Daily TribuneAt Virgin Labfest XXI, real-life parent-child tandems brought added depth and intimacy to stories of faith, grief, love and conversations left unspoken.
ANGEL Aquino and Iana Bernardez in ‘Lualhati
Photographs courtesy of CCP
DENNIS Marasigan in ‘Elehiya’
The Virgin Labfest (VLF), the country’s pioneering festival of untried, untested and unstaged one-act plays, returned for its twenty-first edition with Hubo’t Hubad, a theme that explores the many layers of raw, fearless and truthful storytelling.
Few relationships embody such vulnerability as deeply as the bond between parent and child. It is within this connection that some of our most honest emotions, unspoken truths and enduring ties are revealed.
Fittingly, several real-life parent-child tandems took part in this year’s festival, with some even sharing the stage.
Leading the roster was the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) vice president and artistic director, Dennis Marasigan, who portrayed Gardo in Dustin Celestino’s Elehiya, part of Set C. A multi-awarded actor, writer, director and producer, Marasigan has built a distinguished career spanning theater, film and cultural leadership. He began his artistic journey onstage before assuming significant roles at the CCP, Tanghalang Pilipino (TP), and, later, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.
Elehiya unfolds as a collection of monologues — or, more precisely, conversations between fathers and sons that should have taken place but never did.
Marasigan’s youngest daughter, Mara Paulina Marasigan, has likewise established herself in the industry as an actress, assistant director and chief executive officer of Moon Media Events. Returning to VLF as a director, she helmed Gab Mactal’s Lualhati, part of Set B.
The play follows the reunion of a nun and a former nun who seek reconciliation after twenty years apart. As they revisit their shared past, they confront questions of faith, love, loss and healing.
Lualhati also featured another real-life mother-and-daughter pairing: acclaimed actress Angel Aquino and her daughter, Iana Bernardez. The two portrayed the same character at different stages of her life — philosophy professor Jacinta and the younger Sister Jacinta.
The production marked Aquino’s theater debut, while Bernardez had recently made her own stage debut as part of the cast of PETA’s Endo. Aquino’s role in Lualhati also echoed aspects of her personal journey, lending further depth and authenticity to her portrayal.
Widely recognized for her versatility as an actress and fashion model, Aquino brought a quiet emotional weight to the role. Bernardez, meanwhile, has forged her own path as an actress and film producer. She received a Best Acting Ensemble award for her film debut in Gusto Kita with All of My Hypothalamus in 2018.
In a 2024 interview, Bernardez shared that acting alongside her mother had long been a dream. Through Lualhati, that aspiration finally became a reality.
Another father-and-son tandem appearing together onstage was filmmaker Carlos Siguion-Reyna and his son, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, who both performed in Elehiya.
Carlos is widely respected as a filmmaker, actor and advocate for Philippine cinema. He currently serves as chairman of the Competition and Monitoring Committee of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. Rafa, for his part, is a television, film and theater actor, singer, and event host.
During the VLF press conference, Rafa shared that although he had worked with his father before, Carlos had always been his director. Elehiya marked the first time they appeared together as fellow actors.
Their real-life relationship brought an added layer of intimacy and authenticity to a work that examines fatherhood, masculinity and the emotional conversations too often left unspoken.
The festival also brought together another notable parent-child pair: the O’Haras.
Veteran actress Pewee O’Hara took on a key role in the staged reading of Manang, which follows Greg as he prepares for the return of the ashes of the lifelong caregiver he loved more deeply than his own mother. The work explores domestic labor, guilt, grief and gratitude.
Her son, Paolo O’Hara, meanwhile, directed the revisited play Polar Coordinates by Ade Valenzona, part of Set E, alongside the returning works The Late Mr. Real and Presidential Suite #2.
Before pursuing freelance opportunities, Paolo spent nearly six years performing in Tanghalang Pilipino productions. He has since built a career encompassing both acting and directing.
As VLF entered its twenty-first year, the festival itself appeared to have come of age. More than a platform for new works, it has become a gathering place where artists and audiences can confront stories in their most candid and unguarded forms — much like the long-delayed conversations between parents and children that wait, sometimes for years, to be heard.
VLF XXI featured 15 plays and three sets of staged readings and ran from 3 to 28 June at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, also known as the CCP Black Box Theater.
