ABOUT ME
Hailing from Los Baños, Laguna, Pink Stuart is an eighteen year old theatre artist, a self-proclaimed professional napper and loud introvert.
As a member of Dulaang Sipat Lawin, the resident theatre company of Philippine High School for the Arts, she has performed in the famed theatres of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Arts Center and has shifted characters in a number of productions. Her most recent works include; The Womb, Lillian Hellman’s The Children's Hour, Dario Fo’s The Pope and The Witch, Naohiko Umewaka’s The Italian Restaurant and Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest.
Aside from acting and theatre, some of her interests include stage designing, along with explorations on Feminism and women’s rights, self and identity, and horror. Pink dreams of using her multitude of talents to grace more stages in the future.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Fictional horror stories and myths such as the stories of the Aswang, White Lady, and more may all be frightening but what's more terrifying than real life horror?
This research aims to investigate the representation of women in Philippine horror stories vis a vis the real life horror experiences of Filipino women through a feminist perspective and performance. Ang Babae: A horror story showcases how Filipino women are perceived in society and their struggles in attempting to confront the patriarchal culture that women and young girls are forced to grow up in. Through the aswang's story, we present the performance-lecture as a journey in dealing with the issues that Filipino women face. Featuring scenes from Rody Vera's play, Ang Unang Aswang, this is a horror story that is true to life.
DRAMATURGICAL NOTES
Ang Babae: A Horror Story, is a performance lecture of a young woman’s attempt to make sense and unpack the culture of violence and sexual harassment that Filipino women struggle with everyday. She looks at Filipino horror stories in film and theatre as mirrors to the horror and violence women are subjected to. A prevalent trope in Filipino horror stories is the women as victim; either the haunted or the haunter with a tragic backstory. The Aswang, White Lady, Manananggal, Tiktik are some recurrent female-monster figures.
She focuses on the play Ang Unang Aswang by Rody Vera to analyze the violence brought on by concepts of separation and with it hierarchy. The concept of Woman-Nature-the Savage in the character of Aswang and Man-Progress- the Civilized in the character of Lalake are embodiments of separation and how this is utilized to justify the exploitation of the Savaged Other in this case Aswang.
She weaves historical text, statistics, scenes from Ang Unang Aswang, her own experience of growing up a woman in Philippine society, In the process untangling fear, projections, dominant socio-historical conditioning, to discover an empowered agency that is rooted in deep understanding and awareness.
- EISA JOCSON
Adviser-Dramaturg
COLLABORATORS
MARIA TERESA JAMIAS
Tess Jamias is an actor, director-dramaturg, acting teacher/coach, filmmaker, voice talent, contemporary dancer-choreographer, hair cutter and machinator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philippine Studies (Theater Arts and Film) and Master in Arts in Theatre Arts from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She is a founding member of the Dulaang Talyer and KoLab Co.
Among others, Tess has been awarded the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship and the Japan Student Services Organization scholarship. She is currently a Theatre Arts teacher in the Senior High School of the Philippine High School for the Arts, in Mt. Makiling Los Baños.
EISA JOCSON
Eisa Jocson exposes body politics in the service and entertainment industry as seen through the unique socioeconomic lens of the Philippines. She studies how the body moves and what conditions make it move - be it social mobility or movement out of Philippines through migrant work. In all her creations - from pole to macho dancing and hostess to Disney princess studies - capital is the driving force of movement pushing the indentured body into spatial geographies.
A recipient of the 2018 Cultural Centre of the Philippines 13 Artists Award, she won the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award 2019 and recently received the SeMa-HANA Award at the Seoul MediaCity Biennale for the work TFSB2020: Empire of Care.
RECHELLE BALASOTO
Rechelle Balasoto is a Grade 11 student at the Philippine High School for the Arts, where she is majoring in theater arts.
As a company member of Dulaang Sipat Lawin, she has acted in theater productions such as Nagwawalang Gubat (2018) as Lola and Aso, Ang Pinakamakisig sa Mga Nalunod sa Buong Daigdig (2018) as Pepe, Ang Santo Papa at ang Bruha (2019) as chorus, and Musical Theater performance (2019) as she sang “In my Dreams” from Anastasia and The Children's Hour (2021) as Mary.