unSAULicited

ALERON wins top prizes in the Men’s Vocal Ensembles and Male Choirs Open categories at the 2nd Limburg Male Choir Festival in Limburg, Germany. Filipino all-male choir ALERON returns to Manila after a successful month-long European tour, having performed around Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland. The annual Svenska kyrkans gosskörsförening’s (Swedish Church’s Boy’s Choir Association) Gosskörsfestival (Boy’s Choir Festival) celebrates its 25th year In Rättvik, Sweden with ALERON’s Ensemble Director, Christopher Arceo as its first non-European guest conductor. Under the theme of Exploring Identity, the tour’s highlights include emerging victorious at the 2nd Limburg Male Choir Festival in Germany, winning championships in the Men’s Vocal Ensembles and Male Choirs Open categories. The only non-European choir in the roster of participants, ALERON was also awarded the Special Prize of the Hessian Prime Minister, a distinction given to the group that earns the highest score a...

Stop Kiss is a play by Diana Son, first staged 2003 in the Philippines by New Voice Company with the same lead actors. It tells the story of two women who have found each other. Sara just moved to New York and teaches while Callie is a traffic reporter. All goes well as they slowly, innocently find warmth in each other's company. Right when they surrender their lips to each other, they are physically attacked, resulting to Sara falling into a coma. The non-linear narrative explores how relationships begin, develop, and even end. At that time theater newcomers Missy Maramara and Jenny Jamora played Sara and Callie respectively. Flash forward 16 years and the struggle for equality for the LGBTQIA+ is still present. There are still news reports on hate crime, even in the most progressive cities. Unfortunately, in 2019, Stop Kiss still demands to be staged and it is still relevant. This time, though, the roles are reversed. Missy now plays Callie and Jenny plays Sara. Both Jenny...

Before gaining recognition with the recently produced original musical ‘Mula Sa Buwan’ and touching the hearts and minds of Philippine theater fans in Metro Manila, singer-songwriter William Elvin was selling self-produced CDs to anyone willing to listen. In fact, his musical talent was first noticed by his theater classmates and mentors through these home-recorded albums in the late 2000s, which gave him the chance to write several Filipino musicals from 2009 to 2016. “Social media wasn’t as big then as it is today, so we had to rely on friends and families to sell the few copies that we personally handed over to them,” recalls William. “Every CD sold, and every positive comment we got felt like hard-earned personal achievements.” In 2019, coming off of his theater songwriting career in the past decade, William Elvin has returned to the do-it- yourself, free-spirited musical approach in his new album “Sacred/Profane/Mundane”. “Sacred/ Profane/Mundane” is a collection of original...

QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES – In its long outstanding run, the Philippine Educational Theatre Association’s (PETA) musical phenomenon Rak of Aegis, co-presented with the Organisasyon ng mga Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), The PhilPop MusicFest Foundation (PhilPop), and PLDT Home Fibr, is back for its seventh season, welcoming new cast members composed mainly of OPM legends. Randy Santiago as Fernan Noel Cabangon as Kiel Bayang Barrios as Mary Jane Jenine Desiderio as Mary Jane This all new season for the beloved Filipino musical boasts a new roster of popular and award-winning OPM artists as part of its cast from July to September 2019 at the PETA Theater Center: household name singer and actor-comedian Randy Santiago as Fernan, multi-award winning singer-songwriter Noel Cabangon as Kiel, and multi-award winning world music performer and actress Bayang Barrios sharing the role of Mary Jane with prominent movie actress and singer Jenine Desiderio. Randy Santiago is a hos...