University of Cebu

After months of preparation, the Theater Workshop Company, the university’s acclaimed thespians’ guild, ably assisted by the Saturday English 7 class of playwright director, Mr. Rudy U. Aviles, presented two original short plays in Cebuano.

Put on the eighth until the tenth of March, 2007 at the Audio Visual Room, Alicia Gotianuy Bdlg. in Kalubihan, the students’ painstaking efforts were pulled-off in the “Duha-duha” production, baring all emotional stops in enlightening the willing public of the unconventional facets of gender-dichotomy and human shortcomings.

Shown first in slow and steady yet moving drama was the “Bisikleta,” plotted around a duo of grown individuals discovering their hidden selves while in the brink of a waning friendship, corrupted by fear and mistaken beliefs. Then, the pragmatic, with a tinge of vocally uncompromising comedy, “Rayna-Rayna” was presented. The latter provided refreshing humor while embracing each one’s vulnerability, stripped of any pretense from each character; the story revolved around three friends whose lives are intertwined not merely by gender preference, but by being empathetic with the other’s sentiments and situation.

In-between the shows, the English 7 students gave icebreakers while preparing the stage for the next scene. TWC alumni Edel Añete also graced the stage with a song.

Without batting an eyelash, the students demonstrated their thespic best-- skillfully rendering their lines and painting their faces with the necessary expression for every scene. Of course, the stage would not have come alive without its libretto, and in this case, Mr. Aviles clearly drove the stories home, with an undeniable bravado and poignant circumstances that aroused interest and uncovered truths. It was one of those which could cause you to laugh shamelessly, give you outright insight yet leave you touched and somehow changed. With these, it was easy to see why student viewers of the university, as well as those of other schools gave the cast a standing ovation.