UP SARSUWELA WRITING CONTEST EXTENDED

The College of Arts and Letters of the University of the Philippines Diliman announces the extension of submission deadline for the UP Sarsuwela Writing Contest, one of the event included in the UP Sarsuwela Festival to be held in February 2009. The organizers of the Sarsuwela Writing Contest have moved the deadline for submission of entries on October 10, 2008.

The zarzuela was introduced by the Spaniards in the Philippines in the late 19th century. Most scholars believe that this theatre form has its origin from Spanish sainete, performed in private theatres of the nobilities during the golden age of Spanish drama. The zarzuela is a musical drama revolving around domestic stories. For the longest time, romantic stories / love stories were the most watched and anticipated performances. When the Spaniards introduced the zarzuela in the Philippines, early Filipinos immediately fell in love with it. Probably this is due to its central plot closer to everyday experiences of the folks. This Hispanic theatre form eventually was Filipinized into the sarsuwela.

The Sarsuwela Writing Contest is open to all Filipinos. Entries must be written in Filipino and must follow the three-act structure of the traditional sarsuwela. The contest theme is “amor, vida, patria” (love, life, country). The story may be historical or contemporary in subject matter. All entries shall consist of a soft copy (CD in Word or Text Format) and three (3) hard copies (Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Arial Narrow fonts, 12 points, double spaced in 81/2 x 11 inches coupon bond). The recorded score (CD in MP3 or other PC compatble format) shall also be included. The author’s and the composer’s real names and addresses must not appear on the entry; rather, they should seal in a letter envelope both the prescribed Official Entry Form and Authorization Form, together with their bio-notes or brief résumé; and this envelope should be submitted together with the entry. On this sealed envelope should be written or typed the title of the entry and the authors’ pen name. Authors may submit only one entry. The winning entry will be staged by Dulaang U.P. at the festival and will be published in a special issue of the UP Philippine Humanities Review. The winning writer and composer will win a P200,000.00 cash prize.

UP Sarsuwela Festival 2009 is the second festival of this sort that the U.P. College of Arts and Letters is holding. In February this year, the highly successful Komedya Fiesta was held in various venues within the U.P. Diliman campus throughout the said month. UP Sarsuwela Festival 2009 aims to provide a deeper appreciation and understanding of the sarsuwela as a Philipine traditional theatre form; provide a deeper appreciation and understanding of the sarsuwela as a Philippine traditional theatre form;  allow audiences to witness sarsuwela productions staged in an urban setting; provide opportunities to discuss the state of sarsuwela in order to promote its growth in the years to come;  have a better knowledge of the aesthetics of sarsuwela as a traditional theatre form; and  give artists a venue to express their creativity by staging sarsuwela using various theatre approaches. The Sarsuwela Festival 2009, like its predecessor the Komedya Fiesta, is the U.P. College of Arts and Letters contribution to the celebration of U.P. Diliman Month 2009 and National Arts Month 2009.

For further details on the Sarsuwela Writing Contest, the International Conference on the Sarsuwela, and the Sarsuwela Festival itself, contact the festival secretariat at (02) 9287508 or (02) 9818500 local 2102, 2104 and 2106 or email sarsuwelafestival2009@gmail.com. Please check kal.upd.edu.ph for more details on the festival. Contest rules and forms may be downloaded from www.panitikan.com.ph.