With technical assistance from the Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED), 20 community members of the Batuan Cultural Collective, ranging in age from 10 to 61, were organized and trained to write, produce and mount a musical theater presentation that pays tribute to the rice culture of Batuan and its surrounding areas. Under the direction of Bohol-based director Lutgardo Labad, the members of the Collective have produced an original 3-act play that merges indigenous beliefs and farming practices with important messages about sustainable agriculture and the environment. Performed in Boholano, “O Kinabuhi sa Kahumayan” (Life in the Rice Farm) uses music, dance, and theater to explore themes such as drought and the conflicts over water, the farming cycle, climate change, environmental management, the many varieties of rice, etc. against the backdrop of rural life in Bohol.
Lutgardo “Gardy” Labad is an award-winning composer and music director for film and stage, including such notable films as Tinimbang ka Ngunit Kulang (1974) and Magnifico (2003). He was an artist-leader of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), where he worked for almost 30 years in various positions including Artistic Director and Executive Director. Gardy is acknowledged as a pioneer and champion for the development of Bohol’s Creative Industries through his work in establishing the Provincial Center for Culture and Arts Development (CCAD) and the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage Council (BACH), which garnered for the province the 2001 Galing Pook Award for its Cultural Renaissance Program. He was the founder and Artistic Director of Teatro Bol-anon and is currently the Artistic Director of community theater collectives for sustainable tourism in four Bohol towns, aside from being the Special Tours Manager and Staging Director of the internationally famous Loboc Children’s Choir.
Member LGUs:
Batuan, Bilar, Carmen, Dagohoy, Danao, Pilar, Sagbayan, Sierra Bullones
For more information, contact:
Mr. Larry Pamugas
Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA)
Province of Bohol
www.bohol.gov.ph