A sense of community at Philstage’s Gawad Buhay awards

At the three-hour ceremony last Friday giving out the Gawad Buhay Awards of the Philippine Legitimate Stage Artists Group, or Philstage, both Philstage president Audie Gemora and Cultural Center of the Philippines artistic director Chris Millado emphasized that the event was not about competition, but community, and the mood was quite light-hearted that evening.

While there were awards given for dance productions—largely a competition between Ballet Manila and Ballet Philippines—the bulk of the awards were for theater productions.

See: The complete list of winners at the Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards.

The two big winners were Tanghalang Pilipino’s "Der Kaufmann," an adaptation of Shakespeare’s "The Merchant of Venice," and Trumpets’ "The Bluebird of Happiness," an adaptation of Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1908 play "The Blue Bird." The latter took home the awards for best original musical and best ensemble in a musical, and also the prize for best dramatic/musical/dance work for children. "Der Kaufmann" won five awards, including an acting prize for Regina de Vera and Rody Vera’s adaptation.

Other winners were Bart Guingona and Joaquin Valdez, who took home awards for their performances in John Logan’s "Red", which deals with the fictionalized struggles of modern artist Mark Rothko. It was first staged in March of last year by Actors' Actors, Inc.

Also of interest to those following the visual arts scene here was an award for visual artist Leeroy New, who made the costumes for TP’s musical "Ibalong." New is no stranger to the theater, being the in-house production and costume designer for the experimental theater company Sipat Lawin Ensemble.

Punctuating the evening of awards and speeches were excerpts from nominated and winning productions staged over the year, including a well-received performance of “Keep It Gay” from The Producers and Peso Movement’s setting of “Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa” from "Rock Supremo."

Members of the Philippine Opera Company performed excerpts from popular operatic melodies, including selections from "La Traviata" and "The Marriage of Figaro".

And just after New's win was announced, Tanghalang Pilipino performed an excerpt from "Ibalong" featuring the winning costume designs.

Actresses Kakki Teodoro and Kyla Rivera also sang a tribute to members of the performing arts community who passed away, including two National Artists.

A couple of lifetime achievement awards (Natatanging Gawad Buhay) were also bestowed upon choreographer/scholar Steve Basilio Villaruz and actress Naty Crame-Rogers, who originated the role of Paula in Nick Joaquin’s "Portrait of the Artist as Filipino." Crame-Rogers summed up one of the passions of the audience by saying, “Drama is life. Don’t you understand?”

The Gawad Buhay prizes, now on their sixth year, are conferred by a jury that views all the productions by Philstage member companies over the previous calendar year. An entirely new jury was announced at Friday’s ceremonies. They have the task of making sure that next year, there would be more great work to celebrate.

As the ceremonies ended, some of those present continued the festivities late into the night—a celebration of a community that amidst all its challenges, continues to defy expectations of its premature demise. — BM, GMA News