Featured art by Jhonrichmond Olinar. With images courtesy of YPC Stage.
MANILA, Philippines — With decades of cultivating theater from the ground up in Biñan, Laguna, YPC Stage brings its acclaimed production “Mapanakit! Mga Dulang Bittersweet” to Manila, marking the company’s first major touring production beyond its hometown.
Written by acclaimed playwright Eljay Castro Deldoc and directed by BJ Borja, expands what began as a local production into a larger conversation about regional theater, collaboration, and the stories that continue to resonate across generations.
The production unfolds through three one-act plays exploring heartbreak, longing, healing, and the complicated ways people choose—or fail—to love one another. Grounded in Deldoc’s distinctly Filipino writing, the trilogy finds emotional depth in familiar situations, inviting audiences to confront vulnerability through humor, intimacy, and quiet devastation.
Official poster courtesy of YPC Stage.
Ang Liknayan ng Ating mga Katawan
Official poster courtesy of YPC Stage.
Opening the trilogy is “Ang Liknayan ng Ating mga Katawan,” that star Ross Pesigan and Jury Sanchez.
Set inside a school’s chemistry laboratory, the play follows a student determined to defend her controversial research on love after her teacher dismisses it as impossible science. What begins as an academic dispute slowly unfolds into a conversation about emotion, belief, and truths that cannot always be measured.
Ilihan at Kalingaw
Official poster courtesy of YPC Stage.
The second play, “Ilihan at Kalingaw,” brings together Gab Pangilinan and Euden Moje in a mythical world where love becomes an act of resistance.
As the tribe’s poet-historian, Ilihan risks everything by documenting a forbidden romance, questioning who gets remembered and whose stories history chooses to erase.
Ganito Ang Pinangarap Kong Kasal
Official poster courtesy of YPC Stage.
Closing the evening is “Ganito ang Pinangarap Kong Kasal,“ featuring Kokoy de Santos, Phi Palmos, and Loudette Barias. The story follows two longtime partners whose carefully maintained relationship begins to unravel under the weight of society’s expectations surrounding masculinity, marriage, and the futures people believe they are supposed to pursue.
Together, the trilogy reflects on how love often exists alongside sacrifice, social pressure, and impossible choices—offering stories that feel both deeply personal and universally familiar.
While the production features celebrated theater and screen actors including Pangilinan, De Santos, Pesigan, and Palmos, Mapanakit! is equally a testament to YPC Stage’s belief that community theater deserves the same platform as established productions.
For Borja, bringing professional performers together with YPC’s homegrown artists was never about hierarchy, but one that is focused on collaboration—creating an ensemble where experience and emerging talent could exist on equal footing while sharing the same stage.
This philosophy reflects the organization’s origins. Founded in 2005, YPC was established to create opportunities for young artists in Biñan who had talent but limited access to formal theater spaces. Two decades later, the company continues to champion artistic excellence rooted in community, proving that compelling stories can emerge far beyond traditional cultural centers.
Supporting the production is a creative team led by production designer Carlo Pagunaling, lighting designer Gabo Tolentino, sound designer Arkel Mendoza, and creative director Carlo Cannu, with Baha Vergara serving as production manager and John Paul De Paz as technical director.
“Mapanakit! Mga Dulang Bittersweet” runs on July 25–26, August 1–2, and August 8–9, with performances at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM, alongside a gala performance on August 7 at 7:00 PM, at the KAL-IBG Theater, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City.
Tickets are available online https://www.ticket2me.net/mapanakit
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