Marking a significant milestone in the regional arts landscape, Biรฑan announces its first-ever homegrown theatre production to be staged outside city borders.
Following a highly successful community run in December 2025, Mapanakit! Mga Dulang Bittersweet has officially transitioned into a touring-ready production, representing the highly anticipated maiden presentation of YPC Stage.
Directed by BJ Borja, the show celebrates community-rooted storytelling and professional staging discipline, making it both artistically compelling and accessible to diverse audiences nationwide.
Written by acclaimed playwright Eljay Castro Deldoc, these ‘three one-act plays’ present deeply human stories told through intimate performances, poetic dialogue, and emotionally grounded storytelling that resonates strongly with modern audiences.
The staging serves as an artistic bridge, featuring a powerful collaboration that unites a dynamic new generation of performers with some of the most respected and seasoned names in Philippine theater. This synergy of fresh energy and professional experience delivers an exceptional standard of performance.
At its core, Mapanakit reflects shared Filipino experiences โ heartbreak, longing, healing, and hope โ allowing audiences to see themselves on stage. Its relatable themes make it highly engaging for students, young professionals, cultural advocates, and general theatre-goers alike.
MAPANAKIT features:
ANG LIKNAYAN NG ATING MGA KATAWAN
Hershey Mae sneaks into the schoolโs chemistry lab under the pretense of conducting an experiment, but she is really there to confront her teacher, Sir Banakon. He has rejected her controversial research paper, arguing that its methods and conclusions are unscientific and dangerous. The paper has already stirred chaos in the school, as several students took its claims seriouslyโleading to a suicide attempt, a viral fight, and a missing student.
Sir Banakon believes the study must be dismissed before more harm is done. But Hershey Mae insists that her research is grounded in real observation and experience. What she is trying to prove, above all, is that some truthsโespecially about loveโcannot simply be invalidated.
ILIHAN AT KALINGAW
Ilihan at Kalingaw, in a mythical realm, Ilihan, the poet-historian of the Buringkantada tribe, is tasked with recording the stories their elders deem worthy of memory.
When the council discovers she has secretly written love poems for Kalingawโa man she is forbidden to loveโshe is summoned to face punishment. Kalingaw urges her to flee before it is too late, but Ilihan refuses. She believes love, too, deserves a place in their history. By standing by her words, Ilihan challenges the tribeโs rules about what can be rememberedโand risks paying the price for a love story they refuse to acknowledge
GANITO ANG PINANGARAP KONG KASAL
France and Noel have been a couple since college, keeping their relationship quiet while maintaining the appearance of normalcy around others. Their closest friend, Kris, has long been their confidante and constant third wheel, witnessing the sweetness and intimacy of their private love story. For years, the three navigate life together while carefully protecting the secret. The balance begins to break when one of them decides to follow societyโs expectations of masculinity and a conventional life. His choice forces the friends to confront what they have builtโand what they may lose. The decision puts their loyalty, love, and friendship to the test.
COMPANY PROFILE
YPC Stage is the professional performance and touring arm of the Biรฑan Youth Performance Council Inc.(YPC) – a platform designed to bring its community-rooted theater practice to larger stages and wider audiences. Mapanakit is YPC Stageโs maiden production.
Built on two decades of cultural work, youth formation, and socially engaged storytelling, YPC Stage produces and presents works that uphold professional standards while remaining deeply anchored in lived realities. Its productions are artistically rigorous, emotionally truthful, and socially resonant.
Serving as a bridge between grassroots practice and institutional venues, YPC Stage allows YPC to engage commercially, collaborate across sectors, and expand its reach without compromising its core values. Through this platform, the company demonstrates that theater shaped by community experience is not peripheral – it is powerful, relevant, and ready for Metro Manila and beyond.
YPC Stage proves that excellence and community are not opposing forces. They are, in fact, inseparable.
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Cast:
Ang Liknayan ng ating mga Katawan
Ross Pesigan – Sir Banakon
Jury Sanchez – Hershey Mae
Ilihan at Kalingaw
Gab Pangilinan as Ilihan
Euden Moje as Kalingaw
Ganito ang Pinangarap kong Kasal
Kokoy de Santos – Noel
Phi Palmos – France
Loudette Barias – Kris
VENUE, RUNNING DATES, TIME, AND TICKET INFOย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Venue: KAL-IBG Theater, UP Diliman, Quezon City
Running dates:
July 25, 26, August 1, 2, 8, 9 | 2PM & 7PM
August 7 GALA SHOW | 7PM
Tickets:ย ticket2me.net/mapanakit!ย
Artistic Team:
Playwright – Eljay Castro Deldoc
Director – BJ Borja
Production Designer – Carlo Pagunaling
Lights Designer – Gabo Tolentino
Sound Designer – Arkel Mendoza
Creative Director – Carlo Cannu
Production Team:
Production Manager – Baha Vergara
Technical Director – John Paul De Paz
Stage Manager Head – Kent Torres
Stage Managers – Sydney Ray Almarinez, Marlou Navia, Ryza Karunungan
Lights Boardman –
Ronquillo Rubio
Sounds Boardman –
Jessa De Dios
Production Staff/ Ensemble
Rijs Dale
Jenver Mallete
Rozel Aniceta
Danica Samson
Sheena Gonzales
Joy Angeline Orzo
Jamir Alzate
Rinoa Lockhart
Executive Team:
Executive Producer – Sigrid Carreon
Head of Promotions – Charles De Castro
Head of Marketing – Leobhel Cueto
Head of Finance – Assiel Brusola
Head of Communications – Fred Alipala
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