2 Thomasians chosen for Virgin Labfest fellowship
by Hannah Arcenal
Two students from the Faculty of Arts and Letters were accepted as fellows for this year’s Virgin Labfest Writing Fellowship Program.
Senior Literature major and Artistang Artlets member Lloyd Opalec was chosen for his entry Isang Sandali sa Colegio de La Concordia, a speculative historical one-act play portraying a woman under the guise of José Rizal.
“Natuwa ako kasi, siyempre, sino bang hindi matutuwa sa ganoong klaseng balita?” said Opalec.
However, he said he also felt unease since it will be his first fellowship outside the University. Opalec was one the fellows in the recently concluded 4th Thomasian Undergraduate Writers Workshop. He submitted the same entry in the said workshop.
“Naroon rin ang takot ng kabiguan. Hindi naman siguro mawawala ‘yon. Kaya ayun, tuwa at kaba,” he added.
Meanwhile, Communication Arts alumnus Miko Jan Portes was selected for his entry, Layo, a play revolving around a phone call between two lovers cheating on their respective spouses.
“It felt extremely fulfilling to be honest because I wanted to get in since I was a freshman,” said Portes.
Nonetheless, he said he also felt pressure since he, like Opalec, was also a member of Artistang Artlets.
“The reason I started writing plays was because of […] Artistang Artlets, so the pressure is on to perform well.”
The Virgin Labfest 13 Writing Fellowship Program is a mentorship program on theater playwriting. It will be held from July 4 to 16 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex.
The ten fellows of the program will be mentored by Palanca Award-winning playwright Glenn Sevilla Mas.
