CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) -- The Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts (XCCA) and the Xavier Stage theater company mounted an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s timeless story A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Hobart Savior, on March 6 at the Xavier University Little Theater.
The production is part of the Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan’s (Xavier Ateneo) National Arts Month activities dubbed “Panaghugpong” (convergence).
The celebration features the productions of the university’s performing arts companies, art sessions with the Museo de Oro and Circulo de Arte, a pop concert, film screenings, and various competitions, including a folk dance contest and kulturock, as it closes on March 9.
XCCA Director Hobart Savior said the celebration will foster appreciation of Xavier Ateneo’s talent, creativity, and ingenuity, making us mark Xavier Ateneo’s thrusts on culture and the arts as a Filipino university.
Oberon, portrayed by Jet Paclar, gave the enchanted flower to Karibang (John Joseph Cabana) and ordered him to enchant the lovers in the forest. A pivotal scene in the Xavier Stage’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Hobart Savior, March 6, Xavier University Little Theater. The production is part of the Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan’s National Arts Month celebration, dubbed “Panaghugpong” (convergence). (Photo: SAYU/PIA-10)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream—the adaptation
Fairies and romance, love and deceit—A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a story one may relate to in terms of love, friendship, and marriage—or love in general. Director Savior creates a colorful world of enchantment.
Mounted in 2013, together with the pioneering and current members at that time, this adaptation of the play has since been produced by TXS until 2019 and the pandemic years.
“It was well received, avowed, and acclaimed by the audiences then, and we thought of having it produced for this year’s Panaghugpong because the present members of the company as well as the present audiences should be able to experience this brilliant play of Shakespeare and this refreshing take of his A Midsummer Night’s Dream set by us [TXS] in pre-Islamic Meranao,” said Savior.
For his part, TXS Artistic Director Tat Soriano, who was among the original actors of the first production of the adaptation, said, “Performing is easier than producing and much more fulfilling. In acting, you only carry yourself, your character, and your performance; that’s your sole responsibility, but in producing, you are looking out for the entirety of the production.”
An audience composed of Xavier University Junior High School students bursts into giggles as Titania (Monick Ducos) is enchanted by the flower, making her fall in love with Manabilang (Mico Sarines), who mysteriously turns into a horse-like creature in The Xavier Stage’s (TXS) adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, March 6, Xavier University Little Theater. (Photo: SAYU/PIA-10)
The future of theater in the post-COVID era
“While almost all artists were struggling during the COVID pandemic, theater in Cagayan de Oro and Northern Mindanao has never stopped. Even though there was the pandemic, we continued to mount and present productions online and through multimedia,” Savior said.
Savior believes that post-COVID means the revival of the vibrant presence of productions and the “tremendous support from the audiences; now there is no stopping the production of theater performances.”
The XCCA looks forward to more productions this year and hopes that the support of the audience will enliven the community efforts on culture and the arts in northern Mindanao. (SAYU/PIA-10)
Oberon, portrayed by Jet Paclar (center, standing), and Karibang, portrayed by John Joseph Cabana (right, standing), disenchanted Titania (Monick Ducos) from the spell that made her fall in love with Manabilang (Mico Sarines) in this production of The Xavier Stage’s production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, March 6. (Photo: SAYU/PIA-10)
The lovers, (from left) Samanodin (Rufin Vamenta), Dayang (Nasya Jasmine Pañares), Sohra (Rheeve Nollora), and Masnar (Neil Collins Velez), face Sultan Pata Kumilang (Yann Famas) as they wake up from an enchanted night in the forest as the Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts (XCCA) and The Xavier Stage (TXS) celebrated the National Arts Month with the adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Hobart Savior, March 6, Xavier University Little Theater. (Photo: SAYU/PIA-10)
