Theatre Practice

“OH! MY! GULAY!” (OH! MY! VEGETABLE!)

> 2008 > Tayabas City, Quezon Province > Story Concept, Script, & Dramaturgy

(Photo by Regina May Tiongson)

A Community Theatre set on the historical public centre of the City of Tayabas in Quezon Province, Oh! My! Gulay! is my first attempt to use applied drama techniques in the writing of a theatrical script. Together with colleagues from the College and Arts and Sciences at University of the Philippines at Los Banos, Social Workers from the group Sibikang Kabataang Pinoy, Inc. (SIKAP), and community extension experts from the College of Agriculture at UPLB, we developed a project aimed at increasing the awareness of the people in that community regarding the benefits of organic farming. OMG! was funded by the local government of the said city and involved community youth leaders of Tayabas. It is a simple story, a children’s story or musical theatre, about a young farmer’s dilemma between making his crops more sustainable or making profits as he encountered magical creatures: Pesticide, Fertilizer, Poverty, Sustenance, Health, several super vegetables, and a superheroine, Organiko. The story was a product of workshops and consultation with the young people of this community regarding their experiences about farming, community issues and beliefs, and their knowledge on inorganic and organic agriculture. These are some of the videos (1, 2, 3) of this project/community theatre.

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