Members of the theater groups that performed in a theater festival showcasing Mindanao arts and culture. The nationwide festival is now on its 18th year. MindaNews Photo by GUIA A. REBOLLIDO
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 17 March) – In a rare display of Mindanao talents and arts, 14 theater groups awed around 3,000 spectators here during the celebration of the Mindanao-leg of a nationwide theater festival from March 14-16.
The 18th Tanghal Mindanao Festival, hosted by the Mindanao State University (MSU) in General Santos and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), featured 23 performances from artistic groups that came from the cities of Dapitan, Ozamiz, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Koronadal, General Santos and Maguindanao del Norte.
Ted Nudgent Tac-an, secretary of the NCCA–Committee on Dramatic Arts (CDA), described Tanghal as an exchange of theater practices among Mindanao-based artistic groups.
“We have different forms, different styles, diversity. And with diversity, this gathering is now a kind of celebration and learning,” he said.
The shows were held at MSU-Gensan School of Graduate Studies, Lagao National High School, Ireneo Santiago National High School of Metro Dadiangas, Ameliyah’s Place, MSU Regional Science Researc
h Center, and Notre Dame of Marbel University-IBED in Koronadal.
Dr. Hobart P. Savior, NCCA-CDA vice head, said the festival is like a harvest of all of the effort of the theater productions by various university- and community-based groups.
“It’s a university theater festival at first but last year it started to expand into a community theater festival,” he said, explaining how Tanghal evolved.
According to Savior, the festival is not just about showcasing but also about leveraging, benchmarking, and being able to learn from one another and to network.
Savior also emphasized that despite having different forms, they are bound and connected to each other by one element – the Mindanao narrative.
“Whatever diverse forms we have, mahimo siyang itsura sa (it will become the face of the) whole Mindanao. Like tapestry, we are weaving,” he said.
When asked about the challenges they faced while preparing for the event, Dr. Norman Ralph Isla, NCCA-CDA Director and festival head, said the main struggle was choosing performances worthy of the Tanghal.
“You have to consider the inclusivity, yung variety, diversity of the performances. Yung budget siguro second yun siya na problema namin (Budget could just be our secondary problem). But as long as nagtutulungan (we help each other), more connections lang, kakayanin (with more connections, we can do it),” he said.
Tac-an, however, said that because theater is a solution-oriented industry, problems are nothing because they always find solutions.
According to Savior, the first five Tanghal used to be held in one place, but expanded into four legs – Na
tional Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao – during Tanghal’s sixth year.
This is the third time the festival was held in General Santos. The first two were in 2013 and 2019. The next festival has been slated to be held next year in Dipolog City.
The featured groups included the MSU-Gensan Kabpapagariya Ensemble, Apat sa Taglamig Inc., Beyond Fortress Collective, Oro Teatro Bulawanon, MSU Maguindanao Sining Kandidilimudan, Xavier University – The Xavier Stage, BIDA General Santos/MSU SHS, RMMC BPeA, RMMC BCAEd, JRMSU Teatro Dasuliman, RMMC Teatro Ambahanon, Kalimudan Culture and Arts Center, and ArtHome Theater Collective.
The festival is a flagship project organized by the NCCA – National Committee on Dramatic Arts as part of the celebration of National Arts Month. (Guia A. Rebollido/MindaNews)
