The audition is open to all professional and non-professional actors, ages-18-years old and above. Those who are interested must bring a 2 x 2 photo and resume.
The auditions are for Gantimpala's 35th season of plays based on the Philippines’ cultural and literary heritage--the Four Classics (“Ibong Adarna”, “Florante at Laura”, “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo”, plus plays and short stories written by our National Artists for Theater and Literature, and original Filipino musicals written by today’s playwrights based on well-known fairy tales and Philippine folklore.
For more than three decades, theater-loving Filipinos have watched and enjoyed the company’s productions, beginning with Bonifacio Ilagan’s “Katipunan Mga Anak ng Bayan” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines 35 years ago. As one of the original artistic companies of the CCP, it gave life to “untried and untested plays” that were winners in the playwriting contests of the institution.
Tony Espejo, Gantimpala artistic director, recalls: “When we were still at the CCP, I was going out for lunch one day when a utility man approached me--an elderly guy mopping the floor. He said, ‘Mr. Espejo, congratulations at salamat po.’ I asked him why. He replied, ‘kasi lagi po akong nanood ng mga plays ninyo lalo na pag historical, kasi hindi po ako nakapag-aral so kapag gusto ko pong matuto, lagi po akong nanonood ng mga productions ninyo. That really touched me.”
“It amazes me that the effects of the plays are multiplied tenfold,” he adds. “Until today, there are bank tellers who, when I present my pass book, recognize me and inform me that they have seen the Four Classics. Just the other day, when I was doing my early morning jog, a man went out of his car, approached me, and thanked me. He recently saw my picture in one of the papers and said that in high school, he saw all our plays. And now, it is his son who watches them. These recollections make me smile because they are affirmations that, we at Gantimpala Theater must be doing something good.”
For further queries, call 5280603 or 0921-5286308. Visit www.gantimpalatheater.multiply.com or like on Facebook www.facebook.com/gantimpala.
[Photo: Jay Gonzaga and Cris Pastor in Kanser-Noli Me Tangere]