As part of the 25th theater season of the UP Playwright Theatre of the University of the Philippines Diliman, they will be staging a 3-act Ilonggo play namely Tres Hermanas de Molo, Atlas de Molo and Venus de Molo. The main theme of the three stories is identity, hopes and dreams. Distrito De Molo will run on the whole month of October and will be staged at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater2/F Palma Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City. Mr. Tony Mabesa directs Distrito De Molo.
Tres Hermanas de Molo is set in the late 1950s the play revolves around the post-war lives of the wealthy Locsin sisters living in a mansion in Molo, Iloilo. All three are unmarried, and are each carrying a dark secret from their past. Visitacion, the eldest, is cold and cruel, and she believes that being unmarried is a form of penance they must endure. Her sisters, Asuncion and Salvacion on the other hand, are discontented and lust for a more exciting life. After a series of arguments among the sisters, Asuncion and Salvacion confess their transgressions, to the horror of Visitacion. However Visitacion is not spared from her own transgressions. In the end Asuncion and Salvacion relent and comfort their elder sister as they call on the ghosts of their past and pray for freedom from their own burdens. Feeling reborn after revealing their transgressions, the three sisters, along with Maura, their loyal nanny, laugh, cry and look forward to a new dawn.
While the Atlas de Molo is set in contemporary times, Eric and Lorena Avanceña are young newlyweds that have recently moved into the crumbling Avanceña home in Molo. In the garden, there is a statue of the Greek Titan Atlas standing in the middle of a dry fountain. One evening, the statue comes to life, puts down the earth that he carries on his shoulders, and shares a conversation with Eric. After much taunting from Atlas, Eric agrees to carry the earth on his shoulders as a test of his strength. It is too late for Eric to realize that this is a trap. The next day, the dry fountain bursts forth with water.
And lastly the Venus de Molo set in the 1930s, the play involves the eccentric Don Guillermo Arroyo, who is obsessed of reproducing his own “Venus de Milo.” He employs the local sculptor, Crispino Marañon, to craft a marble of “Venus de Molo” for him. Crispino, without any compensation of his work, is visited by the goddess Laonsena, who learns of Don Guillermo’s cruelty. When Crispino unveils his work, Don Guillermo is shocked to set eyes on Laonsena as his Venus de Molo. As Laonsena leaves, Don Guillermo begs Crispino to help him, but he refuses, and the Don is left alone in his dilemma.
The play is set on English and Filipino depending on the schedule. Ticket price is at Php 500 that will be available on the venue and for reservation please call 09088149975.
