's 2006 Audience Award for Favorite Off-Broadway Production and the 2006 HX Award for Best Play.

The play revisits familiar characters from the Peanuts comic strip—Charlie Brown, his little sister Sally, Linus and Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Shroeder, the Little Red-Headed Girl, and Pigpen—grown up and in high school. All the characters go by different names, because the play was produced as an “unauthorized parody.” (Charles M. Shulz had nothing to do with it.) Van (Linus) is a stoner; Tricia (Patti) and Marcy (Marcie) are party girls; Lucy has been institutionalized for pyromania; CB (Charlie Brown) and Matt (Pigpen) are the popular kids at school, if only because they bully everyone else; and Sally and Beethoven (Shroeder) are mistreated, disliked outcasts.

Directed by Steven Conde, the various roles will be essayed by the most promising new breed of young actors namely Nelsito Gomez, Sarah Facurii, Gab Medina, Vince Lim, Maronne Cruz, Kathleen Francisco, Brian Sy, and Camille Velicaria.

Produced by Twin Bill Theater as its first official play for their first season, the founders led by theater professionals Joseph and Francis Matheu noted that their goals are focused primarily on stirring up the public’s interest to rediscover, love and preserve our historical, cultural and spiritual values through theater; and to make quality, thought-provoking productions more accessible to the non-theater going public. The company also aims to produce shows that explore and challenge issues faced by today’s society.

The artistic team of “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead are as follows: Bert V. Royal (Playwright), Steven Conde (Director), Francis G. Matheu (Choreographer), Joseph G. matheu (Lighting Designer), Jay Pangilinan (Musical Scorer), and Winter David (Video Animation).

The production team includes: Josephus Gayona (Production Manager), Bryan Ladim (Stage Manager), Micky torres (Assistant Stage Manager).

The Marketing Staff includes: Rianelle Alba, Ivan H. Panganiban, Micky Torres, Jiano Magdaraog, LJ Z. Galvez.

            Check out the following social media:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/twinbilltheater

Twitter: https://twitter.com/twinbilltheater

Instagram: https://instagram.com/twinbilltheater

Website: http://twinbilltheater.weebly.com

For tickets, Call or text: Kiko at 0927-4604652 or Email: twinbilltheater@gmail.com.

The playdates of  “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” are as follows: February 11, 12, 13, 14 and 26 at 8PM and February 14 at 2:30PM.

 
Venue: Staple and Perk, Ground Floor, Eco Plaza Bldg. Don Chino roces Avenue Extension (P.Tamo Ext.), Makati City.

           

Advisory: Recommended for ages 15+ due to strong language, and sexual references.